JLAB 4GB Go Waterproof MP3 Player Headphones Review

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JLAB Go 02

As you run, workout, cycle, snowboard, or do other activities that make you sweat, chances are that you listen to music while you do it. So then you wear your headphones or earbuds to keep yourself entertained. But as the abundance of sweat drips steadily from your sweaty head, your headphones become distorted from the moisture. So whether you wear expensive headphones or the little white earbuds, any form of moisture like sweat, rain, pool water, drink thrown at you by a jealous ex, etc. can potentially distort and eventually damage them.

Introducing the Go 4GB Waterproof MP3 Player Headphones from JLAB. These are a pair of cord-free headphones that have the MP3 player built into them, so there are no wires to fumble with. The wire that connects from right speaker to left speaker is hidden under  the thin, curved, strip of hard plastic that is positioned to contour the back of your head and out of the way. The best feature that the JLAB MP3 player offers is not only is it sweat-resistant but waterproof. You can literally jump in the pool and swim some laps without ruining these headphones. Forget about a little of sweat, gallons of pool water isn’t even going to shock this thing. So if you are a hardcore runner or triathlete  or anyone that loves to run or train in the rain, then these headphones are for you.

JLAB Go 12JLAB Go 13

Since these headphones are waterproof they come with 3 tips for water use as well as 3 regular dry tips each ranging from small to large.

JLAB Go 10I selected a pair that fit my ears perfectly. The tips that came already attached were too small and went too far into my ear. Did not feel good. But the second tips I tried worked perfectly – almost like a custom fit. Kudos to JLAB for supplying all those extra tips. Other earbuds I have bought only had one extra tip, and the two didn’t really feel that much different.JLAB Go 09

Although the Go is pleasingly lightweight, I wasn’t too thrilled about the size of the player itself on my ears. The size of the player felt like the older style Bluetooth earpieces. Kinda boxy and bulky. The bulky profile did not compare favorably with my Plantronics Backbeat 906, which is slimmer in width so it is slightly hidden behind your ears, whereas, the Go is a bit thicker so it sticks further out from your ears.  This is not a deal breaker for me, just preference.

This Go has a 4GB capacity and can hold around 1000+  MP3s.  It also supports WMA files, which are generally smaller than MP3s, so you can actually fit more than 1000 songs on it. That’s a lot of music to listen to, so more power to you if you can fill up this MP3 player with that many songs.  One thing I really liked about the built-in MP3 player is its drag and drop feature. With the headphones connected to your computer via the included USB 2.0 cable, you just drag your selected music and drop into the Go folder. Simple.

There are  some nice color combinations like Black/Grey, Black/Yellow and all White. I received the Blue/Silver ones. Very nice.  JLAB makes a 2GB model too; however, it only comes in black.

The Go is fully waterproof with an IPX8 rating, which means that it is fully submersible in water so not only can it be used in the rain, but can be used in  pools,  lakes, oceans, in fresh water or salt water, bathtubs, etc.

 

JLAB Go 05JLAB Go 04

The Go has standard control buttons on the right earpiece. On/Off, Next, Previous, Volume Up and Down.  The power button on the side of the player requires you to hold it down for about 4 seconds to turn on.  So if you happen to have the headphones in a bag or purse, chances are that it won’t accidentally get turned on. The volume buttons are on the top and the skip buttons are underneath the unit.

A nice feature that the Go has is the shuffle feature. (Earlier models didn’t come with this feature, but you can download a firmware update to get the shuffle feature.)  With the music off, just press the Next button to turn on the Shuffle option, and the music automatically starts playing. The light will flash to indicate that you are in Shuffle mode. To turn off the Shuffle function, just stop the music and press the Previous button.

When fully charged, the Go’s lithium-ion battery is listed as having 10 hours of play time. While charging, the light on the Go flashes to let you know that it is charging and stops flashing when it is fully charged. The battery seems to hold up to its word. Now, I haven’t worn it for 10 straight hours but have worn them at the gym for 1 to 2 hours at a time and have yet to recharge them. But I’m sure as of the writing this review I will be recharging them soon.

