Features and design
It’s obvious immediately that JLab didn’t want to mess with the original Epic Air’s form factor. The Epic Air Elite are basically physical carbon copies of their predecessors. The ear hooks are the same, the build feels the same, and the fit is really no different, either. Even the IP55 water and dust-resistance is the same, so you don’t have the green light to go diving into the pool just yet.
Not only do calls sound clearer, but we could also hear callers through both earbuds.
So, what’s changed, you ask? Most of the work done was under the hood, mainly because that’s where the previous models faltered. JLab says it upgraded the Bluetooth connection for sturdier links, both to the paired device and between the two earbuds themselves. This has practical implications in a few ways: Only the right earbud needs to be paired with a device, while the left links to the right, thereby completing the chain.
After the initial pairing process, the Epic Air Elite paired faster for us out of the case than the original model. Built-in voice prompts noted successful connections and battery level every time. The upgrade also widened the wireless range, leading to fewer dropouts of the type that sometimes plagued the previous model.
JLab also outfitted the earbuds with extra touch-based controls. Triple-tapping either bud turns on Be Aware Mode, allowing ambient noise to seep through for times when you need to be able to hear the outside world. Holding both left and right buds at the same time cycles through three EQ modes. Signature boosts everything, focusing on bass and vocals, especially. Balance, as you might expect, keeps everything even. Bass Boost is also pretty self-explanatory.
Dan Baker/Digital Trends
Another upgrade for the Epic Air Elite is improved phone calls. Not only do calls sound clearer, but we could also hear callers through both earbuds. It was (oddly) only the right earbud before.
JLab claims an overall battery life of 38 hours — six hours per charge for the earbuds (an extra two hours of juice), plus 32 hours on standby from the case. It’s a serious step up, especially when few other vendors are hitting those types of numbers, but volume level ultimately makes the biggest difference in how long they last (more on that below).
Out of the box
If you’ve ever seen a pair of JLab’s older true wireless earbuds — or the new Powerbeats Pro — you’ll be familiar with the earhook design employed by Epic Air Sport. A rounded center section that holds the batteries and various other techy bits is surrounded by a silicone earband that wraps around your ears to keep the headphones super stable during intense workouts.
It’s not a particularly sleek design, but it does mean that the Epic Air Sport are very comfortable and secure when you’re active. Most of us aren’t looking to win a fashion contest when working out, and the headphones generally grab less attention than golf tee-style models like the AirPods for better or worse, depending on who you ask.
The headphones come inside a large, clamshell charging case, with a firm clasp that means you’ll never have to worry about it flying open. The case is a bit too cumbersome to fit in pants pockets (one of our few gripes with the headphones), but one thing we like is its built-in USB charging cable that sits flush with the very bottom of the case, so you’ll never have to worry about packing one along.
Our Take
The JLab Epic Air Sport are a fantastic pair of true wireless headphones and are easily the best workout headphones we’ve tested yet.
Is there a better alternative?
No. Both the Jabra and Beats models that compete against the JLab Epic Air Sport in terms of features and performance are more expensive than the $150 JLab model, with worse battery life and water resistance.
How long will they last?
JLab is a great manufacturer with a history of making great products, and we expect the Epic Air Sport to be no different. They should still be fully functional well after the 2-year warranty expires.
Should you buy them?
Yes. If you are looking for a fantastic pair of workout headphones for a truly great price, the JLab Epic Air Sport are the best you’ll find right now.
Editors’ Recommendations
The best TVs 2021: Which should you buy on Black Friday?
What is spatial audio? Apple’s 3D sound feature fully explained
The best soundbars 2021: Which should you buy on Black Friday?
Best Black Friday projector deals 2021: Deals to shop today
Best Black Friday Headphone Deals 2021: Cheapest prices today
Tuning and control
The Epic Air Elite’s touch-sensitive controls are a little different this time around. Tapping once on the left earbud lowers volume, while once on the right raises it. One thing that’s the same is a double tap on the left earbud will play/pause audio or hang up calls, while a double-tap on the right activates Siri or Google Assistant. Holding the right earbud for one second skips a track, whereas doing it on the left repeats.
