23 Sep
Blog

JLab Epic Air Sport ANC Review: Most Valuable Workout Buds

JLab Audio Epic Air Sport ANC

JLab Audio Epic Air Sport ANC

"The Epic Air Sport ANC is a game changer for workout earphones."

  • Easy setup

  • Stable, comfortable form of training

  • Excellent battery life

  • IP66 weather resistance

  • Good, customizable sound

  • Average call quality

  • Mediocre ANC

Okay JLab, now you just show.

A few days ago, we released our red-hot review of the JLab Audio Epic Air ANC, which is possibly the best value for true wireless earbuds available today. At least they were because JLab's fitness alternative to its stellar new lifestyle buds is here, and the $ 100 Epic Air Sport ANC may have set an already sky-high bar even higher.

What's in the box

Like most of the products I've tested from the JLab family, the Epic Air Sport ANC is incredibly easy to package. In addition to the charging case, in which the earphones themselves are kept, there are five additional pairs of earplugs and a quick guide, which is neatly stowed in an integrated case in the box. In particular, no charging cable is included as it is already included in the charging case itself.

JLab Audio Epic Air Sport ANCNick Woodard / Digital Trends

It was easy to set up as most modern day wireless earbuds have proven. There are plastic stickers on each earbud that must be removed before use. From there, all you have to do is hold down the touchpad on each bud for three seconds to go into Bluetooth pairing mode. Then you need to find them through your mobile device settings and connect. Granted, it's a step or two more than the simplest earbud, but it's still a quick process to start listening with your new buds.

With Bluetooth 5 technology, I experienced exceptional connectivity and range with the Epic Air Sport ANC. I routinely left my phone in part of my house and roamed my living space freely to do chores without a single slip or breakdown.

design

It's hard to find a design that just works. And the Epic Air Sport ANC's ear hook style works. It is widely considered to be the less popular design compared to the simple eartip style of traditional real radio buds like the Epic Air ANC, and it adds weight (10 grams per bud compared to the Epic Air's 8). But once you put these hooks around your ears, they'll stay in place. More than a week of extensive cardio workouts and workouts in the gym showed this. They may be less attractive, but they are of the superior design when keeping the buds in place is of the utmost importance, as is the case with training.

JLab Audio Epic Air Sport ANCNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The included earplugs create a solid seal in your ear. Like colleague at Digital Trends, Simon Cohen, I recommend the Cloud Foam tips because they feel soft and comfortable in my ears. They're not for everyone, of course, which is why there are five more pairs to choose from, but the Cloud Foam works best for me and does an excellent job of passively blocking out the sound.

The touch controls on each earbud are based on a multitouch system, and I've certainly had a lot of complaints in the past with poorly executed touch controls. While there have been a small handful of instances where the Epic Air Sport ANC didn't detect the correct number of taps, for the most part they responded impressively. These controls allow you to manage everything including volume, lane change, smart assistant activation, equalizer settings, active noise cancellation levels, and phone call controls. For $ 100, that's pretty much a pair of earbud controls – and they're all effective.

By the way, there isn't much to write about the charging case. It is larger than, for example, the cases for the Apple AirPods or Google Pixel Buds 2, which are generally regarded as perfectly insertable earphone cases. The Epic Air Sport ANC fits well in my pocket, but leaves significantly less space for a wallet or keys. These aren't usually things that you carry around to the gym or while running, so I wouldn't really call that a problem.

properties

The value of the Epic Air Sport ANC is firmly anchored in its functions. Almost everything these buds offer exceeds the limits of what we have previously thought possible in this price range. In all honesty, if we are judging things by trait alone, it's not fair that other buds have to try to assert themselves when the Epic Air Sport ANC are so good for this cheap one.

JLab Audio Epic Air Sport ANCNick Woodard / Digital Trends

First: Battery life: The Epic Air Sport ANC is designed for a battery life of 15 hours per charge without ANC and an additional life of 55 hours (!) In the charging case. When the ANC is activated, the playback time is reduced to 11 hours. They also have a quick charge feature that gives you an hour of playback after 15 minutes. In comparison, the Epic Air ANC has eight hours with the ANC on and twelve hours with the ANC off. The $ 200 Sony WF-SP800N is the only other bud that can compete in this category, but even those buds not only offer nine hours of ANC playback and 13 hours of regular listening – and double the price.

It's not fair for other pals to have to try and compete when the Epic Air Sport ANC are so good for so cheap.

The Epic Air Sport ANC has an IP66 weather resistance rating that gives you complete protection from dust and strong water jets. There are workout buds with better ratings, like the IP67 rating from Urbanista Athens for $ 120 or the IP68 rating from Anker Soundcore Spirit X2 for $ 80. But none of those buds can match the Epic Air Sport ANC's epic combination of battery life and weather resistance.

A far less miraculous, but still valued, feature is the Epic Air Sport ANC's wear detection sensor, which automatically pauses a trace when a bud is removed from your ear and resumes that trace the moment you put the bud back in. I deeply despise completely losing minutes of podcasts to earbuds that lack this feature. So believe me when I say I am personally delighted, these come with such a practical benefit.

Audio quality

I'm in the minority here, but I'm more excited about the way the Epic Air Sport ANC's sound can be customized than its initial audio quality. Don't get me wrong, the Epic Air Sport ANC sounds great right away and most people don't have to mess around with sound adjustments at all to get something that works well for them. But for those of us who can't help but craft, JLab has given us all the tools we could possibly need.

