JLab Epic Air Sport ANC, buds for the active user

These well-designed earbuds are easy to recommend as they meet the demands of their intended users with their massive battery life, durability and quality sound.

JLab Epic Air Sport ANC

The summer’s here and it’s great to be able to get out more and enjoy the long days. This means more outdoor activities but if you’re like me, I like to bring music with me no matter where I go. 

I’ve been testing the JLab Epic Air Sport ANC earbuds which are designed for those who need comfortable buds in a form factor that can be used in any activity from running to active workouts.

Design

With a large ear hook that surrounds the ear to provide the ultimate security to keep them in place while active, the Epic Air Sport favours function over form. Unless you’re doing extreme gymnastics, I don’t see these ever falling out of your ears.

Including the ear tips already installed on the earbuds, you get six pairs varying in size from small to large. Additionally, you get a ‘Cloud Foam’ pair that can be squished to fit any size ear. You pinch the foam and then put the buds in your ears soon after which the foam will expand. I found this provided the best seal and as a result, the best passive noise isolation.

The charging case is large and features a built-in USB cable for charging. The short cable wraps into a slot on the base of the case and is nicely tucked away. This has the advantage that you don’t have a cable to lose but also means you have to charge it close to the power adaptor. The case also supports wireless charging.

On the front of the case are four LED lights that indicate the battery charge level of the case. The LEDs will pulse white when charging and turn solid white when fully charged.

One odd design element is that the left earbud goes on the right side of the case, while the right earbud goes on the left. It's not a major deal, and I can see why given the form and design of both the case and the ear hook — it just takes a little getting used to.

Features, fit, comfort and controls

The Epic Air Sport ANC provide a robust IP66 rating which means they’re ideal for any outdoor activity regardless of the weather, conditions or environment.

Thanks to the large selection of ear tip sizes, I didn’t find it difficult to find the perfect fit for my ears. The Cloud Foam ear tips provided the best seal but the medium size gave me the most comfort.

Bluetooth 5.0 provides excellent range and signal integrity where I was able to move around the house while leaving my phone on the desk in my office. Audio codecs support includes SBC and AAC but not aptX.

Touch controls are excellent with a comprehensive set of customisable gestures via the JLab Epic Air ANC app available for iOS and Android. Using touch gestures you can change volume, skip tracks, and even toggle the EQ modes, which includes the Be Aware option, which allows sounds from the outside world to seep through. I like using this when cycling and it's simple to toggle on and off. If you don’t like touch controls you can turn them off in the app or customise them to your preference.

Movie mode is a dedicated setting to allow the earbuds to communicate with your device with lower latency. This is ideal for watching movies or playing games where you need the sound to be in perfect sync with the audio. By default, you can switch between music/movie mode by holding both touch sensors simultaneously for three-plus seconds. You will know that the mode has switched because you’ll hear a voice saying ‘movie mode’ or ‘music mode’.

App settings

The app also displays the current battery level for each earbud but not the case. The app is also required to update the earbuds as well as toggle on or off the auto play/pause sensors.

The app has an impressive 10-band graphic equaliser with three presets (JLap Signature, Balanced, Bass Boost) and one user preset. All four EQ presets can be adjusted or reset back to their original setting. By default, three taps on the right or left bud will toggle between the four EQ modes.

The app was slow to load and would hang at times requiring a force quit and restart. However, once I set up gestures and custom EQ modes I rarely had to use it.

Sound quality and ANC performance

The Epic Air Sport ANC sound great in part thanks to the 8mm Dynamic drivers which feature a neodymium magnet and a frequency range of 20Hz-20kHz.

I started testing with the flat EQ, but because of the wide range of frequencies that could be tweaked, I was able to get the ideal sound for my tastes and musical preferences.

The Be Aware mode works well and I was able to clearly hear sounds around me including my own voice during calls. Unfortunately, ANC mode doesn’t work so great. I couldn’t hear much of a difference when toggling between ANC and ANC off. That being said, the passive noise isolation is pretty good.

The call quality is fine, better than you'd expect from a pair of wireless earphones in this price category thanks to the three mics in each earbud.

Battery features and performance

On a full charge, you should get up to 15 hours of battery life, which is fantastic for those all-day activities. 

Factoring in the charging case will add an additional 60 hours to the mix. The earbuds will take up to three hours to fully charge from flat while the case can take up to 3.5 hours. 

However, just 15 minutes of charge will see you good for over an hour of playtime.

Verdict

JLab’s Epic Air Sport ANC True Wireless earbuds - well designed and easily meet the demands of their intended users. A massive battery life, durability and quality sound make these an easy set of earbuds to recommend.

Buy now for €99.99 from currys.ie