JLab has just taken the wraps off its latest sports-oriented wireless earbuds — the JLab Epic Sport ANC 3 — and this time, the company has partnered with balanced armature maker Knowles to give the buds even more “epic” sound. They cost $100 and will be available online in September and then in stores starting in October.
The Epic Sport ANC 3 inherit their crown from the Epic Air Sport ANC wireless earbuds, which have been a favorite go-to for sporty types who simply don’t want to pay Beats Powerbeats Pro prices for an ultra-secure set of buds. We’re not sure why JLab has chosen to drop the “Air,” but the timing of these new sports buds couldn’t be better: Beats just let it be known that the next-gen Powerbeats Pro will be arriving sometime in the new year.
By far the biggest change on the Epic Sport ANC 3 is their sonic architecture. With a 10mm dynamic driver for lower frequencies and a Knowles balanced armature driver for higher frequencies, music should sound more detailed, with greater separation of frequencies. To get the most out of this new architecture, the buds support Sony’s LDAC Bluetooth codec for hi-res audio (Android only).
The earhook-equipped buds also get a spatial audio EQ mode for more immersive sound, and they use hybrid active noise cancellation along with JLab’s Be Aware mode (transparency).
Battery life, which has always been excellent on this family of earbuds, remains very robust at a claimed 10-plus hours with ANC on, and up to 12-plus hours when it’s off. With the case included, JLab says to expect 42 hours of use or 52 hours, respectively.
Bluetooth Multipoint lets you connect to two devices simultaneously, and the buds can quickly pair with Android and Window devices thanks to Google Fast Pair and Microsoft Swift Pair. And what would a set of sports earbuds be without decent water protection? The Epic Sport ANC 3 are rated IP66 for water and dust resistance.
Powering up the case is going to be easy, no matter where you are: it has an integrated USB-C cable and a dedicated USB-C port, plus you can drop it on any wireless charger.