JLab Audio Epic Air Sport ANCNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The Buds touch controls allow you to switch between three preset EQs: Balanced, Bass Boost and JLab Signature Sound. Their tastes may vary, but I tended to use Bass Boost on my weightlifting playlists to get the most out of saturated low-end songs like Childish Gambinos 3005 or Kris Kross & # 39; Jump. Whenever I went for a walk with the dogs or ran in the afternoons, I chose the signature sound as it offered a less dynamic but more balanced profile that suited music outside the iron pumping genre.

Even if you don't like the standard sound of the Epic Air Sport ANC, if you play around with the settings long enough, you can likely get a cheap sound.

JLab goes a few steps further with the JLab Air ANC app, giving you the ability to dig straight into the frequency domain and fine-tune things to your liking. That, plus a movie mode option that allows dialog to be synchronized while watching clips on your mobile device, make these buds suitable for a wide variety of listening situations. Even if you don't like the standard sound of the Epic Air Sport ANC, if you play around with the settings long enough, you can likely get a cheap sound.

Disappointingly, the call quality is average on these fitness buds. The Epic Air Sport ANC has one microphone to remove ambient noise and another to pick up your own voice clearly. It's hard to tell which is the bottleneck, but my voice was blocked when making phone calls in louder environments. They were good for evenings at the emotional gym or quiet morning walks in the park, but on a sidewalk near a busy street it was an entirely different experience.

Noise cancellation

Something tells me that the glitch I dealt with during a call may have something to do with the active noise cancellation in the Epic Air Sport ANC, or frankly, poor execution. If there's an Achilles' heel hiding in the Epic Air Sport ANC, this is it. While we didn't expect a good ANC at all in this price range – at least not until the Edifier TWS NB2 hit the market – we still expect a better one when a company advertises it as a feature.

JLab Audio Epic Air Sport ANCNick Woodard / Digital Trends

As I mentioned earlier, the Epic Air Sport ANC creates a tight seal in your ear, resulting in high quality passive noise cancellation. However, if you do choose to enable active noise cancellation, it is truthfully difficult to tell a significant difference. In fact, listening to a podcast at low volume one morning, I could still clearly hear my cat chewing on her breakfast across the room, even after turning on ANC.

You can use the app to adjust the noise cancellation levels. I recommend turning ANC to the maximum setting to get the most out of what is an average best but mostly mediocre feature. On the flip side, the Epic Air Sport ANC's environmentally conscious setting has some powerful features that almost terrified me when I first turned it on while on an exercise bike at the gym. In contrast to the ANC levels, I would recommend reducing the ambient noise level just a little.

The Epic Air Sport ANC's industry-leading battery life at an affordable price should be enough for most athletes.

Our opinion

Average call quality and noise cancellation won't stop what is otherwise a game changer, not just for workout earbuds but for the true wireless earbud genre in general. Earhooks might not be the "in" look, but the Epic Air Sport ANC's industry-leading battery life at an affordable price should be enough to delight most athletes.

Are there any better alternatives?

The $ 120 Urbanista Athens was one of my new favorite workout pairs, but the Epic Air Sport ANC has a better battery and similar weather protection for $ 20 less. The Anker Soundcore Spirit X2 is probably the best new comparison to the Epic Air Sport ANC, as it also offers impressive features for just $ 80. But the latest from JLab surpasses the Spirit X2 in many ways for not much more.

How long will they last?

The Epic Air Sport ANC has a two year warranty and excellent protection against the irreconcilable elements of nature. I would try to avoid deep sea diving with these, but other than that, I don't think you should have any major concerns that the Epic Air Sport ANC is going to be out of service anytime soon.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The earhooks, mediocre call quality, and average noise cancellation will put some off, but don't let what an overall standout audio product distract you. The Epic Air Sport ANC is next to the Epic Air ANC a revolutionary earphone from JLab. Trust me when you say this, you don't want to miss out on the latest and greatest from one of the emerging brands in the real wireless world.

Editor's recommendations




17 Sep
Blog

JLab Epic Air ANC Review: Exceptional True Wireless Value

JLab Epic Air ANC

"The ANC won't wow you, but these buds are still insane value at just $ 99."

  • Amazing price

  • Customizable controls and EQ

  • Huge battery life

  • Wireless charging

  • Excellent ambient sound mode

  • So-so ANC

  • Bad call quality

JLab has made wireless headphones and true wireless earbuds in the past that offer a great mix of performance and features at shockingly low prices. The $ 29 Go Air and $ 149 Epic Air Sport are both good examples.

But both were clearly just warm-up exercises for what JLab has now brought out: the $ 99 Epic Air ANC, a set of noise-canceling true wireless earbuds with a feature set that seems to go on forever.

Has JLab finally promised too much and delivered too little, or is the Epic Air ANC setting a new benchmark for value? Note: you are amazing.

Let's see what all the fuss is about.

What's in the box?

JLab Epic Air ANCSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

JLabs crates have always been incredibly flimsy, cheap looking affairs. And while this may not score corporate points with shoppers looking at a range of competitive products on a retail shelf, I think it's great.

I love it because it's made entirely from easily recyclable paper and cardboard. The only plastic you'll find are two tiny removable stickers over the earbuds charging contacts. The rest is as guilt free as it gets.

In this box you will find the Epic Air ANC earbuds in the charging case, an easy-to-read and very well illustrated quick start guide and the included five additional earbuds (the earbuds come with the medium size installed).

design

JLab's true wireless earbuds come in three general shapes: the simple earbud-only design of the Go Air, the sport-oriented earhook design of the Epic Air Sport, and the AirPod-like earbud-plus-stem design of the Air Executive.

Workout addicts are insured: With an IP55 rating, these earphones can survive very little.

