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Top Pros
Top Cons
Reddit Reviews
I absolutely love my pair of JLab Epic Lab Editions. The space and separation are fantastic. Balanced with fantastic equalizer presets. The MSRP for $200. I seen them on sale as low as 70 bucks! Definitely the highest quality case as well.
Jlab epic lab edition, set them to transparency mode
Jlab Epic labs - for outdoor work, or anything sweat involved as they are ip55. Generally favorite due to the overall incredible build and sound quality Baseus m2s pro - for comfort, quick in and out when dealing with chaso kids, or in places I might misplace. Good anc Jlab GoPop anc - sleep
Interesting to me. I've been through many of the top listed models as a heavy user and a bit of an audiophile. My actual personal pick(for the price) for best sound and quality build would be my JLab epic lab editions. Dual driver, the mid/highs coming via armature. This is great data, and is greatly representative... but ultimately what people talk about is what is either the absolute cheapest decent Chinese bud, or the most heavily marketed and prevalent brand.
Agreed. My JLab epic labs nowhere on this list. Data is data. It's represented as it is collected. My conclusion to this is, Reddit is botted out, and victims of successful marketing strategies.
So far, I've found the JLab Epic Lab Edition. Thanks to the two drivers, the sound is very good for both listening to music and creating an atmosphere in games. But the convenience could have been better.
Own most of those but here to say the JLab are shockingly good
It depends how sensitive you are to audio latency. Literally any Bluetooth headphones will have perceptible audio latency, even if you can somehow find those that support AptX-LL. The Steam Deck also doesn't support AptX Adaptive, so low latency is off the cards for that too. I spent a week researching trying to find something that would be good with Bluetooth on my phone but also have low latency on my Steam Deck, and had almost given up hope when I found the JLab Epic Lab Editions which I just bought. Sound quality is very good for the price, and they have an included USB-C dongle that has basically 0 latency for use with the Deck. The ANC is pretty good too, definitely acceptable in the price range. I haven't tried the mic on them though.
If you're willing to go mid-range $ then definitely Jlab Epic Lab Edition earbuds for 120$. Can compete with the 200-300$ earbud pricepoint of sound quality.
I got several Epic series including the Lab edition. The pods I like the best for the $60 I paid for them. The Labs sound pretty good but something in the soundstage is off. I get tired listening to them quickly. The H3’s are far better for sound quality.
I wanted to try the Sony Inzone earbuds, got some used for $50. Specs say they have the same drivers as the XM5 and, they probably do? They sound good, I just don't know if they are XM5 good. Might be the silicone ear tips hampering it and lack of LDAC. Why did I get them? Just looking for the perfect earbud for PC use / phone use. 12+ hour battery life on Bluetooth / PC was a selling point for me. It holds up. After 3 hours they are both at 78% with ambient sound and custom eq on. Anyone else have these? I have some issues, wanna know if someone else does too. 1. Changing the volume on my phone there is a slight delay between the two, there is also a delay between the two when voice notifications sound off. Is this normal? Not syncing up? "Blu-blu too -ooth con -on ect-ct ed-ed." 2. PC connection doesn't allow me to pause / play YouTube, or volume up / down. These control options only work on Bluetooth, and not the dongle. Is this right? 3. I already got one random disconnect after the first hour. Was listening to a podcast on the dongle and it just randomly stopped. Hope it doesn't happen all the time. I'll now do a quick comparison to the other USBC "Gaming" all-in-one buds that I've tried. Sony Inzone buds - 12 hour continuous battery life is huge, no matter what settings are on. Best sound quality of them all. Best mic of them all. Downside is no wireless charging, large case that doesn't hold much of a charge, and I'd say ambient mode is too quiet. Steelseries Artic buds - Best ear fit for me. Functions and controls are the best. Best total battery life at 10 hours per charge and another 30 hours in case. Wireless charging. Smallest earbud and case. Downside is friends will sometimes complain about the bad mic quality, ANC is barely there, and case feels kinda cheap. Jlabs Epic Lab - Best Build quality. Nice aluminum case. Includes foam tips. Not many options for sound settings but they are rock solid. ANC / Transparency mode get the job done. Downside is battery life isn't as advertised, Maybe 5 hours at most with another 24 hours or so in the case, they don't stay in my ear sometimes falling out, and their mic sounds a little robotic. Also for whatever reason I get like 100 notifications that it's connected to my phone every hour. Anker Oculus P10 - Affordable. Best sound Quality for it's price. Cool LED lights. USBC passthrough that works on most devices. Downside is notification sound will set off auto switch, USBC dongle isn't compatible with any cases, no ANC/transparency, and a short battery life at around 3 hours. Overall, I would like the Jlabs the most if they would stay in my ear and not annoy me every minute with a new notification that they are connected to my phone. I would like the Steelseries more if their mic was a better quality. I would like the Sonys more if they had wireless charging and a smaller case with a bigger built in battery. I feel like after weighing the Pros and cons, the Sonys might be my new favorite. They have really come down in price for a used pair probably because of their limited Bluetooth connection to most smart phones. Can't beat $50 right now for a used pair though.
My favorite higher end for sound quality, build quality, ANC/transparency, features, and mic quality? AKG N5 Hybrid. My favorite mid-range all around? Probably Steelseries Gamer Buds Artic X. Another good all-around are the Jlab Epic Lab. Let me know if you want them, I'm trying to sell them and I can post them on hardware swap. Best deal? Sony Inzone buds. I think you can still find these used for under $60, sometimes under $50. I wouldn't spend a full $200 price for brand new though. Best budget? Anker P10. New they are around $60, used they are around $30.
As someone who has like, 17 ear piercings, I find the in-ear wireless buds like the JLab Epic Lab work well and don’t cause any irritation like AirPods do. Otherwise, any over-ear headphones work. I have various helix, conch, daith, rook, tragus, antitragus piercings.
Rankings by Use Case
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Best for Situational awareness (when running, cycling, parenting etc)

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Shokz - OpenFit Series





