JLab - Epic Lab Edition Wireless Earbuds – Adaptive Noise Cancelling, Dual Drivers, Hi-Res Audio – - Black

6th month review These sound amazing, Bluetooth is good, battery is decent and has limited sound customization. The problem is after 6 months of use the inner mesh grill that stop debris from entering the earbud have fallen off. You would think for a $200 earbud they would use real metal mesh instead of plastic with cheap adhesive. I email jlab customer support and got an A.I. response. You have to pay to ship the product to them and they may not even fix their product defects. You know how you find something like a t shirt and keep buying it because it fits well and you know what you're getting? I've had multiple jlab earbuds since 2016 and after 10 years I need to look somewhere else for earbuds.

THIS…. IS the JLab Epic Lab Edition, and while the name may be somewhat weird…these earbuds are truly spectacular. I was unfamiliar with JLab prior to these earbuds and I wasn’t quite sure how these would stack up to other earbuds around the $200 mark. JLab was also making bold claims, touting a hybrid dual driver with an audiophile listening experience…something I have heard allllll too often from several other brands that pop up claiming to have the next AirPod Killing Earbuds and well, for the first time I think the AirPods Pro have truly been dethroned on all fronts - sound, Active Noise Canceling (ANC), battery life and Adjustability. I was truly shocked at how well JLab delivered and executed on the Epic Lab Edition and these are truly $200 headphones I can really stand behind. With all my heart spilled out over these, lets get into the details on why these earbuds are truly AWESOME! TL;DR These are the TRUE AirPods Killers! Packed with features, comfortable for hours on end and sound that will blow you away. Seriously, these are awesomeness in a gunmetal color clam shell case. Let’s just start at the beginning, the box is nothing special and the packaging isn’t either, enough to get to your door and opened up. You are greeted with a few things, one being a really nice braided USB C (dual sided) cable that is about a foot long. After that, you will see six sets of ear tips which is actually two separate sets of earbud tips… the first set of small, medium and large earbud tips are your classic gummie sets, and the other being made of a ‘cloud foam’ material which is what I opted for. To me, it is really interesting in the ear because it slips in and then expands slightly to conform exactly to your ear canal to prevent the earbuds from falling out - which I have not had happen with these and I have taken them everywhere with me. I will say that the earbuds are extremely comfortable and not too heavy, but certainly bulkier than AirPods Pro. After you pick out your material and your size, you will take the earbuds case out and download the app, which is where I had to download a firmware update. Now, I am quite impatient so I was already listening to music while I was waiting on the JLab app to download, so when I was prompted with the firmware update I was shocked to know that I can keep the earbuds in my ear while they not only pair to my phone, but also update. This is something I have never seen before and I was really excited to know that I don’t have to put everything back in the case just to pair or update them. Something else that is cool about these headphones is that they come with a type-c dongle that automatically Bluetooth links them to whatever you plug it into, and it auto pairs the headphones to IPad and IPhone via the usb-c dongle which is super cool for when I want to take a phone call and don’t have the time/will to fuss with my audio settings. Once you open the app, you select the earbuds you have and update them. This took me no more than 5 or so minutes, and then the world of JLab was unlocked. Everything, and I mean everything was adjustable. Max Volume, the ANC, several customizable button presses, modes, several EQ settings… oh and a 10 band EQ!? The features that are packed into these earbuds are INCREDIBLE which are all labeled at the bottom of my review! Now, what we are all here about….The sound! This is really hard to explain but what I can only conjure up as magic. It feels as if I am listing to really good room speakers in my ear and not a condensed driver like earbuds normally are where it feels like the bass is just rattling your ear if you turn it up, whereas Jlabs Epic Lab earbuds truly feel like they are thumping, as if REAL bass is hitting your ear. Out of the box the earbuds are quite neutral, a slight maybe lean towards bass but not to any level where you would call them bass heavy. I will say that with the 10 band EQ and the customizable presets, these are quite adjustable…the only headache is that you have to have both earbuds out to change the EQ, small gripe but something that made me think I was crazy for a few seconds. All things considered, these headphones are really ear stimulating and crisp. I really like my AirPods Pro, they are easy and just work….but they are 100% now replaced with these. The only low point is that with all earbuds, the ANC still misses out on some of the high pitch noises and low humms, but I think that the Cloud Form Eartips really drown those out due to how well it fits the ear canal. These earphones are really the best I think I have ever tried, and are awesome across the spectrum. From music, to movies on the go, to podcast and on the phone…all crisp and clear. Something I want to bring up though that is just a head scratcher is that JLab compares AirPods and the JLab headphones on their own web sight, but incorrectly cite AirPods Pro (2nd gen) capabilities…this really was odd to me because it doesn’t matter what the specs are when your headphones are objectively better anyways. Another trying was the battery life claim, it really is about 30 hours standard, and around 16-20hr using ANC…adding up each earbud and then the case on top of that is a weird way to measure your battery life because normally you have both earbuds in at the same time. Odd, something that I’m writing off as an oversight on their end and hopefully it will be fixed. To conclude and wrap up my love fest for the JLab Epic Lab earbuds - JUST TRY THEM! This isn’t just another earbud/headphone maker and they are really onto something good here. I would even buy these at full price, they are actually of quality and packed with more features than I can count. The best part of the whole thing is, when you buy these at best buy… you never have to worry about getting a bad product because, as always, Best Buy has an excellent return policy and even better customer service, so you never have to worry about buying a product that you don’t like… so why not test it out?! Features and Specs in no order: Wireless Charge Multipoint Bluetooth Bluetooth LE (LC3) Hybrid Dual Drivers (Dynamic + Knowles Armature Driver) Type-C USB-C Dongle (takes priority) AAC (IPhone hi-res audio) LDAC (Android hi-res audio) Spatial Audio Compatable Adaptive Active Noise Canceling Noise Passthrough For those who care: HSP/HFP/A2DP/AVRCP protocols Bluetooth 5.3 30ft range Speaker 1: Knowles Balance Armature Driver Speaker 2: 10mm dynamic driver Output: 98 +/-3 dB Microphone: 3 MEMS -38dB+/-1dB Freq Response: 20–40 kHz Impedance: 16Ω Battery Life: 13+ hours in each earbud ANC Battery Life: 9+ hours in each earbud Earbud Battery: 85mAh lithium polymer Earbud Charge Time: 2 hours (in case) Case Charge Battery: 820mAh lithium polymer Case Charge Time: 2 hours Fast Charge: 10 minute charging = 2 hours of use IP Rating: IP55 (earbuds only) Earbuds Weight: 535 g ea AND A TWO YEAR WARRANTY — So make sure you register your Earbuds!