The Epic Air ANC uses the same design as the Air Executive. They are so similar that you may not even be able to tell them apart by looking closely.

The Epic Air ANC are a bit bulkier than Apple's AirPods or AirPods Pro, for example, but they're still remarkably light and don't look as massive as many of the top earbuds we tested like Sony's WF-SP800N or Sennheiser CX 400BT True Wireless .

With the touch controls on the outside you have full access to all the most frequently used functions. With a wear sensor on the inside, you can automatically pause your music when you remove an earbud – if you want.

Workout addicts are insured: With an IP55 rating, these earphones can survive very little.

The charging case is bulkier and less pluggable than many others on the market, but it makes up for its extra bulk by offering a built-in USB charging cable – a brilliant feature for those who often forget to bring cables when traveling. Better still, if the cable is ever damaged, the case can also be charged wirelessly.

Synthetic leather has a double function both as the outer surface of the housing and as a hinge for the lid. It's unusual and clever, but it does mean the lid moves a little even when it's closed, which reduces the overall feeling of quality.

Even so, the lid magnet and earbud docking magnets are strong enough to keep everything in place, which is really all that matters.

A three-LED display on the top shows the charging status of the case and the charging status of the earphones.

The Epic Air ANC may not win beauty pageants, but functionally they are very well designed.

Convenience, control and connections

JLab Epic Air ANCSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

If you've ever worn earphones in your ear and found them comfortable, you will likely like the fit of the Epic Air ANC.

If you don't, JLab should add five different sizes and styles of silicone earbuds, plus an additional pair of Cloud Foam earbuds to get them just right no matter your ear shape.

The quality of the seal is always important with in-ear earphones as it determines how good they sound. However, this is especially important with ANC earphones. Having a variety of earplugs to choose from definitely makes it easier to get a good seal.

Personally, I recommend the cloud foams. Memory foam earplugs don't last as long as silicone and not everyone likes the squishy feel they create in your ear, but they are super comfortable and make for a great, no-pressure seal.

Once you've found the best size and type of earbuds, the Epic Air ANC should fit just right and feel just the same. I found them to be more comfortable than some earbuds that cost more than double, which just goes to show that money can't always give you a good fit.

I don't like touch controls on earbuds because they tend to trigger when you don't want them to do something, or more often not respond properly (or not at all) when you need to.

JLab Epic Air ANC AppThe Epic Air ANC's touch controls largely avoided this trap, but there were still instances where I had problems. Some taps were not recognized and a double tap was sometimes only registered as a single tap. I would still prefer a really good set of physical buttons, like those on the Jabra Elite 75t, but as far as touch controls go, the Epic Air ANCs are perfectly serviceable.

While I'm not a fan of Touch Control, I'm really impressed that JLab's free Air ANC app for iOS and Android lets you customize the functionality of each earbud for each tap combination. With three tap combinations per earphone, this can cover almost anything you could want. The commands available are: play / pause (answer / end), skip tracks forward / backward, volume up / down, access to voice assistant, EQ mode and ANC mode (on, off, be aware).

The only thing to keep in mind is that if you are only using one earbud, then you need to make sure that the earbud controls have the following features – a great option for phone calls or when you need to be more aware of your surroundings and settings, that they need. There's no point in increasing the volume with a single tap on the left earbud when you need the right earbud to turn it down again.

The wear sensors worked like a charm and quickly paused and resumed music when you removed or inserted the earbuds. The app allows you to turn the feature off if you don't find it helpful.

Bluetooth pairing is easy and quick – just remove the earbuds from the case and select them from your Bluetooth system menu. The connection quality was very reliable, but in some cases – especially after a long pause with no music playing – the left earbud stopped responding. Quickly plugging both buds into the charging case and pulling them out again was a reliable way to get things back to normal.

The simultaneous pairing of devices (a.k.a. Bluetooth Multipoint) would be nice, but an unusual function even with more expensive earphones.

Battery life

True wireless earbuds have seen their battery life improve massively over the past 12 months, and the Epic Air ANC is near the top of that range.

With up to 48 hours without ANC, they'll be ashamed of all other true wireless earbuds.

JLab claims to be 8 hours with the ANC on and 12 hours off – just an hour less than the reigning champion, Sony's WF-SP800N.

Even more impressive is the charging case, which offers space for three full charges. This means at least 32 hours total time, but up to 48 hours with the ANC switched off. That puts all other true wireless earbuds to shame. Even the Sony WF-SP800N only offers a single charge for a maximum time of 26 hours.

Get an extra hour of gaming time with a 15 minute quick charge.

In reality, JLab's numbers are pretty much spot on. I left them on continuously with the ANC off and after 12 hours they were still on the go.

Sound quality

JLab Epic Air ANCSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

For its price, I think the Epic Air ANC sounds very good. You don't get the pristine sound quality of the Sony WF-1000XM3 or the Sennheiser CX 400BT, but these earbuds cost more than double what you pay for the Epic Air ANC.

When it comes to deep bass and crisp highs – the two areas that people notice the most – these earbuds don't disappoint.

I'm willing to bet that unless you already own a much more expensive earbud, you'll be amazed by the sound of the Epic Air ANC.

They offer very good frequency separation and when it comes to deep bass and crisp highs – the two areas that people notice the most – these earbuds don't disappoint. The bass response is full, but not overwhelming, and the highs, while not crystalline, are well defined. The midrange drivers are neither shiny nor lackluster and manage to make themselves heard even if they aren't quite the stars of the show.

And while they may not have perfect levels of detail or an extremely wide soundstage, they are surprisingly balanced for listening to a wide variety of genres.