The Epic Air Elite were primarily made to sound more consistent rather than markedly better than their predecessors.
We found this configuration a little better, but not right away. Most true wireless earbuds usually treat a single tap as play/pause, not volume control, which is something we had to get used to. The double and triple taps weren’t always effective, forcing us to sometimes try again and again.
The dedicated tuning app for iOS and Android is JLab’s way of “burning-in” the Epic Air Elite by playing white noise and other sounds in 10-minute increments. Unfortunately, the company didn’t figure out a way to do it with the app running in the background, which was the same issue with the original model. We were supposed to do this for up to 40 hours total in the first week — a number that just wasn’t realistic. Even less so when there’s no way to do it while running other apps.
Instead, we chose to do it the old-fashioned way — listening to a lot of tunes. Whether the effect was the same as the burn-in tool or not is unclear, but sound loosens the diaphragm inside anyway.
How is the JLab Epic Air Elite built?
The charging cable is integrated into the case and is easy to remove for on-the-go charging.
The earbud housings are plastic adorned with glossy touch panels. You can operate playback controls, cycle through EQ modes, toggle Ambient Aware activation, and access Siri or Google Assistant. Extending up and away from each housing is a firm, yet malleable rubberized earhook. The material provides enough friction for a stable fit but is soft and light enough to ignore while wearing the ‘buds.
Angled nozzles protrude from the earbuds and allow for a comfortable fit since they align more with the natural bend of the ear canal rather than resting at an off-angle. What’s more, JLab provides an array of ear tips, one pair of which is Cloud Foam. A unique property of the foam ear tips allows them to expand at a constant rate no matter their temperature.
Malleable earhooks make for a comfortable, yet stable fit during workouts.
On the interior of each earbud housing is a power button. This serves listeners who run across connectivity issues; though, I have yet to experience any hiccups. Heck, even the microphone performs well. Compared to previous JLab models, this is one of the best microphones for hands-free calls.
Encompassing the edge of the charging case is a hidden micro-USB cable. JLab’s simple brilliance makes it nearly impossible to lose the cable. Once done topping up, the cable is easy to insert back against the case. Granted, I’ve experienced some trouble getting the micro-USB side of the cable to be completely sheathed back into the holding cavity.
Working out is a breeze
The IP55 JLab Epic Air Elite earbuds can withstand both dust and water.
Again, the IP55 dust- and water-resistant rating makes these impervious to nearly any workout save for swimming. A new, useful feature for athletes lies in the touch capacitive panels. The left and right sides operate different functions, like the cheaper JBuds Epic Air, and facilitate thoughtless playback control. That way, you can focus your energies on your workout, rather than on how many times you need to press a button to switch tracks.
What’s more, the earhook mechanism works exceptionally well and keeps the earbuds in place during anything from calisthenics to HIIT workouts. Bear in mind, that bringing these to the gym calls for silicone ear tips. The memory foam ones degrade faster as the material becomes compromised from coming into contact with sweat.
Out of the box
JLab changed the packaging this time around, and in a good way. Instead of the GoPro-style casing with the earbuds suspended in place, the Epic Air Elite arrive inside their charging case within the box. The covering flap shows what they look like visually, so there are no mysteries here. As before, there are multiple pairs of tips — seven to be exact. Three are standard small, medium, large ones, plus a shallow pair. The single blue pair is made of a rigid, yet malleable foam. The last two have double or triple flange designs for longer reach and greater passive noise isolation.
The large charging case is back, but this time it has a slightly larger battery, and is negligibly heavier than its predecessor. There’s also a quick-start guide and the same short and flat micro-USB cable for recharging, as well as a USB-A port at the back for reverse charging a mobile device. We would’ve liked to see JLab go with USB-C as the charging input here instead of micro-USB, however. Fewer and fewer phones use that port now, making the included cable less relevant.
