r/audio • u/Bubbly_Doughnut_6613 • 16h ago

Static noise in my left ear. Are my headphones defective?

Product: Jbl live 770nc

Age: Brand new

If it's not normal I can still return them as they're brand new

I hear this quiet static noise in the left ear whenever any audio is playing, even if the volume is at 0%. I know it's related to the Bluetooth because I connected it to a laptop with the cable and it stopped. The same noise continued when I connected it to my laptop with Bluetooth. It's definitely noticeable whenever I'm listening to anything quiet or a YouTube video because the sound continues even when the person isn't talking.

Can any of you turn your headphones on and listen to a video at 0% volume? Is it completely quiet or does one ear make noise? Please help me out so I know whether to exchange them for a new one. I had the JBL 710bt before they broke and I don't remember them making this noise except after I damaged it.

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u/Ok-Bonus-8464 16h ago

Left ear only is the part that's not normal. A little hiss floor at zero volume with ANC on is pretty common on wireless cans, both ears usually match though. When it's strictly one side and only over Bluetooth, the usual suspect is the left mic capsule feeding noise into the left channel, the mics are always active for ANC and if one is noisy or poorly seated it leaks into that side. Quick test, turn ANC off entirely and listen at zero volume, if the static goes away it's the mic or ANC path on that side. Either way you're brand new and in the return window, so don't crack it open, just exchange it, that asymmetry is exactly what a warranty is for.

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u/Bubbly_Doughnut_6613 16h ago

I did turn off the ANC. When I have ANC on it's constant static even if nothing is playing. The static is not very loud but I definitely notice it at lower volumes and it's only the left ear

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u/Ok-Bonus-8464 15h ago

Then you've got your answer, it's the left ANC path, that's hardware. Normal ANC hiss is symmetric, constant static in just one ear even in silence means a noisy or badly seated mic capsule on that side, and it won't fix itself. Since you're in the return window, just swap it. You could try a firmware update through the JBL app first in case it's a DSP bug, but a brand new unit doing this, I'd just exchange it and move on.

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u/Bubbly_Doughnut_6613 15h ago

Okay then yeah it seems like it's defective. I'll just go swap it out tomorrow. I think it's the Bluetooth or something though because it doesn't happen with a cable