As with virtually all of the earbuds and headphones I have tested, you will need a decent source to get the most out of these earbuds. I found a huge difference between listening to my personal collection of AAC format tracks on Apple Music and CD quality lossless offerings from Tidal or Qobuz.

More importantly, the JLab Air ANC app lets you tweak the EQ as you like. The equalizer has discrete levels for 10 frequency bands and you can save four presets with your favorite mixes.

JLab includes a "movie mode" which is designed to reduce the audio delay compared to the usual "music mode" so that the on-screen dialog matches what you are hearing. My iPhone 11's Bluetooth connection may already have very little latency, but I saw practically no difference whether or not the movie mode was activated. Both modes provided great synchronization when streaming Netflix and Disney + movies.

Noise cancellation

It is difficult to get a feel for the effectiveness of the Epic Air ANC's noise cancellation.

Whether you use the standard silicone earbuds or the cloud foams, the seal they offer is pretty good. This means that very little outside noise can get into your ear.

But even with strong passive noise isolation, ANC should show a noticeable decrease in some external noises. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

Switching between ANC off and on resulted in only the slightest decrease in lower frequencies. Even then, I could only tell when no music was playing.

JLab's Air ANC app lets you adjust the level of noise cancellation – a welcome feature – but maximizing the setting didn't do much to improve performance. They're certainly not AirPods Pro killers in terms of noise cancellation.

On the upside, the Be Aware mode that lets in sounds is excellent and the app-based customization gives you good control over how much sound is let in.

Call quality

The Epic Air ANC call quality is not an area of ​​strength. It's not a feature that true wireless earbuds are great at even on some very expensive models, but these earbuds are particularly weak.

External noises such as cars, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and even a light breeze created strong aural competition for my voice and sometimes drowned it out completely.

It looks a lot better indoors, but even then your voice will suffer from shake.

On the other hand, the Be Aware mode makes making phone calls very convenient from the wearer's point of view, allowing you to hear your own voice with absolute clarity.

Our opinion

No matter how you look at them, the JLab Epic Air ANC are epic value at just $ 99. The ANC may not be spectacular, but with great sound isolation thanks to a variety of earplugs, it just doesn't matter. What can you not love with very good sound quality, enormous battery life and countless practical additional functions?

Is there a better alternative?

For $ 99 you might find true wireless earbuds with ANC and decent sound, but I'm not sure if there are earbuds at this price point that also have 12 hours of battery life, IP55 protection, wireless charging, fully customizable controls, and EQ offer a wear sensor.

You can spend less and get fewer features, like the extremely affordable Truengine SE Soundpeats for $ 40, or you can spend more and get slightly better sound quality with the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro for $ 150, but nothing beats that Epic Air ANC for total value.

How long will they last?

The build quality of the Epic Air ANC seems to be on par for earphones in their price range. With an IP55 degree of protection and a very generous two-year guarantee from JLab, however, they should have a very long service life. The beauty of starting with batteries that last 12 hours is that even if they eventually drop to 50% capacity, they outperform a lot of brand new earbuds.

Should you buy it?

Yes. In the Epic Air ANC, JLab has developed a feature-rich and comfortable set of earbuds that offer an incredible price-performance ratio.

Editor's recommendations




03 Jul
Blog

The JLab Epic ANC Are Stuck in Earbud Limbo

JLab Epic-ANC

"Although the Epic ANC is comfortable, durable, and cheap, it does very little to separate itself from the crowd."

  • Comfortable, safe design

  • Solid battery life

  • IP54 waterproof

  • Average sound quality

  • Inconspicuous noise cancellation

JLab Audio is well on the way to developing affordable hearing aids, most of which come with features and sound that far exceed their prices. It may have created its own problem. If your products consistently try to push their own boundaries, the lines between them can get messed up and ask you why they even exist.

With JLab's new $ 79 Epic ANC wired earphones, we had to ask ourselves: can they differ from similar siblings and challenge competitors from other brands?

Out of the box

In the meantime I have opened enough JLab packages to know what to expect. The Epic ANC earphones are waiting for you in their own plastic shell. The rest of the box's content is just below it. These accessories include three sets of earplugs, a micro USB charging cable, a travel bag (JLab calls it a bag, but it's a bag), and a quick setup guide.

JLab Epic ANC earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

In other words, there is not much pomp to admire here. But that's not really JLab's style. The company's products have traditionally relied on losing the weight of desire to deliver good value at a bargain price. That's exactly what you see again at the Epic ANC.

The connection was easy because the buds automatically switch to Bluetooth pairing mode the first time they are turned on. That may be standard these days, but trust me: With the few products that don't have this automatic pairing mode, you miss this subtle advantage.

The Epic ANC has built-in Bluetooth 5 technology and I have no connection issues to report. The buds were able to travel freely with me through my home without getting out when my phone was in the living room. Although I haven't necessarily crossed the line, I'm confident that these buds are enough.

design

As I've said with other earphones of this style, these wired setups are not as noticeable as real wireless alternatives. There are, of course, good reasons for this: the inclusion of wires leads to the possibility that they get stuck or become damaged when you cross everyday life. In addition, real wireless earbuds generally offer a more attractive aesthetic.

JLab Epic ANC earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

Honestly, it's a shame that these styles take a back seat because, apart from the wires, there's a lot to like about the way the Epic ANC was designed. Starting with the buds themselves, the included "Cush Fins" (JLab terminology) helped to create a secure fit in my ears. After several runs with the Epic ANC, I was pleased to find that I only had to adjust them a few times. For a product that is constantly jumping around the neck during intensive activities, this is a win in my book.