Connectivity
Listeners benefit from Class 1 Bluetooth 5.0, facilitating a 30-meter connectivity range.
A 10-meter connectivity range is allowed by the JLab Epic Air Elite Class 1 Bluetooth 5.0 support. Unfortunately, the only high-quality codec supported is AAC, which only works well on iPhones. Granted, this is forgivable since these are workout earbuds, not hi-fi headphones. That said, if you’re privy to streaming shows from the treadmill, you’re bound to run into a bit of audio-visual lag.
On the flip side, the auto on and connect feature works reliably whenever the ‘buds are removed from the dual-purpose charging case. Connecting never takes longer than two seconds and they remain connected well within the 10-meter range, a true feat for the technology.
Как управлять наушниками Epic Air ANC
Epic Air ANC оснащен одним емкостным датчиком на каждом наушнике. Вы можете настроить несколько параметров, включая сенсорное управление, с помощью мобильного приложения. Давайте сначала посмотрим на настройку по умолчанию.
Сенсорное управление по умолчанию Epic Air ANC
Вы можете регулировать громкость одним касанием левого (вниз) или правого (вверх) наушника. Двойное нажатие на правый наушник вызовет воспроизведение / паузу, а левое – управляет умным помощником вашего телефона. Чтобы переключить режимы ANC, нажмите и удерживайте левый наушник в течение одной секунды. Чтобы перейти к следующей дорожке, нажмите и удерживайте правый наушник в течение одной секунды. Вы можете изменить настройки эквалайзера тройным касанием любого наушника.
Вы можете ответить на вызов одним касанием и повесить трубку двойным касанием любого наушника. Чтобы отклонить вызов, дважды коснитесь любого наушника. Когда вы одновременно касаетесь обоих сенсорных датчиков и удерживаете их в течение трех или более секунд, вы можете переключаться между режимами просмотра фильмов и музыки.
Чтобы выключить наушники, поместите их обратно в зарядный футляр или отключите Bluetooth-соединение устройства; Epic Air выключится через три минуты без активного подключения.
Параметры настройки приложения JLab Epic Air ANC
Вы пропустили возможность вернуться на трек назад? Вы можете настроить сенсорное управление наушников с помощью приложения JLab Epic Air ANC ( Android , iOS ). Это еще не все, но прежде чем вы сможете использовать приложение, вы должны подключить наушники к телефону. Если вы запускаете приложение впервые, оно может предложить вам установить обновление прошивки, что мы рекомендуем сделать.
На первый взгляд, приложение показывает уровень заряда батареи каждого наушника. Разверните вкладку Шумоподавление / Будьте внимательны, чтобы настроить уровень шума, который микрофоны должны подавлять или пропускать. Мы думали, что настройка Be Aware по умолчанию слишком громкая, поэтому мы снизили ее примерно на 15%.
Галерея изображений (2 изображения)
Развернуть
Развернуть
Закрыть
Изображение 1 из 2
Изображение 2 из 2
var images = document.getElementsByClassName(“gallery-1-images”);
for (var i = 0; i
В Эквалайзере вы можете настроить четыре различных параметра эквалайзера. Если вы ошиблись, вы всегда можете нажать « Сброс», чтобы вернуться к настройкам по умолчанию. Эти настройки эквалайзера не зависят от режима музыки / кино.
Перейдите к разделу «Настройка элементов управления», чтобы изменить действие сенсорного датчика. Мы изменили настройки двойного и тройного касания.
