Please Note: All views reflected in this review are my OWN and based on my own personal views and experiences, everyone experiences audio and hears things differently ears aren’t one size fit all and that’s a fact of life - this review isn’t sponsored or endorsed by JB HI FI, JBL AUSTRALIA or any companies mentioned here, Headphones were purchased using my own funds and any support through BUY ME A COFFEE allows me to bring you more reviews of this caliber.
JBL CLUB 950 - FEB HEADPHONES.
Quick Overview:
JBL CLUB 950 are marketed as CLUB headphones and have a few selling points, they are OVER EAR, they have custom DJ presets including one from Australia’s very own DJ TIGERLILY, they have ANC on deck, USB C on deck, they include a cable for wired connection, they have a HARD CASE on deck, they are ligh weight compared to other headphones, they are stylish. They retail at $399.00 and are available from JBL AUSTRALIA direct or JB HI FI.
Design:
These won’t be everyone's cup of tea, there’s no bright colours or rose gold they come in black and black and that’s it. The cushions that go over the ears are comfortable and don’t sweat on those hot summer days. The padding is thick and after around 100 hours of use isn’t showing any signs of wear. There’s ample headband padding with vent holes throughout the padding which is extremely good for odour prevention. The headband feels rock solid, exterior has a hard plastic band which gives plenty of latitude for bigger heads, while still conforming for smaller heads it has JBL branding on the top of the band as well.
The arms which persuade from the head band, are fully metal and give these headphones that luxury premium feel which you would expect at this price point. Even the ear cups are connected by metal arms and that gives them once again a quality feel to them. Ear cups have a quality feel to them and a greyish JBL logo branding on them, the buttons on the cups are easy to identify what they do, they are responsive and soft to touch and it doesn’t feel like the buttons will give away anytime soon. The left ear cup also doubles as a button for your voice assistant - Google, or Alexa. No Siri hopefully this will be added.
On the design note these do swivel a little but sadly they don’t fold flat which is a tad annoying, and makes them a little bulkier for traveling than your Bose 700s, but on that note there no where near as bulky as your Nuraphones, those things are a tank..
Battery Life:
Personally I think the battery life on these is pretty good, coming in at 55 with ANC turned off and 22 hours with ANC turned on. Bose 700s boast a 20 hour battery life so these one up them on the battery life, Sony’s WH1000XM4 38 hours with ANC off and 30 with ANC on, but I think the battery life in these are still better to be honest, I haven’t owned a pair of WH1000XM4s. In my tests we've gotten around 53 hours between hours being charged on these with the volume at 70/80% and standard EQs and Tigerlily preset with ANC on. We've managed to push 24 hours using an iPhone 12.
The battery has really impressed me in the JBL CLUB 950s it’s impressed me more than the bose 700s and if you know me you know that the Bose have been my dailys for nearly two years and I adore them for travelling and commuting (Not that, much of that happened in 2020).
Application:
With Headphones it became second nature that headphones will have some form of smartphone application and there's a lot of headphone apps out there that are JUNKET, but the JBL application certainly isn’t JUNKET and it is easy to use and takes up minimal space on your phone.
It shows you the battery level, ANC turned on and off it gives you custom button controls, the ability to set the stage+ to a custom A EQ or DJ eq, personally I have just been using it on the VOCAL EQ or standard EQ or Tigerlily.
The application doesn’t take a lot to learn and is easy enough for a beginner to use and for me I had prior knowledge of the Application so it was a breeze but it’s not a complicated application.
Can I DJ with these? Can I master and Track Vocals with these? Can I produce with these?
Okay I need to come straight out of the box, and say these were sold to me as the BEST DJ Cans that JB Hi Fi sell, but these were lacking one thing I look for in DJ headphones, technically let's say two things, a 6.35MM adaptor and they don’t fold back, but yes they are more than capable of being DJ headphones and they do that incredibly well, and they don’t need to be turned on to work as “WIRED” headphones, my Denon Prime Go managed to get decent volume and I didn’t pump the Denon’s volume control past the 11 oclock mark where with the AIAIAI TMA 2 Monitor Preset I pumped them to around 2pm position. I felt when mixing with the Club 950s I was hearing the bass drops more clearly and more precise and my scratches had more definition than most other headphones I have used for mixing.
I don’t know whether I would track vocals and mix vocals on these to be honest, but that's a personal choice I feel like they might be a little bass heavy to provide a clear mix of vocals or tracking vocals, however I did manage to record a podcast on these and it sounded a little deep for my liking, I still went back and mixed on my normal headphones that I used for mixing.
