Rewind to the future with JLab wireless headphones
JLab Rewind Wireless Retro Headphones.
I’ve tested and reviewed a lot of headphones over the years but the JLab Rewind Wireless Retro are the least expensive. Cheap doesn’t always mean good value for money but in the case of Rewind, the value proposition is off the charts.
If you watched Army of the Dead on Netflix you’ll have seen these headphones worn throughout the film by Ludwig Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer). These 80s inspired headphones harken back to a time when the Sony Walkman portable cassette player was the status symbol for the young and hip.
Modern headphones are bulky, heavy and sophisticated while the Rewind is light, made from plastic, with simple foam pads and a metal strip for the headband. Laid along the underneath of the headband is a flat cable that connects the left earcup to the right.
On the outside of each earpad are JLab logos and the right one is a big button used to pause/play/power on/off and long press for enabling Bluetooth pairing. A double-tap will summon either Siri or Google Assistant depending on what device you’ve paired it to.
At first, I couldn’t find the USB-Micro port for charging the headphones. In a way, this is kinda cool since it’s hidden behind the foam earpad on the base of the right ear making it a closer match to the originals albeit sans wires. On the other hand, I wish it was USB-C and that the supplied cable was a little longer.
The Rewind is super light and astonishingly comfortable no matter what using doing. I did find the clamping force a tad tight at first but this wore in over time. The pads are just like the original orange Walkman ones but you do get a spare set in black.
JLab claims 14+ hours of battery life but this will vary depending on volume levels. When you turn on the headphones, it will tell you the battery state but this is only a vague representation of actual battery levels. When used on an iPhone for example, the battery widget will indicate the battery levels in percentages. However, at one stage I turned the headphones off at 80% and then a few seconds later turned them back on with 90% charge and a voice from the headphones told me “battery full”.
Not surprisingly, the Rewind is not going to compete with much more expensive headphones but after giving them their due break-in period, I was pleasantly surprised at how good they sound.
You can toggle between three different EQ presets by triple-tapping on the button. The EQ presets are JLab Signature (default), Balanced and Bass Boost. Considering the price of the Rewind, I was more than happy with the sound quality. Vocals are clear but highs are a little too laid back while the bass is surprisingly good with bass boost enabled although a little boomy at higher volumes. The mid-range is somewhat recessed but it’s not terrible.
Call quality was a bit of a mixed bag with some callers saying my voice was a little muffled whiles others thought I sounded crystal clear.
There’s no need for features like transparency mode since you can clearly hear around you thanks to the on-ear nature of the Rewind. This also means others in close proximity will also hear what you’re listening to.
Perhaps it’s my age profile or just how ridiculously good value for money the JLab Rewind Wireless Retro headphones are but I’ve loved using them. They’re so easy to use, super comfortable and sound good too.
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