Галерея изображений (2 изображения)
Развернуть
Развернуть
Закрыть
Изображение 1 из 2
Изображение 2 из 2
var images = document.getElementsByClassName(“gallery-2-images”);
for (var i = 0; i
Наконец, вы можете переключать датчики автоматического воспроизведения / паузы . Когда вы вынимаете один наушник, воспроизведение останавливается и возобновляется, когда вы вставляете наушник обратно в уши. В зависимости от того, как вы используете наушники, это может быть предпочтительнее режима Be Aware или раздражает, если вы не хотите прерывать воспроизведение.
Conclusions
JLab’s Epic Air Elite earbuds are a worthy successor to last year’s model, and one of the best true wireless pairs we’ve tested. They sound good and feature some of the best battery life in the category—we’d just like to see more graceful controls in the next iteration. In the sub-$200 true wireless realm, we’re also fans of the Bose SoundSport Free, the Jabra Elite Active 65t, and the Altec Lansing True Evo. And if you’re looking for a bargain, the $50 JLab JBuds Air may not blow your mind, but you can’t argue with the price.
Pros
- Powerful bass depth, sculpted highs, and a balanced sound signature despite the boosting.
- Charging case holds 32 hours of extra charge.
- Water resistant.
The Bottom Line
JLab’s Epic Air Elite true wireless earbuds deliver solid audio and best-in-class battery life from their included charging case.
Like What You’re Reading?
Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox.
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
Sign up for other newsletters
Звук и качество звонков
Чтобы проверить звук Epic Air ANC, мы использовали Ultimate Earphones Test от AudioCheck . Вы можете попробовать это с эталонной парой наушников или с новыми драйверами, чтобы убедиться, что все подключено и работает правильно.
Хотя мы действительно слышали некоторое паразитическое жужжание на низких уровнях низких частот, мы не заметили этого при прослушивании тяжелой басовой музыки, такой как Vince Staples «BagBak» или Queen «Another One Bites the Dust». В целом, тест не выявил каких-либо проблем с нашим тестовым блоком Epic Air ANC.
Слушая музыку
Из коробки звук был нормальный, но нас не поразил. По сравнению с другими наушниками, такими как недавно рассмотренный PaMu Quiet , Epic Air ANC звучал более плоско . Заметный вокал, вроде тех, что можно найти на “Dakota” от Stereophonics или “Titanium” от Дэвида Гетты, неприятно гудел.
Но не будем забегать вперед. Epic Air ANC – это наушники с 8-миллиметровыми динамическими неодимовыми магнитами для драйверов. В них отсутствуют аудиокодеки APTX, которые превосходят AAC. Они созданы, чтобы звучать хорошо, что они и делают, даже для такого пользователя Android, как мы.
Вы можете компенсировать недостатки оборудования, отрегулировав настройки эквалайзера в приложении JLab Epic Air ANC, которое позволяет снизить высокие частоты, подчеркнуть низкие частоты или наоборот. Это может даже дать субъективно лучший звук, чем плохо настроенные наушники, которые не позволяют настраивать параметры эквалайзера. Превосходное приложение заменяет Epic Air ANC в наших ушах.
Игры и развлечения
Если во время игры или просмотра видео возникает задержка, иначе говоря, задержка, в звуке Bluetooth, попробуйте переключиться в режим «Фильм». Он сокращает сигнал Bluetooth, чтобы создать более надежное соединение и добиться низкой задержки. Это должно предотвратить этот слегка раздражающий сдвиг между тем, что вы видите, и тем, что вы слышите.
Аудио / голосовые вызовы
Epic Air ANC поддерживает технологию вызова C3 (кристально чистый голос) , при которой всенаправленный микрофон улавливает и устраняет окружающий шум, в то время как целевой микрофон изолирует ваш голос.
Теоретически это должно быть более эффективным, чем решение, в котором используется только один микрофон и алгоритмы для извлечения голоса, такие как технология Qualcomm cVc (чистый захват голоса). На практике микрофоны C3 кажутся недостаточно хорошо настроенными, что приводит к слышимым фоновым шумам и искажениям во время голосовых вызовов.
