Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat earbuds and will defiantly buy again!
Reviewed in the United States on February 29, 2020
These earbuds fit in/around my ears comfortably and have great sound quality. I would highly recommend either downloading the app on your phone or going on the JLab website and using the "burn-in method" that plays a mix of different sounds and frequencies to warm up the drivers in the earbuds. I tried to use them before I used this tool that's offered as well as after using the tool and the audio quality was definitely better after using the burn-in tool. I absolutely love the "cloud foam" tips (the blue tips as seen in the picture), as they isolate outside sound and fit in my ears much better than the standard three sizes of the silicon tips. The medium silicon tips were originally installed when opening the package and I tested them before switching over to the foam tips. There are three audio profiles built into the earbuds themselves, listed in the manual as JLab Signature, Balanced, and Bass Boost. I prefer the Signature setting, as it amplifies both the vocals and bass of music and other media I listen to. There is also a mode on the earbuds called "Be Aware" which mixes outside noise with the media you're listening to. This mode is very handy for when I walk the dog with one or both of my earbuds in use, as I can hear cars and my surroundings. It's also a great mode for when I'm doing my college assignments, because it allows me to hear my family if they ask me a question (as I'm an online student).
On the charging case side, I've charged it once when I got it and made sure the earbuds were fully charged before my first use. Using both earbuds at full charge gives me almost a full day of use, and the case gives me about 6 additional charges on the earbuds when their batteries are fully depleted after long use. I would have liked if the built-in USB-A cable on the case was a bit longer or if the case supported wireless charging, but I have plans to purchase a USB-A male-to-female adapter so that I can use them with a wall charger instead of having to charge them through my computer.
One issue I had when I first connected the earbuds to my phone was the left and right weren't connecting properly, but after resetting them by putting them in the charging case and quickly tapping on them four times it fixed the problem.
I love that these earbuds have a touch sensor for the interface instead of the click buttons of some of the others I looked at before purchasing these. It was a bit difficult to get use to the controls at first however... a single tap on right earbud turns the volume up and a tap on the left turns it down, double tapping the right pauses/plays the media and left activated the voice assistant on the device you're using (for me it's Google Assistant on my Samsung S9 Plus), tapping and holding your finger on the right earbud skips the song in a music player and left goes to the previous track, and a triple tap on the right turns on the Be Aware audio passthrough whereas a triple tap on the left switches between the three audio profiles (the earbuds announce which profile it switches to which is a nice touch). The voice prompts are great too. When the right earbud turns on (either for single use mode or dual use mode), they earbuds say "Hello" and let you know if you are in pairing mode and when they connect to a device. They also announce when the battery is full (100%-80%), medium (80%-20%), and low (less than 20%). An announcement will also play through the right earbud when the left one get connected to the left earbud.
In regards to phone calls, the audio is less than desirable. I've had no complaints from people I talk to that they can't hear me, so the microphones are decent quality. The audio of the phone call however is not the greatest and sounds very quiet even at full volume... almost as though there is a limiter for call volume in the earbuds. All other audio comes through the earbuds perfectly!
So only things I have to complain about for these earbuds are the call audio volume, the length of the charging cable, and the controls. I would recommend memorizing the different touch commands on the earbuds, especially if you're going to use these as workout earbuds as I had to keep the manual nearby in order to remember the touch controls for a bit. The length of the charging cord isn't the greatest, but it you have the budget you can buy a USB-A extender to plug into a wall charger or computer to have them on the desk... however I would have rather had the case have wireless charging built in. For the call quality on smartphones, I'd recommend seeing if there's a sound boost option in your phone app to amplify the audio if you have any issues with the call being quiet during a call.
Other than those few gripes listed above, these earbuds are a great product and I'd highly recommend them to anyone looking for a good pair of fully wireless earbuds. They have great sound quality for music, podcasts, and audiobooks. Great product and would definitely recommend them to my friends and family. The only other issue I'd like to see resolved is the ability to use either left or right earbuds alone instead of being limited to using the right one alone.
Edit (March 23, 2020)
So about a week ago I took out my earbuds from my ear and found the foam tips were torn and started falling apart, and I'm not entirely sure if it was from extended use or a flaw in the material. I switched to the large silicon tips for the earbuds and they fit perfectly for noise isolation if you're looking for them. Also saw you can buy additional tips (whether third party or by JLabs), which include foam tips. I'm going to stick with the silicon tips for now until I have the budget to buy more of the foam ones. Still a great product!
Edit 2 (January 10, 2021)
So I take back what I said previously... these earbuds are only good for if you want the case to break. Back in June (haven't had much time to update this review since I've been busy with college), I opened up the case after my brother's dog accidently bumped them off the bed onto my soft carpeted floor and I found that the case had broke... the plastic where the earbuds sat had separated from the body and the wires inside connecting everything to the contacts were broken. Note my bed was only about 3 feet off the ground at the time, and somehow that short drop down onto the carpet floor seemed to break the case. Luckily I got the protection plan Amazon offers and they were able to help me resolve the problem. If you want to get these, definitely get the protection plan!!!