The Go has a port to plug the microUSB cable into. The port is sealed with a small round plug that you unscrew to reveal the microUSB plug. Just make sure you securely screw the plug back in to keep the Go in waterproof condition.JLAB Go 03

JLAB was kind enough to include an extra port cover in case you lost the original. That’s rare to get a lot of extra parts that come with a product. Normally you would have to buy them from the company.  That’s a plus in my book.JLAB Go 07

The MP3 player has an okay sound – but not horrible. It is pretty high in treble and a bit tinny. I’ve read other posts of people complaining that the Wave had a lack of bass but these headphones don’t have drivers in them so they won’t produce that deep bassy sound. However, keep in mind though, that if you wore these in a water environment like in a pool, you’d probably want to have a little more treble in your music to cut through the dull noise or even roar of the water as you swim.

JLAB Water Pic

All-in-all, I thought the Go 4GB Waterproof MP3 Player Headphones by JLAB was an exceptional MP3 player.  It’s lightweight, waterproof , and has no wires to get tangled or caught on something. There is some extra bulk that other behind the neck or head MP3 players also have, but the waterproof feature alone makes getting the Go worth it.

 

Product Information

Price:$59.95
Manufacturer:JLab Audio
Pros:
  • Waterproof.
  • Lightweight.
  • Holds over 1000 songs.
  • Long lasting battery.
  • Simple drag and drop interface.
  • Various color combination.
Cons:
  • Slightly bulky.
  • Lack of bass.

33 thoughts on “JLAB 4GB Go Waterproof MP3 Player Headphones Review”




  1. Gadgeteer Comment Policy - Please read before commenting
  2. When I first read this I thought they were noise cancelling as the first line of the article read “Noise Canceling Over-Ear Design With Exceptional Comfort”. I was like, wow, never seen waterproof noise cancelling before but after reading through the whole review I realized that the first line was actually part of a Google ad and not related to the review. Still these look pretty cool, agree the look a bit bulky on the ears but it’s nice to have have a separate wire going to the headphone, the less wires the better when using them from swimming.

  3. I have brought 2 pices of JLAB GO 4GB MP3 player. But it have many bugs, which is not discribed and there is no bug fixing step on it company website or any ware. Better avoid to buy this local brand.

  4. Salal — what bugs are you seeing? It’s rather vague to just say it has “many bugs” without letting us know what they are.

    I’ve been swimming with these for two weeks now.

  5. I am returning mine to amazon.. the thing is not working after i transfer a few MP3 over, and I realized it maybe due to the 1 or 2 USB connection problem (for unknown reason) while MP3 transfer and it killed it (probably the file system or the player system). There is no way to “reset” it like many other flash based MP3 player, making it very vulnerable to such error and kills the player instantly.

    If its that fragile that even a USB connection problem will kills it, then I won’t want to spent $60 and hv this problem again esp after the warranty period.

  6. I just purchased mine from Amazon…loaded my music and have had it charging for a day and a half. When I plugged it in the green light has always been solid…never flashing. As long as the unit is plugged in the music plays…as soon as I unplug it it will not play. Can’t even get a hold of anyone at the company via phone call or e-mail. Any siggestions?

    1. Erin
      Sorry that you are having this problem.
      I looked at the JLAB website and also online to see if anyone else has had this problem. Unfortunately, I did not come across any links or forums with such problems.
      Your best bet would be to file a claim on their website since you said that you tried calling and emailing JLAB without any success. It is located on the SUPPORT dropdown menu on their site. Hoepfully, that claim ticket should get them in direct contact with you.
      However, I did come across an interesting thing. It says on their website in the AUDIO ISSUES under the SUPPORT menu. It mentions something about hidden temp files on the GO player which can cause problems. There is a PDF link there that you can look over to help you remove the hidden files. Maybe that might resolve something. Good luck.

    2. that same thing happen to me. but i didnt get it from amazon, I got it from kmart. i just returned mine, and the second one worked fine

  7. Erin,

    I had the same problem; it’s a bad battery. You need to replace your unit. You have two options: If you purchased very recently from Amazon, you may be able to do a return or exchange via Amazon. Otherwise, use the JLAB support page or contact us page to let them know and have them replace your unit.