Мы использовали The Test Call для сравнения качества звука Padmate PaMu Quiet и Sennheiser PXC 500-II с Epic Air ANC от JLab Audio. Накладные наушники Sennheiser обеспечили наилучшее качество связи и подавление фонового шума. У обоих наушников-вкладышей были проблемы, хотя качество связи и шумоподавление были немного лучше с PaMu Quiet, в которых используется технология Qualcomm cVc 8.0. Как и Epic Air ANC, Sennheiser использует тройные микрофоны MEMS в своих наушниках PXC 500-II.
Функции
1.имеет голосовые команды
JLab Audio Epic Air Sport ANC
Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds
Вы можете использовать свой голос, чтобы управлять ключевыми функциями устройства, а также легко получить доступ к вашему устройству, не нажимая кнопок.
2.имеет функцию отключения
JLab Audio Epic Air Sport ANC
Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds
Устройство имеет возможность отключать/включать разговор напрямую с устройства.
3.может быть использован в качестве гарнитуры
JLab Audio Epic Air Sport ANC
Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds
Головная гарнитура – это один наушник или пара с встроенным микрофоном. Может быть использована для приложений, которые требуют связь, т.е. Skype, игр с голосовым чатом, мобильных телефонов и т.п.
4.панель контроля встроена в устройство
JLab Audio Epic Air Sport ANC
Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds
Панель контроля находится на устройстве, так что вы можете легко получить доступ к регулятору громкости и управлять им без взаимодействия с кабелем или другим, подключенным к нему, устройством.
5.число MPI
Неизвестно. Помогите нам, предложите стоимость. (JLab Audio Epic Air Sport ANC)
Неизвестно. Помогите нам, предложите стоимость. (Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds)
Multipoint позволяет вам подключать большее количество устройств через Bluetooth и легко переключаться между ними. Например, вы можете легко переключать звонки с одного устройства на другое, не отключая и включая их вручную.
6.гарантийный период
2
Неизвестно. Помогите нам, предложите стоимость. (Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds)
Когда продукт находится под гарантией производителя, в случае неисправности, можно получить замену.
7.имеет голосовые подсказки
JLab Audio Epic Air Sport ANC
Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds
Эта функция позволяет устройству сообщить вам важную информацию, с помощью аудио.
8.Поддерживает быструю зарядку
JLab Audio Epic Air Sport ANC
Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds
Технологии быстрой зарядки, например, Quick Charge от компании Qualcomm или Pump Express от MediaTek, используются для уменьшения времени зарядки устройства. К примеру, с Quick Charge 3.0, батарея может быть заряжена на 50% всего за 30 минут.
9.сумка для транспортировки прилагается
JLab Audio Epic Air Sport ANC
Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds
К устройству прилагается собственный чехол или сумка, которые можно использовать для безопасной транспортировки.
How do the earbuds sound?
In typical JLab fashion, there exist three EQ options: JLab signature, a consumer-friendly bass and treble-heavy sound; balanced, which reproduces a neutral-leaning sound; and bass boost. While bass boost is what most of us are likely to use for exercising, I’ll be speaking from the perspective of the balanced option. Coincidentally, this also happens to be the default mode.
Getting the right fit for your in-ears is imperative for optimal sound quality. The included medium ear tips fit our test head well and isolated most low-end noise. This is something to be aware of when exercising outdoors as you don’t want to completely block out your surroundings. Then again, you can triple-tap either earbud to enable Ambient Aware mode too.
Lows, mids, and highs
Even with the balanced preset selected, bass and midrange frequencies are emphatically emphasized. Generally speaking, clarity isn’t JLab’s strong suit and that shines through with the JLab Epic Air Elite.
In the song Hold My Girl on George Ezra’s sophomore album, the introductory guitar picking and strumming pattern is a great example of the lacking clarity. The fundamental frequencies of the beginning G-D-C chords mask their respective harmonic resonances. While this would be a tragedy for studio headphones, it’s passable with these earbuds since they’re meant for exercise and general use.
