red71rum
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JLab Audio Epic Sport Wireless Review
JLab Audio recently contacted me to see if I was interested in reviewing a new earbuds called the EPICSPort Wireless, that they were about to unveil. The earbuds in question was to have increased sound quality, longer battery life, and the ability to cycle through 3 different eq sound settings without an app and have AptX. Well I received the new Epic Sport wireless, and I have put them through their paces.
Accessories:
A picture of all of the accessories(I used this picture from JLab's Epic Sport page, the rest of the pics used are mine).
A close-up of the usb cable
The magnetic cradle to charge the headphones
The under side of the controls where it magnetically connects to the cradle\charger
The Epic Sport come with a myriad of accessories. The box includes 5 sets of gel tips, ranging in size from small to large and one of the being a compressed triple flange. To accompany the various tips sizes, JLab included 3 different cush fins to help keep the headphones in and at the same time make them feel comfortable for the user. JLab included a cable clip and also a cable holder to allow you to cinch the wire closer to your neck, allowing for a more secure fit. Of course a charging cable was included, but this time around compared to JLab Epic 2, the cable is very compact and uses a magnetic charging cable. And finally, JLab included a nice zippered, semi-rigid case so your earbuds can be put away for safe keeping. JLab also generously includes 3 months of free Pandora Premium.
Build Quality\Controls:
You can see the Epic Sport's simple and clean control layout.
Here you can see how the nozzle and tip are angled.
The Epic Sport are made of a very durable plastic. The ear hooks built into the wire have some memory wire in them and they seem well made yet pliable. The cush fins easily come on and off the outside casing of the earbuds. The controls feel nice and are easy to press to move between tracks and take calls etc. The forward and reverse buttons are slightly raised to help you differentiate from them while the center button is larger and raised higher than the other two. When pressing the buttons, they feel mechanically sound, and have a muted click to them. To skip tracks all you have to do is hold down either the forward or reverse button, taping either will increase or lower volume. Double tapping the reverse button will go to the prior track, pretty standard stuff. The center button is used to pair, play, pause, answer, hang up, and activate Google\Siri. Pressing both the forward and reverse buttons at the same time quickly enables you to try out the 3 different equalizer(eq) modes, 3 beeps is heard every time you switch eq. The wire of the earbuds is thin, but encased in a nice silicone cover that does not stick to your skin as some other brands like Beats. The magnetic USB charging cable has a cradle incorporated into it and the Epic Sport has a magnetic connection on the bottom of the controls and is a departure from the Epic2 where it had a micro-usb charging port built in. I think this was done to make the Epic Sport even more resistant to sweat and water because these headphones are rated IP66, which means that they are splash proof, for those that really sweat. The charging cable holds the control section in place magnetically while being charged. I also found that the earbuds lasted the advertised 12 hours before needing to be charged. As an added feature, JLab incorporated notifications letting you know when the battery is full, medium, and low. This comes in handy when deciding if you should charge the EpicSport or not.
Fit:
Here you can see the way that you can cinch the cables for a tighter, more secure fit.
Sorry, no beautiful models were available, just used myself to model the headphones...
The nice thing about the Epic Sport is that you have so many options in getting a good fit. I found myself spending time trying the different tip gels and trying them with the various cush fins to get a seal that would block out the outside world, but at the same time feel comfortable. It was really easy switching between tips and cush fins(which cover the outside housing of the earbud case). I decided on the more rigid larger gel tips paired with the small cush fins fit my ears the best. Of course everybody’s ears are different and that is why so many tips\cush fins were included. After getting that settled I installed the cable holder to cinch the wire closer to my neck. This works better for me when using the earbuds at the gym, they stay in better and are out of the way. I was able to bend the memory wire coming from the earbuds to make them fit even better over my ears, which also helps cutting down on microphonics. Overall I think that the Epic Sport do a good job blocking out the outside world and allowing the user to enjoy their music. At the gym I used the earbuds for a week to see how they would perform. I used them during more stationary exercises such as bench press, where I have other earbuds pop out because of the pressure or because of lying on the bench. I also used them when doing both wide and close grip chin ups, and the music was uninterrupted, they did not come out of my ears. I also tried them on the oval while running and on the elliptical, the Epic Sport stayed in and I did not have to readjust them. I cannot take pictures at my gym, so I was not able to show pictures of me wearing the Epic Sport at the gym.
