We review products independently, but we may earn affiliate commissions from buying links on this page. Terms of use. JLab's lineup of true wireless earphones sets itself apart by being more affordable than most of the options out there, but certain models offer more value than others. The JBuds Air Sport are waterproof and have a high battery life rating for the seemingly too-low price of $69. So what's the catch? Audio performance. While the bass depth here is powerful, it often destroys the balance of the mix, and the highs can sound strangely sculpted. Compared with the identically priced JLab JBuds Air Executive, this is the better of the two, though neither are standouts. Design The JBuds Air Sport have ear hooks built into the earpieces, allowing them to stay extra secure during a workout. Available in black, with a silver JLab logo on each outer panel, the in-ears are neither handsome nor hideous—the look here is about function above all else. To further aid the security of the in-ear fit, JLab includes three pairs of silicone eartips (S, M, L) and one pair of foam eartips. Beyond fitting well, the JBuds Air Sport make a case for being your next gym earphones with their IP66 rating. The first 6 means that the earpieces are protected against dust, and the second 6 means that they are waterproof and can withstand strong water pressure. They can't be submerged, but they can get sweaty and be rinsed off without issue. As with most true wireless pairs, keep in mind that this rating extends only to the earpieces—the charging case is not waterproof. Internally, each earpiece houses an 8mm dynamic driver, and has a multifunction button on its outer panel. The left and right ears divide the various controls between each side—both can be pressed and held for three seconds to power up or down. The buttons are also sensitive to touch, which can sometimes be tricky, as the panel doesn't always register every tap. The left side is responsible for volume down and track backward, the right for volume up and track forward. Tapping the right controls play/pause and call management, while a double-tap on the left summons your phone's voice assistant. A triple-tap on the left earpiece switches between three EQ modes. After a while, the operation becomes clear, but at first, there's lots to remember. The case itself is bulky, with a black, eggshell-like finish. The charging cable is hardwired to the case and terminates in USB. On the one hand, you'll never lose it, but on the other hand, it's annoyingly short. An LED indicator on the outside that lets you know how much battery life is left, which is where the case shines. JLab claims the case holds up to 34 hours of extra charge, while the earpieces get an estimated six hours per charge. Chances are your actual results will be a bit lower, and will vary with your volume levels, but compared with plenty of the options we've tested, these numbers are excellent. There's a free app that, frankly, seems unnecessary. There's no EQ, and there's a list of links to more products from JLab you can buy. It's more like a link to a store, and that's about it. Performance We first tested the earphones in the default Signature mode they are set to out of the box; we'll discuss the other two modes, Balanced and Bass Boost, as the end of this section. On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the earphones deliver tremendous low-frequency presence—deep bass lovers will be pleased. At top, unwise listening levels, the bass doesn't distort, but there are times when, even at moderate levels, the lows can feel like they are overwhelming the mix a bit. Things never sound muddy, but the bass sounds a bit too boosted on certain tracks. See How We Test Headphones Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the JBuds Air Sport's general sound signature. The drums here sound almost comically boosted in the lows—there's some serious thunder happening. Even Callahan's baritone vocals sound too rich and booming here. The crispness in this track isn't lost—we get some higher register percussive snap and the attack of the acoustic guitar is fairly bright, but it is often overpowered by the bass nonetheless. On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop receives so much bass boosting that the high-mid presence, which usually makes the attack punchy, sounds almost dull here. There is boosting in the highs—the vinyl crackle and hiss is pushed forward notably, but the high-mids, where we'd be getting much of the clarity and definition of the mix from, are somewhat overshadowed by the bass. Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, also sound notably boosted. The lows are pumped to an unnatural degree, and the orchestration here sounds like it's being funneled through a subwoofer. In Bass Boost mode, things get even more intense in the lows, and in Balanced mode, things sound nasal, hollowed out, and anything but accurate. So we'd stick with Signature mode, as it offers the best experience of the three EQ settings, though none are terribly accurate. The mic offers decent intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 8, we could understand every word we recorded cleanly and clearly, with decent volume. There was some typical Bluetooth fuzziness around the edges, but nothing terrible. Conclusions JLab's JBuds Air Sport earphones have a great waterproof rating, a very secure fit, and solid battery life, but they sound like $70 earphones. That's not necessarily a low price, we recognize, but it's quite low compared with the bulk of the true wireless field. Lovers of booming bass among might appreciate the sound signature here, but even they might find the lack of definition in the higher ranges throws off the balance of the mix. If you're willing to spend a bit more, you'll find more balanced audio quality in the $99 Altec Lansing True Evo, the $129 Samsung Galaxy Buds, and the $129 Tivoli Fonico. Bottom Line: The true wireless JLab JBuds Air Sport earphones offer strong battery life, a waterproof design, and average audio quality for $69. JLab JBuds Air Sport