I chose the smaller standard earplugs that made them comfortable to hold in my ears. JLab also offers a set of three-flange earplugs and a pair of cloud foam tips, but the standard met my requirements exactly.

JLab was oddly light in terms of specs with the Epic ANC, so I don't have an exact weight to report. But I can say that they were light enough to train with, even though their siblings, the Epic Sport2, are significantly lighter. As wired buds that are dedicated to training, their lightness is not only sensible, but is also expected.

The Epic ANC is only available in one color (black). So if you want design options, you won't find them here. The travel bag / bag is also black and feels durable, which should be useful if you keep the buds in a travel bag or backpack.

properties

The more I used the Epic ANC, the more I thought about the 1More Dual Driver ANC. They are both made in the same style, probably for the same kind of audience. At half the price, it would have made sense not to expect the Epic ANC to compete with the features of the Dual Driver ANC. However, if I have learned anything from previous JLab reviews, this brand knows how to close the gap while reducing costs.

JLab Epic ANC earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

For example, the 1More offers a battery life of 20 hours without using active noise cancellation and 15 hours with the function activated. For JLab balloons that are not used by ANC, a playback time of 25 hours is achieved, although listening supported by ANC takes a small step back after 14 hours. However, the Epic ANC comes with an AUC cable adapter that can be connected and listened to if the battery fails.

Through my tests, I can confirm that JLab's battery requirements are correct. This type of juice should be enough to do a few days of work while using Active Noise Cancellation. If you are still working from home without having to compensate for noisy environments, you can extend the battery of the buds over several days.

The Epic ANC is weatherproof to IP54 and protects the buds from dust and water sprays from every direction. I didn't expect these to get wet in the heat of summer, but left it up to the good old Pacific Northwest to take a quick shower during a morning walk. Rest assured: The Epic ANC did it without any problems.

For comparison: the Epic Sport2 has an improved protection rating IP66, which protects against high-pressure water jets, while the 1More has an IPX5 resistance, which protects it against jet streams, although it is not protected against dust.

The Epic ANC has an inline remote control that takes over all controls of the earphones. A button on the side of the remote control changes through the ANC modes with arrows at the opposite ends of the volume of the remote control and the track switch. Pressing the lower arrow twice will even activate your preferred intelligent assistant, while the middle button will turn the device on and off and answer and end calls. When it comes to controls, most people value functionality, and the Epic ANC well meets that standard.

Audio quality

The main difference between the Epic ANC and the more expensive 1More Dual Driver is in the sound. Because while the Epic ANC offers usable sound quality, it cannot impair the audio experience of the Dual Driver ANC.

JLab Epic ANCNick Woodard / Digital Trends

Of course, this almost had to happen, since these two products are technically between the weight classes. And to be clear, if the epic ANC were to fight someone of its size, it would do better. But when we decide whether to spend the extra money or stick to a budget option, it seems like a comparison that we have to make.

From a general perspective, the Epic ANC sounds decent and offers above-average clarity of what you'd expect from earphones under $ 100. The problems are at both ends of the frequency range, where the bass feels muffled in songs like Eminems Godzilla and tracks like Jimmie Allen's This Is Us feel a bit hard in the higher frequencies. Compared to the 1More, which expertly navigates through different genres, these topics are only accentuated.

As with the 1More, JLab recommends a burn-in phase (via its own burn-in tool app) in order to get the best sound out of these buds. It takes time that I didn't have for the purposes of this review, so I put it out with stock sound. Which, to repeat, will sound good to the majority of listeners. It just won't be anything to write home about.

Active noise cancellation

Unfortunately I have more "meh" messages for JLab fans to report here. The active noise cancellation features built into the Epic ANC adequately complement the sound quality of the buds, but do not have the effect many hope for.

JLab Epic ANC earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

Turning on ANC has muffled some outside noise in the various environments I've tried it in, but in louder situations, such as when walking down a busy street, they haven't done nearly enough to mask the excessive noise. In addition, both myself and others struggled to differentiate between the Epic ANC's two noise control modes (high and low). If you cannot distinguish between these two settings, there is a clear problem.

The 1More were much more effective when tested in similar environments. Neither set is a leader in the ANC area, but the ANC with two drivers had a lot more understanding of the technology.

I will say that the Epic ANC's third noise control mode, Be Aware Mode, did exactly what it said it did. By effectively activating this mode, outside noise is effectively fed in, making it easy to address friendly neighbors while maintaining an appropriate social distance.

Our opinion

The Epic ANC is in every way the affordable alternative to the excellent Dual Driver ANC from 1More, with the exception of the sound, which leaves something to be desired. This does not completely prevent another valuable set of earphones from JLab. But it hurts.

Are there any better alternatives?

You probably already know this answer. The $ 150 1More Dual Driver ANC is exactly what the Epic ANC hoped for, but at twice the price. If you're an athlete looking for a similar style at a cheaper price, JLab's $ 49 Epic Sport2 fits perfectly with its features and design.

How long will they last?

JLab offers a two-year warranty with the Epic ANC, and the product itself feels so durable that I no longer have to worry about exposing it to intensive training sessions. I would say these buds last long enough to get your money's worth.

Should you buy them

No. The Epic ANC has done a lot right, from the comfortable design to the effective functions. However, it hasn't done enough to distance itself from cheaper options within its own brand or to approach the quality of the more expensive Dual Driver ANC. They're good friends after all, but they're stuck in no man's land.

Editor's recommendations




23 Jun
Blog

JLab Epic Sport2 Review: Wired For Workouts

JLab Epic Sport2 earphones

"The Epic Sport2 is another pair of weatherproof, durable fitness buds from JLab."