I love this new headset, the only problem I noticed is that they don’t do good with their mic’s in noisy environments but I quiet environments they do rock and with their sound and music they’re awesome, overall I love them.

PROS + Solidly built earbuds + Hi-res audio support with LDAC & AAC + Very premium feeling case with dual charging + Fantastic battery life + Great sound quality and with good bass presence + Good noise cancellation + Comes with 6 different pairs of various tip sizes + IP55 rating + Fit securely in my ears, even during workouts + EQ adjustments in the app and one-touch EQ preset switching + Comes with a dedicated USB-C dongle in the case CONS - Audio passthrough mode isn’t very refined - Touch controls can be a little too sensitive THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT I have been very pleasantly surprised with the JLab Epic Lab Edition, across almost all fronts. I would consider myself to be an amateur audiophile, and typically I use over-ear headphones for almost all use cases because of my pickiness with sound quality. This being said, I also love the convenience of earbuds, especially when it comes to working out and walking around out of the home. This is my first Jlab product I have owned, and so came in with no real expectations, but given the value proposition, I was cautiously optimistic that these would offer a solid audio experience and decent build quality. What I have found over the last week of using these is that they are a much more premium product all round than you might expect given the value they provide for a self-proclaimed audiophile experience. This all starts with the unpackaging, where you get a metal case for the buds that is easily the best earbuds case I have used. It is weighty, with a firm hinge and solid build quality all around. It has a rubber bottom and can stand on its down on a flat surface. The earbuds slot in magnetically vertically, so you don’t need to worry about pin position for charging. You can use USB-C or a wireless charging pad to charge the case, and the case keeps the earbuds charged. The buds are quoted to have a 9-13 hour battery life on their own (depending on ANC usage) and 30-50+ hours usage with the case charging them. I cannot confirm these exact figures, but I will say I have very little reason to doubt them. I have used the buds for 3-4 hour stints over the last week without charging the case, and I still have full battery in the buds after being placed in the case, and still charge left in the case as well. Battery life is a complete non-issue here. In terms of the buds themselves, they feel solid, with a plastic cap that houses the touch sensitive sensors for the buds and a transparent bottom near the earbud tips. I found the default earbud tips to be just right for my ears, but it does come with 6 additional pairs of varying sizes to help tailor it to your comfort and material preferences. The buds themselves are a bit on the larger size, but I never found them too big for my ears, however others with smaller ears may have different mileage. They do take a bit of adjusting once in your ear, but once secured, I haven’t had any issues with them falling out, which is better than I have had with many other earbuds without dedicated ear hooks. I have used these for workouts several times, and I never had any issues with them falling out, but if you are doing a lot of head movements, your mileage may again vary. Given their size though, I wouldn’t recommend laying down with them, as they do stick out of your ears a little bit, making them less convenient for sleeping. Now, in terms of the all important sound quality, I have been quite impressed overall. Of course there is a level of subjectivity when it comes to audio, but the default JLab Signature EQ preset is pretty well tuned for a wide variety of music sources, while I like Balanced for audiobooks and podcasts. The buds have plenty of bass for me, even in the default preset, and personally I found bass boost a bit too heavy for my tastes, drowning out some of the mids and highs in the mostly metal/rock music I like to listen to. You can also set a custom EQ, such as something more flat if you prefer, although again, I found the preset EQs they give you to be pretty solid personally. You need to adjust the EQ in the app, but once you have your presets set, you can swap between them with the touch sensitive taps on the earbuds. The earbuds do need a bit of a burn-in period, so I would recommend playing some content on them for several hours before really judging them. Once they opened-up for me though, they sounded great, and stood-up as some of the best earbuds I have used. You also get support for LDAC and AAC depending on your source device, which is great for high-resolution audio, and you can use the wireless USB-C receiver to connect to other USB-C devices, and given the receiver has a built-in slot in the case, it is easy to bring it with you to other devices. The only aspect of audio quality that I wasn’t impressed with was the audio passthrough mode with ANC enabled. The passive ANC is already quite good given the size of the buds, and the active ANC does a good job of layering in additional noise canceling. However, the active listening setting is “fine” but isn’t very refined compared to other active listening modes I have used. You generally can hear louder noises while audio is playing (think the clacking of a keyboard), but it sounds either almost artificially loud, or it is too muted. Voices I have found don’t passthrough as well, unless your music is already at lower volumes, or you are just using the noise canceling without music. I wouldn’t say the active listening is bad, but it just doesn’t make much of an impression overall. On the whole though, I really like these JLab Epic Lab Edition earbuds, and for the value they provide, are very hard to not recommend. They are super solidly built, with a fantastic case, lots of hardware and software features, high-res audio support, EQ control, and more. I have encountered no software or hardware bugs, no issues with connectivity over bluetooth or USB-C, no build quality issues, and consistent performance across multiple types of media. These are super quality earbuds, through-and-through. Highly recommended.