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We review products independently, but we may earn affiliate commissions from buying links on this page. Terms of use. JLab's lineup of true wireless earphones sets itself apart by being more affordable than most of the options out there, but certain models offer more value than others. The JBuds Air Sport are waterproof and have a high battery life rating for the seemingly too-low price of $69. So what's the catch? Audio performance. While the bass depth here is powerful, it often destroys the balance of the mix, and the highs can sound strangely sculpted. Compared with the identically priced JLab JBuds Air Executive, this is the better of the two, though neither are standouts. Design The JBuds Air Sport have ear hooks built into the earpieces, allowing them to stay extra secure during a workout. Available in black, with a silver JLab logo on each outer panel, the in-ears are neither handsome nor hideous—the look here is about function above all else. To further aid the security of the in-ear fit, JLab includes three pairs of silicone eartips (S, M, L) and one pair of foam eartips. Beyond fitting well, the JBuds Air Sport make a case for being your next gym earphones with their IP66 rating. The first 6 means that the earpieces are protected against dust, and the second 6 means that they are waterproof and can withstand strong water pressure. They can't be submerged, but they can get sweaty and be rinsed off without issue. As with most true wireless pairs, keep in mind that this rating extends only to the earpieces—the charging case is not waterproof. Internally, each earpiece houses an 8mm dynamic driver, and has a multifunction button on its outer panel. The left and right ears divide the various controls between each side—both can be pressed and held for three seconds to power up or down. The buttons are also sensitive to touch, which can sometimes be tricky, as the panel doesn't always register every tap. The left side is responsible for volume down and track backward, the right for volume up and track forward. Tapping the right controls play/pause and call management, while a double-tap on the left summons your phone's voice assistant. A triple-tap on the left earpiece switches between three EQ modes. After a while, the operation becomes clear, but at first, there's lots to remember. The case itself is bulky, with a black, eggshell-like finish. The charging cable is hardwired to the case and terminates in USB. On the one hand, you'll never lose it, but on the other hand, it's annoyingly short. An LED indicator on the outside that lets you know how much battery life is left, which is where the case shines. JLab claims the case holds up to 34 hours of extra charge, while the earpieces get an estimated six hours per charge. Chances are your actual results will be a bit lower, and will vary with your volume levels, but compared with plenty of the options we've tested, these numbers are excellent. There's a free app that, frankly, seems unnecessary. There's no EQ, and there's a list of links to more products from JLab you can buy. It's more like a link to a store, and that's about it. Performance We first tested the earphones in the default Signature mode they are set to out of the box; we'll discuss the other two modes, Balanced and Bass Boost, as the end of this section. On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the earphones deliver tremendous low-frequency presence—deep bass lovers will be pleased. At top, unwise listening levels, the bass doesn't distort, but there are times when, even at moderate levels, the lows can feel like they are overwhelming the mix a bit. Things never sound muddy, but the bass sounds a bit too boosted on certain tracks. See How We Test Headphones Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the JBuds Air Sport's general sound signature. The drums here sound almost comically boosted in the lows—there's some serious thunder happening. Even Callahan's baritone vocals sound too rich and booming here. The crispness in this track isn't lost—we get some higher register percussive snap and the attack of the acoustic guitar is fairly bright, but it is often overpowered by the bass nonetheless. On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop receives so much bass boosting that the high-mid presence, which usually makes the attack punchy, sounds almost dull here. There is boosting in the highs—the vinyl crackle and hiss is pushed forward notably, but the high-mids, where we'd be getting much of the clarity and definition of the mix from, are somewhat overshadowed by the bass. Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, also sound notably boosted. The lows are pumped to an unnatural degree, and the orchestration here sounds like it's being funneled through a subwoofer. In Bass Boost mode, things get even more intense in the lows, and in Balanced mode, things sound nasal, hollowed out, and anything but accurate. So we'd stick with Signature mode, as it offers the best experience of the three EQ settings, though none are terribly accurate. The mic offers decent intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 8, we could understand every word we recorded cleanly and clearly, with decent volume. There was some typical Bluetooth fuzziness around the edges, but nothing terrible. Conclusions JLab's JBuds Air Sport earphones have a great waterproof rating, a very secure fit, and solid battery life, but they sound like $70 earphones. That's not necessarily a low price, we recognize, but it's quite low compared with the bulk of the true wireless field. Lovers of booming bass among might appreciate the sound signature here, but even they might find the lack of definition in the higher ranges throws off the balance of the mix. If you're willing to spend a bit more, you'll find more balanced audio quality in the $99 Altec Lansing True Evo, the $129 Samsung Galaxy Buds, and the $129 Tivoli Fonico. Bottom Line: The true wireless JLab JBuds Air Sport earphones offer strong battery life, a waterproof design, and average audio quality for $69. - Zugriffe: 148