  • Several customization options

  • IP66 weatherproof

  • 20 hours of playback

From an outside perspective, JLab appears to be taking advantage of the qualities of its popular Epic Air Sport wireless earbuds, attaching them to a set with a wire on the two buds, and lowering the price by $ 100.

While not quite cut and dried – JLab's new $ 49 Epic Sport2 has some significant differences besides a cable and a drop in price – it feels like it has the same sound quality as the real wireless earbuds looking for these but want a cheaper price and no matter a cable, these headphones are made for you. These fourth generation buds are still primarily intended for workouts like their predecessors, and although they may not be the same real wireless spectacle as the Epic Air Sport, the Epic Sport2 are damn good for fitness.

Out of the box

The packaging of the Epic Sport2 is simple, but usual for JLab conditions: a sky-blue box with a small selection of goodies. There are the buds themselves, which sit in plastic form, as well as a practical, foldable quick start guide and a small carrying case, in which a charging cable, additional earplugs and "Cush fins" (these are the foam pads of the buds against which they are attached) are attached to yours Ear, for those who are not familiar with JLab's jargon).

JLab Epic Sport2 earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The power switch of the inline remote control brings the Epic Sport2 to life and has a voice prompt that greets you with a "Hello". The buds go into pairing mode after pressing the power button for eight seconds. You can then access your mobile device's Bluetooth settings to end the connection. This process is not as easy as buds, which automatically switch to pairing mode the first time they are unpacked. However, the setup is simple.

design

I am the first to say that I was not immediately satisfied with the fit and comfort of the Epic Sport2. That's why the company naturally has as many additional sets of earplugs and cush fins as it does.

JLab Epic Sport2 earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

JLab contains four sets of standard gel earplugs that I usually like. However, the set of three-flange foam earplugs proved to be the most comfortable for me and in this case best suited my ear canals. I had to swap the cush fins for another of the three sets and finally found something with a little more padding to press against my ears.

This solved my comfort problem. The badly fitting buds were immediately comfortable to wear on long runs and very safe. All credit to JLab: you may recognize more than others that ears are not one size and offer you a wide range of the right tools to find out what works best for you.

The black earbuds (the only color JLab offers with these buds) are not tiny themselves, but they are not too big either. I think they find a decent balance. The ear hooks to which they are attached are flexible, if slightly thin, and merge into a thin wire that runs from one ear to the next. At 14.8 grams, these buds are lighter overall than the Epic Air Sport, which weighs 10 grams per bud. During a week of runs and workouts, I can probably count the number of times I had to readjust these buds.

The lightweight and comfortable fit combines a range of earbuds that are excellent in design for the intended purpose: training.

The carrying case for the Epic Sport2 resembles a stripped-down sunglasses holder with the JLab logo on the cover. I wouldn't say that the case is pocket sized, unfortunately – it's too big for this nickname. That means the case balances its mass with additional certainty. I can safely say that it is sturdy enough to fit in your backpack or training bag without fear of damaging the earbuds.

properties

Overall, it was the characteristics of the JLab Epic Air Sport that made them our favorite earphones for training. It's no surprise that JLab has retained many of these features with the Epic Sport2.

JLab Epic Sport2 earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The Epic Air Sport had a weather protection class of IP66, which protected them from strong water jets and made them completely dustproof. The Epic Sport2 receives the same treatment and again offers these buds better protection than the Powerbeats Pro (IP56) and the Jabra Elite Active 75t (IP57).

The Epic Air Sport had a playback time of 10 hours on a single charge, with an outrageous additional charge of 60 hours available in its case. The Epic Sport2 is not quite as generous in terms of battery life, but it does offer 20 hours of playback – eight hours better than the previous Epic Sport – and a quick charge feature that lets you plug in 1.5 hours of playback in just 10 minutes. That's probably a lot of battery for most fitness-minded people, and frankly I'm still working on using them to discharge the battery from these buds after a little over a week.

Both the real wireless and wireless versions feature Bluetooth 5 technology with an estimated range of over 30 feet. With the Epic Sport2, I would say the range was accurate because I was able to move the buds between my front and back yards without failure, while my phone stayed in place on my porch. The buds only support the AAC and SBC audio codecs, and I would have liked aptX to be included in the mix. However, this isn't a deal breaker for earphones under $ 100.

The inline remote control offers the ability to control the volume, pause / play, change tracks and call your preferred voice assistant. It's not as easy a process as the better touchpads on the market, but it still works for most requirements.

Audio quality

Let's just admit it: we're all podcast listeners during training these days, right? There's nothing better than hearing Marc Maron's pontificate about life during the WTF podcast as he crosses a six-mile run.

JLab Epic Sport2 earphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

You don't need great sound quality for Maron, though it does offer some tremendous transition guitar riffs. But at some point, podcasts lose their shine for a moment and you find yourself going to your go-to playlist. JLab knew that at some point you would come to the musical side of things and prepared accordingly.

The same dynamic 8mm neodymium magnet drivers power both the real wireless Epic Air Sport and these Epic Sport2 buds. Both have a three-mode EQ that offers Signature, Balanced and Bass Boost modes.

In this sense, our original thoughts on the audio quality of the Epic Air Sport apply a year later with the Epic Sport2. The different EQ modes help the buds work well for different genres, with the signature mode being the best mode to produce the most sound. We said the Powerbeats Pro had more fidelity than the Epic Air Sport back then, and this comparison applies here too. A more comparable option for the Epic Sport2 may be the 1More Dual Driver ANC, a pair of earphones that are also wired together. They're not training-ready earbuds, but they do offer superior sound quality for around $ 100 more than what the Epic Sport 2 offers in retail.

