We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-19 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want a pair of around-ear headphones with a big, bass-forward JBL house sound, on-ear-cup voice assistant access and a proper auxiliary cable for wired listening when the battery runs down, choose JBL LIVE 500BT; if you need marathon battery life, a collapsible flat-folding frame and an adjustable transparency mode you can tune yourself, choose Amazon Renewed Skullcandy Hesh 360.
• JBL LIVE 500BT — biggest strength: 50mm dynamic drivers, tap-to-talk Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, Ambient Aware and TalkThru, plus a detachable aux cable so it keeps working when the battery is empty.
• JBL LIVE 500BT — biggest trade-off: Up to 30 hours per charge and a 2-hour recharge, with no active noise cancellation in the spec sheet — it relies on the fit of the over-ear cups instead.
• Amazon Renewed Skullcandy Hesh 360 — biggest strength: Up to 100 hours of battery and a 10-minute rapid charge that the sheet says adds up to 8 hours of listening.
• Amazon Renewed Skullcandy Hesh 360 — biggest trade-off: It's a renewed unit backed by a 90-day limited warranty instead of a new-product warranty, and its controls are physical push buttons rather than touch or voice.
• Pick JBL LIVE 500BT if you want voice-assistant convenience and a well-known headphone brand behind the build.
• Pick the renewed Hesh 360 if battery life, packability and app-based sound tuning matter more to you than brand-new condition.
The LIVE 500BT is JBL's take on the everyday around-ear wireless headphone, and the spec sheet reads like it was designed for people who live with their phone in their pocket. The 50mm dynamic drivers are the headline — that's a large driver for this class, and JBL pairs it with the "Signature Sound" tuning the brand uses across its line, which in practice means bass that pushes forward on hip-hop, pop and electronic tracks. If you like your music with weight behind the low end, this is the kind of tuning you're buying.
The features that separate it from a generic Bluetooth headphone are the two convenience systems. First, tap the ear cup and you can call up Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa to fire off a playlist, send a text or check the weather without pulling out your phone. Second, Ambient Aware and TalkThru: one raises the outside world so you can hear traffic or an announcement, the other drops the music and pipes in voices so you can hold a short conversation without taking the headphones off. For anyone who wears headphones in an office, a shared apartment or on a commute, those two modes are the reason to pick this model over a plain pair.
Buy it if you want voice control, transparency modes and a detachable cable you can plug in when the battery dies. Skip it if you need the longest possible battery or active noise cancellation.
Amazon Renewed Skullcandy Hesh 360: Who It's For
The Hesh 360 is built around one number: up to 100 hours of battery. That's not a typo-friendly figure — it's more than three times what the JBL offers, and it changes how you use the headphones. You stop thinking about charging. A 10-minute rapid charge is rated for up to 8 hours of playback, so even a panicked top-up before a flight covers a full travel day. If you're the person who always forgets to charge before a trip, this is the model that forgives you.
The second thing that stands out is the app. Through the Skullcandy app you get an adjustable Stay-Aware mode — you choose how much of the outside world leaks in rather than picking between "on" and "off" — plus three EQ presets (Music, Bass Boost, Podcast) and a custom 5-band EQ. That's real flexibility for a headphone in this tier, and the Podcast preset is a nice touch for spoken-word listeners who don't want thumped bass under a voice. There's also a low-latency mode aimed at gaming, and natural voice sidetone so your own voice doesn't sound muffled on calls.
Physically, the Hesh 360 folds flat and collapses, which makes it far easier to toss in a bag than a rigid around-ear design. The sheet lists a mix of faux leather, metal, plastic and silicone in the build, a detachable 3.5mm cable and USB-C charging. Controls are push buttons on the ear cup — simple, tactile and easy to find by feel, though less slick than touch. Multipoint pairing lets you stay connected to two devices at once.
The catch is the "Renewed" part. This is a renewed unit carrying a 90-day limited warranty, not a new-product warranty. That's the honest trade-off: you're accepting a shorter safety net in exchange for the feature set. Some buyers are perfectly comfortable with that; others aren't.
Buy it if battery endurance, foldability and app-based tuning are your priorities. Skip it if you want a brand-new unit and a longer warranty.
• Best battery life → Amazon Renewed Skullcandy Hesh 360. Up to 100 hours versus up to 30 hours is not close.
• Best for fast top-ups → Amazon Renewed Skullcandy Hesh 360. A 10-minute charge is rated for up to 8 hours; the JBL's 15-minute charge buys about 2 hours.
• Best for voice assistants → JBL LIVE 500BT. Tap the ear cup for Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa; the Hesh 360 doesn't offer voice-assistant activation in its listed features.
• Best for quick conversations → JBL LIVE 500BT. TalkThru drops the music and lets voices through with a button press, no app required.
• Best for tuning your own sound → Amazon Renewed Skullcandy Hesh 360. Custom 5-band EQ plus Music, Bass Boost and Podcast presets in the app.
• Best for travel and storage → Amazon Renewed Skullcandy Hesh 360. The flat-folding, collapsible frame packs down; the JBL is a fixed around-ear shape.
• Best for wired listening as a backup → tie. Both include a detachable 3.5mm cable, so neither leaves you stranded when the battery is flat.
• Best for peace of mind → JBL LIVE 500BT. A new unit with a 1-year manufacturer warranty versus a renewed unit with a 90-day limited warranty.
In my opinion, the renewed Skullcandy Hesh 360 is the more interesting buy for most people, and it comes down to the battery. Up to 100 hours with a 10-minute/8-hour rapid charge removes the single most annoying chore of owning wireless headphones, and the app's EQ and adjustable Stay-Aware mode give you control the JBL can't match. The JBL LIVE 500BT wins on voice assistants, TalkThru and the comfort of a brand-new unit with a year of coverage — genuine advantages if you take calls and talk to your assistant all day. But if I had to pick one for everyday listening and travel, I'd take the Hesh 360 and accept the shorter 90-day warranty as the cost of the feature set. Check the current price on Amazon for both before you commit, since renewed listings move around.
Not universally. The Hesh 360 wins clearly on battery life (up to 100 hours vs up to 30) and app-based EQ, while the JBL wins on voice-assistant access, TalkThru and a 1-year warranty on a new unit. "Better" depends on which of those you value.
Per the spec sheets, the JBL LIVE 500BT is rated up to 30 hours per charge with a 2-hour recharge, and the Hesh 360 is rated up to 100 hours with a 10-minute rapid charge good for up to 8 hours. Real numbers vary with volume and features, but the gap is large either way.
That's a personal call. Renewed means a 90-day limited warranty instead of a full new-product term, so you're trading warranty length for the feature set. If you're comfortable with that, the battery life and folding design are hard to argue with.
Neither spec sheet lists active noise cancellation. The JBL relies on its over-ear faux-leather cups for passive isolation plus its Ambient Aware and TalkThru modes, and the Hesh 360 uses a noise-isolating fit with an adjustable Stay-Aware mode.
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