Sound:
A picture of me in front of all my vintage audio gear while listening to the Epic Sport wireless
The Epic Sports’ ability to allow the user to customize their own sound is a welcome addition and is one of the new features that differentiates it from the other Bluetooth sports earbuds. There are three settings to choose from. The Signature EQ setting amplifies the vocals and Bass. The Balanced EQ offers a more even sound across all curves. And finally there is Bass Boost, and as the name implies, all bass and sub-bass are amplified. I am not a big bass person, I do not like my music to be overpowered by bass. I usually left the earbuds at the balanced setting so I could hear the recordings as they were originally recorded. I found the headphones to provide a very good sound stage, the bass and sub-bass were sufficient without being overpowering and the highs were good and crisp. I listened to several genres of music from Led Zeppelin, Megadeth, Prong, classical, and every in between. I did not find that wearing the earbuds was fatiguing at all. AptX seems to really help with the Bluetooth sound and I am glad that it was incorporated. It helps make the Bluetooth sound more full compared to headphones I have used where they did not have AptX.
Calls:
I took and received several calls. I asked the people I called whether they could hear me well enough and they said that the sound quality was pretty good, that there was no distortion in my voice, that I did not sound muffled. I also noted when I answered calls that the caller sounded fine, that there was no distortion. I do not take calls in the gym, but I would if I were walking around somewhere else, the Epic Sport did an admirable job.
Conclusion:
After using the Epic Sport in the gym, office, and at home, I have to say that I was impressed with the durability, sound quality, and features. The Epic Sport were flawless in the gym, lasted through my four day workout routine (1.5hrs per workout), and never fell out of my ears. I liked the ability to switch between 3 different eq settings also. The only very minor con is maybe having different beep notifications for when you change an EQ setting, 1 beep for Signature, 2 beeps for Balanced and 3 beeps for Bass Boost. At $99, these earbuds are a great deal and a substantial upgrade from any of the cheap Bluetooth headsets out there. I wanted to mention also that JLab Audio has great tech support\warranty support(I have experienced it first hand), so you can feel confident in the product and company behind it.
JLab Audio recently contacted me to see if I was interested in reviewing a new earbuds called the EPICSPort Wireless, that they were about to unveil. The earbuds in question was to have increased sound quality, longer battery life, and the ability to cycle through 3 different eq sound settings without an app and have AptX. Well I received the new Epic Sport wireless, and I have put them through their paces.
Accessories:
A picture of all of the accessories(I used this picture from JLab's Epic Sport page, the rest of the pics used are mine).
A close-up of the usb cable
The magnetic cradle to charge the headphones
The under side of the controls where it magnetically connects to the cradle\charger
The Epic Sport come with a myriad of accessories. The box includes 5 sets of gel tips, ranging in size from small to large and one of the being a compressed triple flange. To accompany the various tips sizes, JLab included 3 different cush fins to help keep the headphones in and at the same time make them feel comfortable for the user. JLab included a cable clip and also a cable holder to allow you to cinch the wire closer to your neck, allowing for a more secure fit. Of course a charging cable was included, but this time around compared to JLab Epic 2, the cable is very compact and uses a magnetic charging cable. And finally, JLab included a nice zippered, semi-rigid case so your earbuds can be put away for safe keeping. JLab also generously includes 3 months of free Pandora Premium.
Build Quality\Controls:
You can see the Epic Sport's simple and clean control layout.
Here you can see how the nozzle and tip are angled.
