From user reviews on Google and Amazon to Flossy Carter, the realest reviewer in the game, the JBL Live 300s have been positively received among the music-listening community. At originally $150, these buds went on sale for $75, which made them a must-buy to try them out. However, upon using them for a full week, I have to say that I am disappointed with these earbuds. While the most important aspects (Sound Quality and Fit/Comfort) meet expectations, the overall functionality and daily usability of these buds miss the mark.Positives:Sound Quality --Out of the box, the sound quality is pretty good. The bass is amazing without distorting sound, but from a clarity aspect it misses the mark. However, those problems can be remedied by downloading the JBL Headphones app, which features a customizable EQ. You can create multiple sliders to tune the sound, but I kept it simple by creating 5 sliders. This allowed me to tune the settings to my liking, which means lowering the mids and accentuating the highs. The app could be more intuitive; the best EQ customizations allow users to hear the changes as the sliders are being moved rather than after the user has stopped moving them. However, I cannot complain as this is a rare feature among true wireless earbuds. Not even Apple or Samsung allows full customization. In comparison with buds I have tried, I prefer the customized sound over the AirPods Pro's "adaptive" EQ (marketing BS) and the loudness and bass exceeds the Galaxy Buds Plus. However, the sound isn't as clean as Samsung, and on all fronts the JBL cannot compare to the Jabra Elite Active 75t.Fit & Comfort --When I first place the JBLs in my ears, they seem like they will not fit due to the sheer size of them. After a few seconds, they feel very good in my ears. They stay in place during weight training and cardio exercises without feeling heaving or intrusive in my ears. I also have issues with wax buildup even after cleaning my wars, but these buds stay securely still without needing adjustment. It helps that these buds have wings for stability. In comparison to other buds that I have tried, the JBL offers one of the best fits. They stay in my ear more securely than AirPods Pros and Galaxy Buds Plus, which both needed constant adjustment due to wax buildup. The fit still isn't as stable or comfortable as the Jabras, but they are still among the best.IP Sweat Resistance --If you are using true wireless earbuds for workouts and cardio, the minimum rating you should aim for is an IPX4 certification. This ensures that your buds can handle sweat as long as you clean them after use. This does not mean they have come into contact with water, but that is never an issue with me as I stay indoors. The Galaxy Buds Plus only had an IPX2 rating, which always made me worry about having to clean them every 15 minutes to prevent internal damage. The JBL is effective at blocking sweat from entering the ear canals, but in the case that it does, you will not have to worry about immediate damage. Just be sure to wipe them after each use to prevent damage from possibly occurring.USB-C Charging --One of the JBL brand's weak points in the true wireless segment, among many, has been charging. Most of their buds lack wireless charging, which is not a big deal, but many of them also still use Micro USB, which at this point is unacceptable. USB-C will not be a concern as the charging case for the JBL Live 300 does charge using these cables. The charging port even has a light that flashes to show when the buds are charging and when the case is low on battery. It is a useful feature; just put them away at night as they can be bright.Negatives:Build Quality -- A major weak point of the true wireless products from the JBL brand is build quality. The buds and case with the Live 300s felt flimsy and cheap. The buds also stick out of your ear too much, which isn't the biggest dealer breaker but certainly aids to making the buds look cheap.Case Size -- The case is way too big and bulky to carry around comfortably in any size pants save for the biggest pocket in your cargo trousers. Few brands have been able to really nail a beautiful and functional case size. In fact, among earbuds that I have tried, only Apple and Jabra manage to have such cases that nail both categories. But the JBL case is among the biggest in the industry, which does not make them pocketable or the most portable among the competition.Battery Life --You would think that I big case would translate to excellent battery life, but the case can only add an extra 14 hours to the buds' pretty average 6 hours of battery life. Also, these are just claims; among real-world testing, I can assure you that the JBLs do not meet the company's claims. To add to further insult, the buds will not work at all if the case is depleted. Maybe I got unlucky with my unit, but I remember a user having this issue with heir unit when trying to sell it on Mercari. Even though the buds indicated a battery life on my phone when the case was near depleted, they would not turn on again once the battery life in the case was gone. I have to charge the case before I could use the buds again. This would translate to a horrible battery life, which makes its daily usability very poor.Voice Assistant functionality --The box and online description state that these buds have connectivity with Google Assistant and Alexa. The Google Assistant did not work with my iPhone 8 Plus. That may be an issue with my phone. However, the Alexa connectivity is very poor. The Alexa app needs to be open in order for the function to work. This is not the biggest issue, as it can be summoned while the app is in the background or when the screen is off. However, the function only works when connected to WiFi, which isn't always available when traveling. Furthermore, when I do summon Alexa, the buds disconnect from the phone. It requires me to place the buds back in the case and take them out of the case in order to reconnect. After reconnecting, the left and right earbuds cut off audio back and forth at different times for ten seconds before settling back into a stable connection. The remedy is to just ignore the Alexa feature, which I do, but I would have hoped for a more polished experience.Touch Controls --To control the playback and volume on my device, these buds use touch controls to perform these functions. Through the week of owning them, I can say that only the play/pause and skip functions work properly. I cannot repeat a track without having playback interrupted, only for the buds to require another tap to resume the music. Volume controls require a swipe, but they never work. It only pauses the music or makes a sound without doing anything. Overall, the touch controls are just not intuitive.Connection issues --As mentioned before, these buds have connection issues that randomly happen. Apart from occurring when trying to operate other functions, the audio will sometimes cut in and out for no reason. I am not surrounded by any other devices or microwaves, yet the disconnect happens more frequently than I would like.When reflecting back at this review, I see that my major gripes are just inconveniences rather than complete failures with these earbuds, save for the depleted case and touch control issues. It just surprises me that these buds were originally $150, which is an insane amount for the quality you get. Even at the next cheapest price, at $120, they do not justify the price. The new price of $75 makes these buds worth the issues for the money. However, as someone who wants the complete package and requires excellent sound quality, I would rather pay up for a more premium experience rather than have a budget-friendly pair that I will just find gripes about.In this world, we need to be content with what we have. Even if our house isn't the biggest or our car is the most technologically advanced, we should be grateful for having a functioning mode of transportation that we own or just having a roof over our head. But those are things that would cost thousands more to upgrade just to get basically the same functionality. In the world of headphones, it is worth paying up for the best because we will then complain less. Upgrades also cost less than $100 more than the initial price points of lower-priced competitors, so it won't leave you financially strained.Among all the true wireless earbuds that I have used, the Jabra Elite Active 75t's are the very best because they have the best of everything, from sound quality and durability to battery life, not to mention decent noise cancellation. For me, the JBL Live 300s would be the best earbuds under $100, but I would rather pay up for the best overall.