Can you produce on these? Yes they sound very very decent for producing whether you're plugging directly into synth or into an interface producing tracks on these weren’t a drama what so ever.
So short answer DJing and producing music these are handling it really well and I love them for that, so much that I might pick up the JBL CLUB ONES but vocals I think your better off with a pair of monitoring cans.
Presets are they good or do you think DJ presets are a gimmick?
I think they are really good. A lot of them are very bass heavy for me and my liking but the DJ TIGERLILY PRESET is the best one for me I think, and it’s that reason I think it’s on point. Custom EQs are easy and the pre set custom EQS are awesome too, I definitely don’t think they are a gimmick.
ANC - Bluetooth - Microphone for Calls:
ANC seems to be on par with the Bose 700s that I use normally as my daily drivers but might be a little to be honest I haven’t used my Bose since purchasing these but thats because of part of the challenge to explore these headphones within a month, but do I think I will switch back to BOSE? I don’t think so to be honest unless I am travelling and I am low on space then the smaller form factor of the Bose will suit those needs.
Bluetooth on deck I managed to walk around my whole house and even outside a little without any audio drop outs and that’s pretty good I didn’t have any bluetooth issues or interference which has been experienced by me in the past with some cans
Microphone for calls is clear and you can hear the person on the other end pretty decently, the microphone on the Bose 700 does cut out more wind noise than the CLUB 950s but that’s not a big issue. I still had no one complain when I was on the phone to them.
Comfort and Fit and Sweat
Okay let’s talk honest these are comfortable and every time you put them on for me it feels like heaven first time every time and that’s just a fact of life and that’s something I love with these I have no problems wearing these for 4+ hours and that’s exactly what you want with headphones of these level, i think these are just as comfortable as my Bose 700S.
They fit well and don’t move around on my head, which is a strong positive I can do head shakes and head turns without any issues of movement.
Sweat I don't find myself sweating excessively or anything with these cans on. They seem to allow my head to breathe and not have any sweat related issues.
Pricing:
In Australia these sit in that luxury premium price bracket and they sit at 399 AUD and I think the pricing for these are relatively good considering what is included in the box and the quality of the product that you're getting. I think you will be hard pressed to find something better in this pricing bracket in my mind
Included Accessories:
Hard Case, there's no cable pockets but it’s a quality hard case that will protect your cans, while travelling or clubbing from gig to gig or placing them in your gig bag or backpack.
JBL USB C cable, it’s USB A TO USB C, I would love to see USB C T0 C or even a adaptor included in some of these headphones from companies, I have switched out most of my wall adaptors and power banks to have USB C as that is the way of the future.
Included headphone cable, that’s luxury right there it’s not thin like the cable that is included in the Bose 700, the cable included in this doesn’t feel like one pull and you’re going to need to reach out to spares parts for a spare part. It has an angled jack which is handy and somewhat better than straight jacks, the cable itself is woven :) added an extra layer of protection for sure and that’s the small details that I love with these headphones, the jacks have red sleeves with gold tips like woah!
Music:
These definitely suit your Hilltop Hoods, Illy, 360, Seth Sentry, Pop music, top 40 and more, but they also shine on your country and vocal music with the right EQ, in my mind they are a extremely versatile headphones that clearly have some amazing drivers behind them that clearly push these in to next level headphones for the price point that are pushing them towards my daily drivers, yes thats right I think we have a new king over the Bose 700s. I will link in my HEADPHONE TEST playlist that I test all my headphones with, but please note it contains some explicit music.
Conclusion:
Woah, finally I bet you guys thought that would never end I know them feels to be honest with you guys I like to put a lot of work in to my reviews so you guys are getting my honest opinion on the headphones I am reviewing,
So let's sum it up if your in the market for some premium versatile headphones for DJing, On The Go then these things are amazing and definitely worth the price they are retailing for and that’s no joke I haven’t tried a pair that has impressed me this much this year yet I know the year is still young.
I think it’s hard to top these headphones in this price point given everything that you get with these headphones and I think the pros outway the cons, the cons being lack of the 6.35mm adaptor and the colours of the headphones which are small cons to be honest.
I honestly rate these 10 headphones out of 10 headphones for value, sound, performance and everything. If you're looking to upgrade you can’t go past these, I think the Bose have a new contender and they are the CLUB 950 which will be my dailys from now on!