JVC HA-NP50T Open-ear Wireless Headphones 2023 REVIEW

A brilliant set of headphones that provide comfort and a high-quality listening experience. Imagine a world where you can enjoy your favorite tunes without sacrificing awareness of your surroundings. Open-ear headphones offer just that.

While I really enjoy deep sound immersion experiences, sometimes it’s really nice to be able to listen to music without being oblivious to the world around you. I love the concept of open-ear headphones because I’ve earbuds are sometimes irritating to my inner ear and I don’t always find the ‘right’ fit so I miss out on what some earbuds have to offer sound-quality-wise. Unfortunately, I’ve never found an open-ear headset that is comfortable and provides a great listening experience — until the JVC Open-ear Wireless Headphones crossed my desk.

They are now my go-to headset for most activities — even above my precious . JVC (Japan Victor Company) was founded in 1927 and started as an audio business as a subsidiary of the Victor Talking Machine Company, now known as RCA. JVC is best known for introducing Japan’s first televisions and for developing the VHS video recorder.

The JVC are designed to provide a premium audio experience while being comfortable to wear. They have a slim profile and come with a compact charging case that provides up to 38 hours of listening time together with the headphones. There are three sound modes that users can take advantage of — Normal, High, Bass.

The headphones have built-in touch controls on each ear piece and the ability to reprogram them using the JVC Headphones app. The JVC HA-NP50T Open-ear Wireless Headphones are rated as IPX4 and are considered . They can withstand splashes from any direction, but they aren’t 100% waterproof and shouldn’t be submerged.

The list price for the JVC HA-NP50T Open-ear Wireless Headphones is $129. 95 on and . The box is a standard retail-style box.

You can clearly read the name of the product and see an image of it on the front of the box. The back of the box has a lot of small print text on it. Much of it is footnotes and safety information.

When you open the box, you will find a warranty card and user manual along with an envelope that holds a USB-C to USB-A charging cable. There is a small piece of yellow paper that wraps around the headphones’ charging case that provides information on how to wear them. Since they are open-ear style , they fit a bit differently than regular earbuds so having this information is helpful.

The user manual is a large piece of paper that is folded up so it takes up a lot of space when you unfold it to read. There are clear written and illustrated instructions on operation and set-up that are easy to follow. The first step in the process is to remove the piece of film from the charging contacts on each ear piece and place them back into the charging case.

This activates them and powers them on. It’s recommended that you charge them before their first use, but they do come with some charge. on them.

The instructions state to use a 5V wall charger, which is not included with the headphones. I’m using an iPhone 14 Pro as my host device and when a Bluetooth device is connected, it will show the battery percentage available for the device. The JVC headphones had 90% charge out of the box.

I didn’t have any issue pairing them. Once I removed them from the charging case I heard a prompt that stated they were turned on and in pairing mode. I pulled up the Bluetooth menu on my phone and they appeared as “JVC HA-A18T.

” I selected them and heard a “connected” confirmation from the headset. The instructions show you to place the earpieces so that they loop behind your ear and the speaker sits just over the opening to your ear canal. I was able to do with with little trouble.

I found the speaker does not apply any pressure to the ear canal and that the loop is flexible enough to be comfortable around the ear itself. There isn’t a lot of adjusting you can do as far as bending the ear pieces to get a more snug fit. I felt like it would have been nice if the earpiece was a little more pliable so that I could point the speaker closer to my ear canal, but this only would have made sound more isolating and louder.

The quality was the same when I attempted to physically hold the speaker closer to my ear or just let it rest naturally. At first I was a little critical of the touch controls. They are responsive, but not too sensitive which is really nice for standard use.

That said, I didn’t like the pre-programmed options that were provided. Fortunately, there is a app that allows you to control the higher functions of the headphones including changing the touch controls. I don’t believe I’ve ever used a set of headphones that allows you to change your touch controls and this was a breathe of fresh air.

All I had to do was select the input I wanted for the touch control action and it changed. This made it possible for me to adjust the controls so they better matched other headphones I use. I’ve tried other open-ear headphones before I have not found them comfortable at all.

They always seem to cause the top of my ear to get sore. That’s not the case with the JVC headphones. They are feather-light and while I can feel that they are there, they aren’t uncomfortable.

The best part is that the inside of my ear doesn’t get irritated by an earbud speaker, which is something I’ve always fought with. I was blown away by the premium quality sound the JVC HA-NP50T Open-ear Wireless Headphones produced. I really expected them to sound hollow and tinny, but they give the user a full-sound listening experience.

I listened to a variety of music tracks including – Trans Siberian Orchestra, Lindsey Stirling, Lo Fi tracks, by Blackstreet, Apocalyptica, by Blue Swede, and more. Each track sounded just like it was meant to. My primary set of headphones ends up being my AirPods Pro Gen 2 simply because I love the deep, premium sound you get from them.

These headphones rival what I get with the AirPods. The one thing I do miss is the presence of Spatial Audio. I really enjoy that feature with Apple products and missed it when I was using the JVC headphones.

Other than that, I don’t have any complaints or critisms of the sound quality when playing music. One of my favorite movies to use for audio testing is The opening sequence has a full mix of dialogue, music, sound effects, and musical score. The mix is complicated and some headphones don’t carry the sound to the user well.

As far as the quality goes, I was incredibly impressed. The tiny sound details were not muddled or difficult to hear. They were crisp and noticeable.

I could even hear Groot’s tiny footsteps and the click of him hitting the camera lens (that didn’t exist because it was a visual effect). The only thing I noticed was that I had the volume set to 100% and it still felt a bit muted. I made sure the headphones were set to Normal mode, which helped but I was disappointed that I couldn’t increase the volume any higher.

That might have just been Disney+ though because I played video using Hulu and the volume was plenty high. While this might sound like an odd thing to add to a headphone review, it’s something I frequently use headphones for. So, I tested out what video reels sound like on Instagram and Facebook.

I was pleased that I could hear people speaking clearly and that music wasn’t overpowering. Call quality was above average. I could hear the other side of the call very well – it still sounded like a phone call, but it was very clear.

They could hear me well, too. I tried calling an automated answering system (Walgreens) to see if the bot could understand me, too. It didn’t seem to have any issue understanding my voice prompts.

While I haven’t used them until they are completely depleted, I did notice that after 2 hours of continuous use, they only lost approximately 10% of their battery. With that in mind, I would estimate that a full charge would provide up to 20 hours of continuous use. The JVC HA-NP50T Open-ear Wireless Headphones are a great option for someone who wants a quality set of headphones but doesn’t want 100% isolation like you get with over-ear headphones.

It’s also great for someone who fits earbuds uncomfortable or can’t find a good fit with an earbud. The JVC HA-NP50T Open-ear Wireless Headphones offer a unique and innovative listening experience. With their open-ear design and wireless connectivity, they provide a comfortable and convenient way to enjoy music while staying aware of your surroundings.

The high-quality sound and long-lasting battery life make these headphones a great choice for those looking for a blend of performance and practicality. I was continually surprised with the performance of these headphones the longer I used them. If you want to elevate your listening experience, give these a try.

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