Think JLab and your mind may imagine affordable yet capable headphones and earphones found in our best budget wireless headphones buying guide, as well as our lists of the best wireless headphones and best wireless headphones. But as Bob Dylan once sang: times they are changing. That’s because JLab just announced its first foray into the world of “luxury” headphones, with the new JBuds Lux ANC wireless headphones.
Despite the Buds part of the moniker, the JBuds LUX ANC are a pair of over-ear headphones that include a set of features one would expect from the Sony WH-100XM5 or Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless; in fact, the design of the headphones smells good of the excellent Sony WH-1000XM4.
The soft, foldable “Cloud Foam” headphones pack 40mm drivers with a frequency response of 20-20kHz, along with features like immersive lab-quality sound, spatial audio support, multipoint Bluetooth connectivity, and Bluetooth LE Audio; Again, features you’d expect from high-end headphones from Sony and Bose.
And just like those brands, the JBuds Lux ANC come with Intelligent Adaptive Noise Cancellation, which can detect the environment you’re in and adjust the active noise cancellation mode (there are three options: ANC On, ANC Off, and Be Aware) to make sure. You hear oncoming traffic when you’re running or biking, but you want an inspiring song or podcast to keep you moving forward, especially on the dark days of January.
It remains to be seen if this clever ANC can deliver the intelligence and sound-blocking power of the class-leading XM5s. But JLab’s potential ace in the hole is that the JBuds Lux ANC cost just $79.99 (about £62 / AU$119), which is considerably cheaper than the aforementioned Sony and Bose earbuds. It even comes close to some of the best budget headphones you can buy right now.
To top it all off, JLab claims that the JBuds Lux ANC will offer 42 hours of playback, which would be pretty impressive if it were accurate. We’ll have to give these headphones a good test to see if JLab can really compete in the field of luxury ANC headphones at a competitive price.
Pre-orders for the JLab JBuds Lux ANC wireless earbuds are now available and are expected to ship starting in mid-February. But we suggest you wait for our full review before ordering these headphones.
JBuds ANC 3 True Wireless Earbuds Offer Intelligent Noise Cancellation and Great Battery Life
Not content with introducing a new pair of wireless earbuds, JLab also revealed the JBuds ANC 3 True Wireless Earbuds, an updated version of the second-generation JBuds ANC True Wireless Earbuds, and of course, the excellent JLab Go Air Pop.
You’d be hard-pressed to notice much difference on the outside. But these new earbuds, which are now available in the US for $59 (about £46 / AU$111), come with an additional 42 hours of playtime. And they have the Smart Active ANC that comes with the JBuds LUX ANC.
Competition is tough on our list of the best noise-canceling headphones, and JLab doesn’t yet have a pair of headphones in contention for a spot, although given their rock-bottom price, it’s a little churlish to expect that. So, it will be interesting to see if the updated feature set can put the JBuds ANC 3 True Wireless Earbuds in a competitive position. We’ll have to give them a proper test – watch this space.