There is a fairly problematic area of ​​the sound quality of the Epic Sport2: calls. The JLab website says the Epic Sport2 has built-in microphones for phone calls – and I believe them – but based on my experience, I just don't think they are very good. Especially when I was traveling, the primary environment for which these buds were intended, both ends of my calls encountered a certain scratchiness, as if the buds themselves were trying to clear their throats. I don't know if you will make many calls during an intense workout. Maybe this is not a big problem. Still, it's a subject worth mentioning.

Our opinion

The JLab Epic Sport2 are almost the likeness of their true wireless cousins, the Epic Air Sport, with solid features and sound quality in a design that is explicitly geared towards athletes, and they even saved a few dollars. The only advantages are that you need to be fine with a wire that occasionally tickles your neck, and know that at best, you expect sub-average call quality.

Are there any better alternatives?

The Epic Air Sport was originally retailed for $ 149 and offers a more convenient, real wireless design, albeit at a higher cost. If you like the connected style of the Epic Sport2 but don't need a workout-centered pair of buds, the ANC Dual Driver Dual Driver sounds great for $ 150 and offers active noise cancellation.

How long will they last?

JLab offers a two-year warranty and airtight weather resistance. I don't think these buds will soon stall.

Should you buy them

Yes. Call quality is a hit with the Epic Sport2, and real wireless has far exceeded the popularity of the connected look, but you can't deny the features and design of these sweet-sounding buds. In short, they're as good for workouts as the Epic Air Sport at a fraction of the price.

Editor's recommendations




01 May
Blog

Nikon Coolpix P950 Review: Epic Zoom That’s Easy to Use

nikon p950

"The Nikon P950's 83x zoom lens captures great detail, but performance is slow at times."

  • 83x zoom lens

  • Bright wide angle with an aperture of 1: 2.8

  • Macro mode

  • Exposure compensation wheel

  • Easy to use auto modes

  • Slow buffer

  • Occasional autofocus is missing

  • Annoying battery life indicator

As the announcements of point-and-shoot cameras are becoming scarcer, the Nikon P950 is in a remaining category that smartphones cannot touch: the super zoom. With an 83X, 24-2,000 mm equivalent lens, the P950 can capture subjects that you simply cannot see with the naked eye.

As an update to the P900, the P950 offers 4K video and RAW photos, two new features that more advanced photographers will appreciate. Despite these updates, the P950 is still well suited to less experienced shooters in automated modes. A new exposure correction control on the lens barrel enables fundamental brightness adjustments that anyone can use, even without understanding how the exposure works.

Not everyone needs an 83x zoom, but for those who do, the P950 offers an affordable, if incomplete, solution.

Burly design

Nikon coolpix p950 rating 9400

Nikon coolpix p950 rating 9399

Not surprisingly, the housing of the Nikon P950 is dominated by this 83x zoom lens. The lens is so big that you can feel the weight of the camera shifting forward in your hands as you extend it. At 35.5 ounces, the P950 is the weight of a DSLR (but with a much smaller lens). I still managed to carry the camera on a 5 mile hike without feeling terribly uncomfortable. Unlike a DSLR, I didn't have to lug around multiple lenses to take both wide-angle and telephoto shots.

The body style mimics a DSLR, which means the P950 has a large, comfortable grip, extensive physical controls, and a hot shoe slot on the top. The control scheme is similar to that of the P900, with a mode dial and a dial at the top right and a well-known set of menu controls at the back.

Hillary Grigonis / Digital Trends

There's plenty of room for controls, but advanced photographers will have to dig a little more in the menu. ISO, a fairly common adjustment in one of the manual modes, is not one of the link options.

The lens barrel is so large that it contains its own controls. A zoom switch provides a second way to zoom in with your left hand while a button retracts the zoom so you can redesign the subject. A new feature of the P950 is an exposure compensation wheel on the lens barrel. This was one of my favorite controls, resting exactly where my left hand is carrying the weight of the camera, and offering easy access to lighten or darken the photos.

The P950 also has an electronic viewfinder with 2.36 million points. A viewfinder is almost a necessity with so much zoom, because the support of the camera with your face keeps it much more stable than if you hold it at arm's length to use the LCD screen. This screen measures 3.2 inches diagonally, but is somewhat unusual for 2020 and is not a touchscreen. The resolution of both the viewfinder and the screen is not crazy high, but sufficient and expected for the price.

The battery is designed for 290 shots, which was sufficient for hiking and bird watching. You will definitely need a spare part if you want to take the camera with you on long trips. The battery indicator also has only two notches – full and half. This is annoying because you don't know whether you still have 135 or only 5 shots left.

Easy to use but sluggish performance

Hillary Grigonis / Digital Trends

The ability to take a RAW photo is new to the P950. Although photographers with some experience have more options to control the shot, the camera's built-in automatic modes have given surprisingly good results.

I spent a lot of time in bird watching mode. Combined with the exposure compensation wheel on the side of the lens barrel, almost everyone can take good photos of wildlife in 90 percent of the cases. I occasionally had to switch to shutter priority mode and control the settings so that the long zoom didn't cause blurring, and it's a little annoying that the camera didn't automatically know this. However, the P950 could easily be an effective tool for the bird watcher who has almost no photo expertise.

Edited RAW photo Hillary Grigonis / Digital Trends

Despite the addition of RAW files, the P950 remains a camera designed primarily for casual photographers. The manual settings are limited. If you want to work faster than 1/2000 seconds or slower than 1 second, you must set the lens to a certain position and the ISO value to a certain setting and must not be in burst mode.