  8. i have used it while worked out and it was really convenient. But i lost the charger some where and I do not get a USB cable that would fit the socket. I literally tried all the stores i can think of.
    Can any body help?
    Thanks, Thanu

  9. cesar mauricio santana

    I bought a jlab go recently during a trip to NY . The first cargo and the loading of music was ok however after the first cargo is over the jlab is not accepting more charge . The green light is not flashing (it is solid) and it seems to be an usual problem with this jlab . Can you suggest me an action ? Regards

  10. i bought this product. it worked well. But i lost the charging cable. I am unalbe to get it from any store as the size is very different from normal.

  11. The shuffle option on this device is terrible. If you hit shuffle, it will shuffle your songs, but once you turn it off and turn it back on (say between workouts), it will play the same dumb songs in the same order; i.e. if you have songs A through Z, and you hit shuffle, you might get the order B, X, F, D, G, A, but if you turn it off for the day and turn it on the next day, the “shuffled” order will start back at B and go songs B, X, F, D, G, A.

    The website offers no solution. Switching back-and-forth between shuffle on and shuffle off does NOT fix the problem either.

    This item fits comfortably and works great while I swim, but this is a flipping joke.

  12. I had tons of problems with my JLab GO phones, but I returned them and got another. Now that I have them I’m enjoying them – but every time I want to add music I have trouble.

    I like to load music from my CD collection (I’ve got thousands) to Windows media player, but then I have a hell of a time syncing them over.

    As to customer support, I’ve had to call and wait for a call back, but when I have gotten the call they’ve been really great. There’s a guy names Brian who is a doll; helpful, patient and knows what he’s talking about.

    Don’t give up on the headphones – they make swimming fun without emptying your wallet.

  13. Hi, I have a new Go MP3 JLAB player and out of the box connected to my computer and nothing… I am sure I am doing something wrong but the troubleshooting guide on the manual doesn’t help. My computer keep searching for a driver and won’t “recognize” the device, tried 3 in our house, 2 are Asus and 1 is HP. Has anyone else had this issue? Short of getting another one is there anything I can do, any suggestions?
    Thanks!!

  14. Sorry to say I finally gave up on my J-Lab GOs. It only played in loops, would cut out randomly, and it is impossible to tell if it is in shuffle mode or not. Synching was a real pain since it won’t play AAC, but I had a complex workaround that involved creating a temporary directory into which I put low-res MP3 versions of all my songs.

    I finally decided to get the real thing and bought a waterproofed iPod Shuffle. It costs a lot more, but is *so* worth it. It just works, and synching is a breeze.

  15. same problem with erin. my problem is that i purchased it thru amazon from u.s. then shipped here in asia. i just recieved my earphones yesterday and i cant turn it on once i unplug from my macbook.. it doesnt blink when plugged.please help

  16. michele the same problem, I can not connect the JLab go to the computer, turn on the blue light only and does not recognize it as such usb drive down the songs. Anyone know where to find the driver?

  17. Same issue as Micele and Andres. Windows 8.1 cannot find a driver for the JLab. Has anyone found a driver or solution?

  18. I have 2 identical Jlab go players ( serial # j0604121c40fe790a ), and have been using both for some time. This week when connecting player to the PC USB, I got the same error message with either player:
    “USB device not recognized. One of the USB devices connected to this computer has malfunctioned and windows did not recognize it….”
    The recommended ‘fix’ was to unplug, then reconnect the device. If that didn’t solve the problem, windows suggestion was to ‘discard the device.’ I suspect one of the recent windows updates has corrupted the software used by jlabs but whatever. If you can recommend a fix I would appreciate it

  19. Where is this GO folder you can drag your music files into? I have plugged it in and gone to my computer’s file explorer, but see nothing that even shows this it is connected.

  20. I have had tyhe headphones for about a year i run with them a lot. I like it best not to have a chord jumping around me. I also take them surfing it works well in the water just have to make sure that there is not water in between the earbuds and your ear

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