REVIEW – I wear sport earbuds a lot. Several times a day, in fact. It starts when I walk my dog in the morning, continues when I run or cycle, and then usually once again on another dog walk. That’s the daily. Then throw in traveling, mowing the grass, and innumerable other random occasions, and my earbuds have become a big part of my life. The set that I have been relying on have been getting a big flaky lately, so I thought I’d try a new pair. Enter the JLab JBuds Sport ANC 4 True Wireless Earbuds.
What is it?
The JLab JBuds Sport is a set of wireless earbuds with an “over the ear” hook, ensuring a secure fit while active.
What’s included?
- JLab JBuds Sport earbuds
- Charging Case
- Two additional sets of silicone tips
- Quick-Start Guide
Tech specs
Click to expand
- Bluetooth: 5.2
- Driver: 10mm dynamic driver
- Battery Playback: 14 hours
- Total Battery Playback (after recharging in the case): 60 hours
- Charge time: 1.5 hours in the case
- Case Battery: 500mAh lithium polymer
- Charger Plug: USB-C, built into the case
- Wireless Charging: Yes, in the case
- Water Resistant: Yes, IP66
Design and features
The JLab JBuds Sport ANC4 earbuds are a full-featured set of earbuds that have an ear hook to ensure a secure fit while exercising. The buds feature three levels of active noise canceling (on, off, and “be aware” which allows ambient sound to come through). The buds feature up to 60 hours of playtime after being recharged in the case, but the buds themselves provide playback for 14 hours. These numbers drop by about 20% when using the ANC features. The buds feature Multipoint Bluetooth, allowing the buds to remember connections for multiple devices without the need to re-pair.
An app allows you to create EQ settings to customize the sound. The buds themselves feature an array of touch controls that allow you to change the volume by sliding your finger up or down the stalk, play/pause with a single tap, jump forward with two taps, backward with three taps, press and hold to change ANC settings, and press and hold on both buds to change the EQ settings. The case features fast wireless charging, and also has a built-in USB-C wire that tucks out of the way when not needed.
Performance
I’ll be upfront and say that I had some issues with the JLab JBuds Sport ANC4 earbuds. I really wanted to like them, but there were quite a few things that got in the way. The first is probably more me, as I really have difficulty getting earbuds to fit and sound good. This is especially true with buds with “over-the-ear” hooks like these. I guess my ears are strange. My regular buds have a hook, but it fits inside the ear and does not go over. I could not get a good fit with the JBuds, even after trying all three included sets of silicone tips. I’m not sure what it was, but earbud fit really determines the sound quality. If you don’t have a solid fit in the ear canal, the best sound you could hope for is basically a 1980s telephone, and that’s what I got. When I really jammed the buds into my ear, the sound was quite good, but as soon as I stopped pressing, they shifted and the sound quality really dropped. Again, this is probably more me than them. However, I did learn while having to make a lot of fit adjustments that the touch sensitivity is very high on these buds. If you touch the buds just about anywhere to adjust fit, you’re likely going to do something. Stop the music, turn the volume down, switch the ANC mode, or who knows what else. I’d say that about 80% of the time I touched the buds to make an adjustment, I accidentally changed something.
I was not able to test the app, since these were pre-release earbuds and they did not appear as a model available to add on the app, unfortunately.
Pairing and connecting the buds went smoothly, but for some reason, as soon as I put the buds back in the case, the pairing was forgotten on them, and two of the 3 LEDs on the case blink blue. There is nothing in the documentation about what this means. To use them again, I would have to re-pair them with my phone (Google Pixel 7). This was not a big deal because of the Android Fast-Pair feature, but I’m sure this was not by design. Perhaps connecting through the app was designed to prevent this.
A missing feature what seems to be common with many sport buds now is a proximity sensor that stops playback when the buds are removed from your ear. This is a feature that I’ve grown used to in other brands, and it was noticeably missing in the JBuds Sport ANC4 earbuds.
Finally, in the area of odd user experience, but the earbuds are reversed in the case. The left bud is on the right side of the case. This seemed ridiculously counter-intuitive to me. I got used to it, but just seemed like a very odd design choice.
What I like about JLabs JBuds Sport ANC4 True Wireless Earbuds
- A secure fit that won’t come off while running, riding, or other active sports.
- Android Fast Pair
What needs to be improved?
- Reduce the touch sensitivity
- Figure out what’s going on with maintaining Bluetooth connections
- Include a proximity sensor so the buds stop playing when removed from your ears
Final thoughts
The JLab JBuds Sport earbuds aren’t for me. That’s mainly because my ears are odd and I could not get a good fit and thus good sound from them. However, there were a few issues with them, that even if I could get them to sound good, I’m not sure how usable they would be for me. Hopefully with some software updates and a bit of time, these buds can be improved.
Price: $69.99
Where to buy: JLab and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by JLab JLab did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