The camera was good for slow or quiet wildlife, but photographing animals in action was more of a crapshoot. Between slow autofocus and trying to keep the subject in the picture (not easy at 2,000mm), more of my action shots were disposable than goalkeepers.

The P950 can shoot at 7 fps, which is respectable for the class, but it can only process ten shots at that speed before the buffer fills up. Even worse, the camera controls are frozen while these images are being written to the card. For example, you can only adjust the zoom once the photos have been processed. It takes about eight seconds to process a full JPEG burst before recording can resume, while RAW takes about 12 seconds. Despite the long zoom, this isn't the best camera to photograph your child's tee game.

Using auto focus with contrast detection, the P950 focused on most slow or stationary subjects, but auto focus performance was somewhat inconsistent at full zoom. The camera accessed some subjects that I thought were too difficult, while occasionally it was difficult to take a clear picture of something that I thought would have been easier. It grabbed a bird through a jumble of branches, which is impressive, but it wouldn't focus on a sandhill crane in a meadow with the lens fully extended – perhaps because the colors were less contrasting.

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As a budget-friendly superzoom, the slower performance of the P950 is not unexpected, but it can still be annoying.

Sharp, bright pictures

The Nikon P950 has a 16-megapixel 1 / 2.3-inch sensor, the basic size for point-and-shoot. However, this small sensor makes the 83x zoom possible. And zoom performance isn't the only thing the lens has to offer. It also offers a bright one Aperture 1: 2.8 at the widest angle – ideal for point-and-shoot shots with so much zoom.

The story changes as you enlarge it. At the telephoto end, the aperture drops to 1: 6.5. Given that you are likely to only use as much zoom outdoors in sunlight, this may not be too much of a problem. Macro mode also makes the lens more versatile by shooting the subject in the wide-angle position up to 0.4 inches from the front of the lens.

Images come out of the camera with a surprising level of detail: enough to see the texture in the animal's fur and water drops adhering to the whiskers.

This detail is supported by a solid sharpness in real tests. While the P950 can't keep up with image quality with a mirrorless camera or DSLR that uses much larger sensors, of course, these cameras don't offer anything near 83x zoom.

Subjectively, the image quality of the P950 will not be particularly pleasant. At full zoom, the blurred areas either look like a blotchy mess or a painterly impression, depending on how you look at it. Instead of smooth bokeh, the background looks more like oil paints.

For JPEGs, the color is largely accurate directly from the camera without being oversaturated or excessively subdued on the other side. Even the white balance didn't seem to be tending towards green like most Nikon cameras do. However, some of the pictures took on a magenta color indoors. One of the advantages of RAW shooting is that you can now correct the white balance afterwards, which would not have been possible on the P900.

Sample art filter

Image stabilization also plays a role in taking detailed photos with such a long lens. With 5.5 stabilization stops, I was able to use the 83x zoom handheld for most shots. Dim light, however, is still a problem. When I was shooting an hour before sunset, I had to use the full capabilities of the camera to get a sharp shot at full zoom, which resulted in an image that was just too dark. If you don't need to extend the zoom fully, its brighter aperture can give you better results at the wide end of the lens.

With the smaller sensor, the P950 has problems with high ISO values. The noise creeps in early and photos are best at or below ISO 800, while ISO 1,600 and 3,200 are fine. The maximum ISO 6,400 should be avoided. None of this is surprising for a point in a shoot, but remember, just because the P950 looks like a DSLR doesn't mean it works like one.

In video, 4K resolution is an improvement over the P900. Despite all of these extra pixels, the video is still not particularly detailed, although the colors match the quality of still images. If you want to record videos with 2,000 mm, be sure to bring a tripod. There's simply no way to keep the camera steady enough to get a smooth video recording with such a long zoom.

Our opinion

The Nikon P950's zoom is essentially telescopic, making the camera ideal for taking pictures of objects that are normally far away, such as birds, wildlife or the moon. Images are sharp, even though the background is mixed up at full zoom. RAW photos and 4K are nice enhancements to the P900, along with the new exposure compensation wheel on the side of the lens.

While the benefits of such a long zoom lens cannot be denied, the P950 offers slow performance and an auto focus that occasionally fails. And while adding RAW is a start, you still have to reach into the menu to change settings like ISO. Photos in low light conditions are not possible with full zoom, although the bright aperture offers a certain user-friendliness with large settings.

Is there a better alternative?

Since one of the few types of point-and-shoot cameras cannot compete with discounts for smartphones, the Superzoom category offers many competitors. Aside from spending $ 1,000 on the 125x Nikon P1000, the P950 gets you the closest thing to your subject. The Panasonic FZ3000 offers faster performance and a brighter lens, but only with 25x zoom. The Canon SX70 offers 20 megapixels, but the 65x zoom lens is not as bright at 1: 3.4 to 6.5. With its larger sensor, the Sony RX10 IV offers better image quality and faster performance with a 25x Zoom – but at twice the price, it doesn't really try to compete with those of the P950.

How long it will take?

Point-and-shoot cameras typically have a shorter lifespan before they're out of date – and the 16-megapixel sensor can overtake the P950 faster. However, the camera was only launched in early 2020 and should therefore be able to be used for a few years.

Should you buy it

Buy the P950 if you absolutely need an incredible zoom. If you want to photograph action, keep looking. The P950 is decent, but a niche camera for bird watchers and nature lovers, while its poor performance and limited usefulness in low light conditions prevent it from being a great all-round camera.

Editor's recommendations