The Epic Sport are made of a very durable plastic. The ear hooks built into the wire have some memory wire in them and they seem well made yet pliable. The cush fins easily come on and off the outside casing of the earbuds. The controls feel nice and are easy to press to move between tracks and take calls etc. The forward and reverse buttons are slightly raised to help you differentiate from them while the center button is larger and raised higher than the other two. When pressing the buttons, they feel mechanically sound, and have a muted click to them. To skip tracks all you have to do is hold down either the forward or reverse button, taping either will increase or lower volume. Double tapping the reverse button will go to the prior track, pretty standard stuff. The center button is used to pair, play, pause, answer, hang up, and activate Google\Siri. Pressing both the forward and reverse buttons at the same time quickly enables you to try out the 3 different equalizer(eq) modes, 3 beeps is heard every time you switch eq. The wire of the earbuds is thin, but encased in a nice silicone cover that does not stick to your skin as some other brands like Beats. The magnetic USB charging cable has a cradle incorporated into it and the Epic Sport has a magnetic connection on the bottom of the controls and is a departure from the Epic2 where it had a micro-usb charging port built in. I think this was done to make the Epic Sport even more resistant to sweat and water because these headphones are rated IP66, which means that they are splash proof, for those that really sweat. The charging cable holds the control section in place magnetically while being charged. I also found that the earbuds lasted the advertised 12 hours before needing to be charged. As an added feature, JLab incorporated notifications letting you know when the battery is full, medium, and low. This comes in handy when deciding if you should charge the EpicSport or not.
Fit:
Here you can see the way that you can cinch the cables for a tighter, more secure fit.
The nice thing about the Epic Sport is that you have so many options in getting a good fit. I found myself spending time trying the different tip gels and trying them with the various cush fins to get a seal that would block out the outside world, but at the same time feel comfortable. It was really easy switching between tips and cush fins(which cover the outside housing of the earbud case). I decided on the more rigid larger gel tips paired with the small cush fins fit my ears the best. Of course everybody’s ears are different and that is why so many tips\cush fins were included. After getting that settled I installed the cable holder to cinch the wire closer to my neck. This works better for me when using the earbuds at the gym, they stay in better and are out of the way. I was able to bend the memory wire coming from the earbuds to make them fit even better over my ears, which also helps cutting down on microphonics. Overall I think that the Epic Sport do a good job blocking out the outside world and allowing the user to enjoy their music. At the gym I used the earbuds for a week to see how they would perform. I used them during more stationary exercises such as bench press, where I have other earbuds pop out because of the pressure or because of lying on the bench. I also used them when doing both wide and close grip chin ups, and the music was uninterrupted, they did not come out of my ears. I also tried them on the oval while running and on the elliptical, the Epic Sport stayed in and I did not have to readjust them. I cannot take pictures at my gym, so I was not able to show pictures of me wearing the Epic Sport at the gym.
Sound:
A picture of me in front of all my vintage audio gear while listening to the Epic Sport wireless
The Epic Sports’ ability to allow the user to customize their own sound is a welcome addition and is one of the new features that differentiates it from the other Bluetooth sports earbuds. There are three settings to choose from. The Signature EQ setting amplifies the vocals and Bass. The Balanced EQ offers a more even sound across all curves. And finally there is Bass Boost, and as the name implies, all bass and sub-bass are amplified. I am not a big bass person, I do not like my music to be overpowered by bass. I usually left the earbuds at the balanced setting so I could hear the recordings as they were originally recorded. I found the headphones to provide a very good sound stage, the bass and sub-bass were sufficient without being overpowering and the highs were good and crisp. I listened to several genres of music from Led Zeppelin, Megadeth, Prong, classical, and every in between. I did not find that wearing the earbuds was fatiguing at all. AptX seems to really help with the Bluetooth sound and I am glad that it was incorporated. It helps make the Bluetooth sound more full compared to headphones I have used where they did not have AptX.
Calls:
I took and received several calls. I asked the people I called whether they could hear me well enough and they said that the sound quality was pretty good, that there was no distortion in my voice, that I did not sound muffled. I also noted when I answered calls that the caller sounded fine, that there was no distortion. I do not take calls in the gym, but I would if I were walking around somewhere else, the Epic Sport did an admirable job.
Conclusion:
After using the Epic Sport in the gym, office, and at home, I have to say that I was impressed with the durability, sound quality, and features. The Epic Sport were flawless in the gym, lasted through my four day workout routine (1.5hrs per workout), and never fell out of my ears. I liked the ability to switch between 3 different eq settings also. The only very minor con is maybe having different beep notifications for when you change an EQ setting, 1 beep for Signature, 2 beeps for Balanced and 3 beeps for Bass Boost. At $99, these earbuds are a great deal and a substantial upgrade from any of the cheap Bluetooth headsets out there. I wanted to mention also that JLab Audio has great tech support\warranty support(I have experienced it first hand), so you can feel confident in the product and company behind it.
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