We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-23 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want maximum battery life and an on-ear design you can wear all day without hunting for a charger, choose JBL Tune 510BT; if you need true wireless in-ear buds that stay put through sweaty workouts and rain, choose Skullcandy Sesh True. These two sit in completely different corners of the headphone world, and which one is "better" comes down to how and where you actually listen.
• JBL Tune 510BT — biggest strength: up to 40 hours of battery life, a 2-hour full charge, and a 5-minute speed charge that adds 2 hours of playback.
• JBL Tune 510BT — biggest trade-off: it's an on-ear, over-the-head design with no water or dust resistance rating, so it's built for desks, commutes and flights, not gym sessions.
• Skullcandy Sesh True — biggest strength: a genuinely wireless in-ear fit with an IP55 sweat, water and dust resistance rating, plus touch controls for volume and calls.
• Skullcandy Sesh True — biggest trade-off: 10 hours of total battery is a fraction of what the JBL offers, so heavy users will be charging far more often.
• Choose JBL Tune 510BT if you want one pair of headphones for long listening sessions, calls and travel, and you don't mind a headband.
• Choose Skullcandy Sesh True if you want buds that disappear into your ears, survive sweat and weather, and come with a pocketable charging case.
The Tune 510BT is an on-ear wireless headphone built around one idea: keep the music going for as long as possible. JBL rates it at up to 40 hours of playback, with a full recharge in about 2 hours over USB-C. That speed-charge feature is the detail I keep coming back to — five minutes on the cable buys you roughly 2 more hours of listening, which is exactly the kind of thing that saves you on the way out the door.
Sound-wise, you're getting JBL's Pure Bass tuning through 32 mm dynamic drivers, with a 20 Hz–20 kHz frequency range, 32 ohm impedance and 96 dB sensitivity. That's an easy load for a phone to drive, and the bass-forward character is the point here — it's tuned for pop, hip-hop, podcasts with a bit of thump, and casual video. There's no active noise cancellation and no sound-isolation claim in the specs, so don't expect to block out a plane engine. The on-ear foam cushions do create a physical seal, but that's passive, not ANC.
The practical stuff is where this headphone earns its place. The earcup buttons handle volume, track skipping and calls, there's a built-in microphone on the ear cup for hands-free talking, and a multi-function button fires up Siri or Google Assistant. Bluetooth 5 with a 10-meter range is standard and reliable, and the two-device switching means you can jump from a video on a tablet to a call on your phone without re-pairing. The adjustable headband and padded, foldable design make it a reasonable travel companion, and at 160 g it's light enough to forget you're wearing it.
Buy it if you want a single do-everything headphone for long days — work, commuting, calls, long-haul travel — and battery anxiety is your least favorite feeling. Skip it if you mainly listen while running, lifting or sweating, because there's no IP rating here, or if you specifically want buds that vanish into your ears. In my opinion, this is the pick for someone who keeps one pair of headphones in a bag and wants them to just work for a week between charges.
The Sesh True is a true wireless in-ear bud, and its whole personality is portability plus durability. The headline spec is IP55 sweat, water and dust resistance — that's the number that separates it from the JBL in any situation involving movement, weather or a gym bag. If you've ever killed a pair of headphones with sweat, this rating is the reason to care.
Battery is rated at 10 hours of total playtime, with the included charging case adding up to 11 hours. Read that carefully: total battery is 10 hours, and the case carries roughly 11 hours of its own. Either way, you're looking at a fraction of the JBL's 40 hours. For a 45-minute workout or a commute, that's completely fine. For a cross-country flight plus a layover, it isn't.
The fit is in-ear with rounded tips and 16 ohm impedance across a 20 Hz–20 kHz range, driven by dynamic drivers. The low impedance means your phone barely has to work to get volume out of them. Instead of active noise cancellation, Skullcandy lists sound isolation — the passive kind that comes from a tip sealing your ear canal. That's often more effective for blocking drone and chatter than people expect, but it depends entirely on getting a good seal.
Controls are touch-based and cover volume, track skipping and calls, and there's a microphone plus assistant activation built in. There's no headphone jack, which is normal for this category. At under 5 ounces for the set, they're the kind of thing you leave in a pocket and forget about until you need them. Skullcandy also backs these with a 2-year manufacturer warranty, versus 1 year on the JBL.
Buy it if you want buds for the gym, runs, commuting in bad weather, or just want something small that lives in your pocket. Skip it if you need marathon battery life, want an over-ear fit for long desk sessions, or prefer physical buttons over touch controls. My take: this is the pair for the active listener who values a secure, weatherproof fit over raw runtime.
• Best for battery life → JBL Tune 510BT. Up to 40 hours versus 10 hours total on the Sesh True. Not close.
• Best for workouts and sweaty commutes → Skullcandy Sesh True. IP55 sweat, water and dust resistance is a real functional advantage the JBL simply doesn't have.
• Best for long calls and voice assistants → JBL Tune 510BT. On-ear cup microphone, on-cup buttons, two-device switching, and one-touch Siri or Google Assistant.
• Best for travel and portability → Skullcandy Sesh True. True wireless buds plus a charging case beat a foldable headband for pocket space.
• Best for blocking out background noise → Skullcandy Sesh True. Sound isolation from an in-ear seal is the only noise-reduction feature in either spec sheet; the JBL lists none.
• Best for all-day comfort without ear fatigue → JBL Tune 510BT. Lightweight build, soft ear cushions and a padded, adjustable headband designed for extended wear.
• Best for charging convenience → JBL Tune 510BT. USB-C with a 2-hour full charge and a 5-minute top-up for 2 extra hours.
• Best for warranty coverage → Skullcandy Sesh True. 2-year manufacturer warranty versus 1 year on the JBL.
If I had to pick one, I'd buy the JBL Tune 510BT. In my opinion, up to 40 hours of battery with USB-C speed charging, a comfortable on-ear fit, two-device switching and on-cup call controls make it the more useful object for most people's daily routine — and the speed charge alone removes the "did I charge these?" problem. The Sesh True is the better choice only if your listening happens while moving and sweating, because that IP55 rating is something the JBL can't match. Buy for battery and calls: JBL. Buy for workouts and weather: Skullcandy.
FAQ
In this matchup, JBL by a wide margin. The Tune 510BT is rated for up to 40 hours of playback and recharges fully in about 2 hours, with a 5-minute charge giving 2 extra hours. The Sesh True is rated for 10 hours total, with the charging case adding up to 11 hours.
Yes — that's its strongest use case. The IP55 rating covers sweat, water and dust, and the in-ear design with rounded tips is built to stay seated during movement. The JBL Tune 510BT has no water or dust resistance rating, so I wouldn't wear it for hard workouts.
Neither lists active noise cancellation. The JBL Tune 510BT's spec sheet lists noise control as none. The Skullcandy Sesh True relies on sound isolation, which is passive blocking from the ear tip seal rather than electronic ANC.
Both are budget-focused models, but prices move around, so check the current price on Amazon before deciding. Weigh the trade-off first: JBL gives you roughly four times the battery and on-ear call controls, while Skullcandy gives you a waterproof in-ear design and a longer warranty.
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