JLab's Epic Earphones have great audio and will surprise you with their quality. The earphones come with a charging case, USB C charging cable (not a charging block), a USB C dongle to connect the earphones to a computer, and different size and type earbud tips. The battery on these is great, with each earbud rated to last about 13 hours without ANC and about 9 hours with it enabled (more on ANC below). Additionally, the JLab carry case has magnets inside that help position each earbud correctly to charge and also gives the earbuds an additional 30 hours (15 hours each earbud) through charging them while on the go. The case can also charge wirelessly. Connecting the earphones to my phone was a simple and easy process; pressing and holding a button on the back of the case put them in pairing mode and I was able to connect them without fumbling around the manual to troubleshoot. As for the fit, the earphones fit well in my case and stayed on while running and jumping while exercising. With them being IP55, my sweat did not affect them. Occasionally, I would have to adjust them in my ear but I was able to keep them on comfortably for 1 hour sessions of exercise. Audio wise, the earphones sound great! Not what I was expecting from JLAB. The audio did sound a little tinny at first but through the JLab app, I was able to adjust this through the equalizer settings. JLab promotes their hybrid drivers and is noticeable with how well the bass sounds through music. For techies and audiophiles, its nice to see JLab also incorporate support for the different LDAC, LC3, and AAC audio codecs, this helps to somewhat futureproof the earphones while having options to listen to better quality audio depending on the device you use. As an added plus, the Epics's also have Active Noise Cancellation. There are 2 types of ANC modes you can choose from and levels for each mode; standard ANC and a “Be Aware” mode where you can slightly hear your surroundings. While with the ANC enabled you can still somewhat hear your surroundings, the “Be Aware” mode gives a little boost to external noise while listening to music or audio. It was nice to have this option and I found it useful when around my family to be able to listen to conversations and not have to remove the earphones. While these earphones have several pluses, the biggest downside is the call quality. While on a call, and having tested it with several phones on the other line, the person speaking through the earphones sounds somewhat robotic and the person's voice lacks detail. When speaking at a normal level, the person's voice can sound like the call is breaking up, which can be a little annoying if you're speaking and don't want raise your voice. Overall, these earphones have high quality audio and features that make them a competitive choice in the earbud market. While I would've liked the microphone to have worked better for calls, I would still recommend them as a solid choice for those not looking to make many calls and want excellent audio quality.