You can get ANC headphones for under €150. Loads of them. Too many. The depths of Amazon will spit out thousands of options, most of which end up in a landfill before you've even memorised the model number. JBL Tune 770NC and Valco VMK20 are both in this price range, but they represent pretty different philosophies.
One is a budget model from the world's largest speaker manufacturer. The other is a headphone from a 14-person Finnish company, tuned by a man whose ears are insured.
What does your money get you?
JBL Tune 770NC is JBL's budget line headphone. It does everything just fine. ANC exists, sound exists, Bluetooth works. Plastic build, plastic cushions, plastic experience. Nothing inherently wrong with that – except that in about a year and a half the pads start falling apart, and then you buy new headphones. And so the cycle continues. JBL's parent company Harman (owned by Samsung) sends their thanks.
VMK20 costs the same or slightly more. It's got a Qualcomm chip, aptX Low Latency support, four-microphone ANC on ADI's chipset, a Class AB amplifier, and 40mm drivers that Jasse has tuned to sound like music is supposed to sound – not like what an algorithm reckons teenagers want bass to sound like.
The fabric finish is designed by Lauri Lumme, and it holds up to use better than JBL's faux leather, which starts flaking right after the warranty expires. Coincidence? Perhaps.
ANC – let's be honest
Neither of these is a Sony WH-1000XM5. That needs to be said out loud. Sub-€150 ANC won't turn your office into a soundproofed studio.
VMK20's ANC works well at low frequencies – airplane hum, office air conditioning, train rumble. It won't help with kids screaming. Nothing helps with that. The VMK20 has ANC on a dedicated button and it works independently from Bluetooth, so you can use it as pure noise reduction without music. Handy.
JBL Tune 770NC's ANC is – well, it exists. It works. Doesn't dazzle, doesn't embarrass. Roughly the same level, maybe a touch more uneven. Both have a quiet hiss when ANC is on without music. That's physics, not a defect.
Sound quality
This is where the VMK20 pulls ahead. Jasse's tuning shows. The midrange is clear, bass is controlled and not muddy, and the treble doesn't sizzle. JBL Tune 770NC sounds flat – bass is boosted but imprecise, and the whole thing sounds like you're listening to music through a cardboard tube. Perfectly fine for background listening, but if you actually listen to music rather than just having it on, you'll hear the difference.
VMK20 supports aptX Low Latency, so watching videos without lip-sync issues is a go. JBL has SBC and AAC. Fine for music, but you'll notice the delay with movies.
Battery and practical stuff
VMK20: 45 hours of playback. JBL Tune 770NC: about 44 hours. Practically a draw. Both charge via USB-C. No drama here.
VMK20 weighs about 250 grams. Light. JBL is roughly the same. Both sit on your head comfortably enough, but VMK20's fabric cushions breathe better in the summer heat. Faux leather and sweat – you know what that feels like.
Why Valco?
- Repairability. VMK20 parts can be replaced. Pads twist right off, and Jasse's team repairs the units in Kajaani. JBL's budget cans are disposable – when they break, they break.
- Sound quality. Jasse's tuning vs JBL's algorithm. You'll hear the difference.
- Finnish-made. Every purchase funds 0.000001% of our Death Star. Henri's Alfa Romeo won't fix itself, and there's still a Ferrari to budget for.
- A warranty that actually means something. 24 months, and warranty service means actual repairs, not a "send us an email and wait a month" runaround.
- ANC on a dedicated button. Small thing, but handy. No need to scroll through app menus.
Who should pick the JBL?
If you need headphones tomorrow and the JBL Tune 770NC is on sale at your local shop, and sound quality isn't particularly important to you – grab it. Seriously. It's a perfectly functional headphone for casual use. If you mostly listen to podcasts on the bus, you might not even notice the difference.
If JBL's app and ecosystem are familiar and important to you, that's a perfectly valid reason too.
We're not so insecure that we need to claim a competitor's product is rubbish. It's not rubbish. It's ok. We're trying to be better than ok.
Summary
| | VMK20 | JBL Tune 770NC |
|---|---|---|
| Sound quality | Jasse's tuning, clear and precise | Bass-heavy, flat |
| ANC | 4 microphones, dedicated button | Functional, nothing spectacular |
| Codec support | aptX LL, AAC, SBC | AAC, SBC |
| Battery | 45h | ~44h |
| Repairability | Yes, in-house service in Kajaani | No |
| Materials | Fabric finish | Faux leather and plastic |
| Warranty | 24 months, actually repaired | 12 months, good luck |
If you want headphones that last longer than one tax refund cycle and sound like music was meant to be listened to – VMK20. If you want the cheapest possible ANC headphones in your hands right now – JBL Tune.
We're not the world's biggest headphone manufacturer. There's 14 of us, and half the budget goes to fixing Henri's Alfa. But we know how to make headphones. Thanks for your money – it goes to a good cause. Or at least a cause.