Bass emphasis isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but to get an idea of how exaggerated it is with the balanced profile, skip to the song’s refrain at 2:18. Here, Ezra sings with minimal underscoring; however, the bass at 2:22 nearly mutes the word “got.”
Treble frequencies are also stressed, just not to the same extent. For instance, cymbal hits audibly jangle throughout the song, even during the climactic and final chorus. However, just because they’re audible doesn’t make them detailed.
While it may seem that there’s nothing positive to say about the sound quality, the fact of the matter is that these are for working out. If you’re in a gym, it’s nearly impossible for any earbuds to compete with neighboring, boastful grunts and clanging plates. Therefore, it’s fine that audio quality falls to the wayside. After all, when buying workout earbuds, you’re paying for the durability and feature set, not for exceptional audio quality. If you want that, there are plenty of viable options out there.
Design
One key differentiator in the black-and-silver Epic Air Elite’s design is the ear hook. Sure, we’re used to seeing these on Bluetooth and wired fitness earphones, but true wireless in-ears rarely deviate from the standard, earplug look. The Epic Air Elite’s hooks provide extra stability, but they also require a bigger case. So the downside here is that the case, which measures about 1.5 by 4.4 by 2.8 inches (HWD), is among the largest you’ll find in the true wireless category. The upside is that larger cases can hold bigger batteries, and the Epic Air Elite’s holds a best-in-class 32 hours of charge. The earphones themselves hold six hours of charge at a time, but your results will vary with your volume levels.
The case has a built-in recessed area for the charging cable to snap into. The cable wraps around the exterior of the case, and it vaguely resembles a rubber watch band. It has a USB connection on one end, and a micro USB connection on the other. The case also houses a micro USB port (for charging the case itself) and a USB port (for charging mobile devices using the case’s battery—another unique design decision). Blue status LEDs inside the case (that also shine through a small window through the lid) tell you how much battery life the case has, as well as when the earphones are securely docked.
If the ear hooks weren’t enough to ensure a stable fit, JLab also includes more types of eartips than we typically see. There are three standard silicone pairs (S, M, L), one triple-flange pair, one double-flange pair, one shallow pair, and a foam pair. Among these choices, it should be no problem finding the ideal fit.
Similar Products
The earpieces have touch-sensitive controls on the outer panels, and JLab divides the controls in a left/right manner, all with various taps or holds. The left side, for instance, handles volume down, and the right side controls volume up. The left side also handles playback, track backward, and the Be Aware ambient monitoring mode. The right earpiece handles track forward, call management, Siri or Google Assistant, and also can switch in and out of ambient mode. To switch between the three EQ modes, you press and hold each earpiece’s buttons for three seconds. Loading each ear up with a variety of finger tap commands that need to be memorized can make using the Epic Air Elite a little annoying until you’ve figured everything out.
It’s difficult to adjust the volume using on-ear sensors, and when we adjusted the volume locally on our paired iPhone 6s, there was sometimes a multi-second delay between moving the volume slider and hearing the result. Also, multiple times, I summoned Siri by accident when only meaning to adjust the in-ear fit—merely touching the earpieces can achieve various unintentional results.
The three EQ modes are Signature, Balanced, and Bass Boost—more on those in the next section. Be Aware mode is a solid extra—it allows you to hear what’s going on around you without taking the earphones out, or you can also choose this mode when exercising to make sure you’re aware of your surroundings.
The Epic Air Elite’s IP55 rating means the earphones are resistant to dust and water, but they aren’t complete dustproof or waterproof. The case isn’t water resistant at all, so make sure the earphones are completely dry before docking them.
As for the mic, we could understand every word we recorded using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 6s, but overall audio quality was poor, despite there being mics in both ears. This is not unique, however—mic quality is low across the board in the true wireless realm.
