Very Underrated! 😳 JLab JBuds Lux ANC Review

Seems Like Good Value, But Is It Really?

Today we’re going to look at the JLab JBuds Lux ANC headphones, which appear to be impressive value for money. They do go beyond basic features like active noise cancelling, transparency and app support, and it offers up to 70 hours of battery life, double than even some premium headphones. They also allow you to customise controls, adjust the intensity of noise cancelling and transparency, sound quality settings with a graphic EQ.

One standout feature is you can actually share your audio wirelessly with another JBuds Lux. Although I couldn’t test this feature myself because I only have one unit in the studio, but it’s certainly not something we usually see, even on premium headphones. (I do wonder why these are called JBuds since they’re not buds. They should have called them… JCups.)

The headphones don’t have a traditional headphone jack, but provide USB-C connectivity for lossless audio. The multipoint pairing is especially seamless, allowing me to play audio on device B without pausing device A, ensuring a smooth listening experience.

Features aside, what matters even more is performance. In this video, we’ll put it through the usual battery of tests, to evaluate its sound, noise cancelling, call quality and transparency. We’ll also cover some pros and cons to help you make a better purchase decision.

Microphone Quality Test

In quiet conditions, its mic pickup was quite decent, but it struggles in noisy, windy scenarios because noise was still getting through. It was the case at the food court, and other noisy settings. It also doesn’t cut wind noise very well, you can still hear some flapping noises. Overall I would rate its mic pickup as average.

👉 Have a listen to the microphone pickup samples.

(Tested mic quality in both quiet and noisy conditions using loud cafe noise and wind noise from a fan.)

Active Noise Cancelling

In terms of active noise cancelling, it effectively reduces mid-range noises such as human voices, vehicles and traffic. If you’re studying in a noisy cafe, it works well. However, it struggles with low frequencies like the rumbling of the subway train or plane engine. You can use it on a flight, but don’t expect total silence. At this price, its noise cancelling is still quite effective.

👉 Have a listen to the ANC samples.

Transparency Mode?

Now let’s talk about what has to be my least favorite part of the Lux, its transparency. It provides enough transparency for brief conversations and quick awareness, but it amplifies upper mids and highs more than the mids. Thus, the environment sounds can be loud while my own voice may sound muffled, and the voices of people around me sounded weird, kind of hollow. It’s usable but not natural. Reducing transparency to half transparency makes it sound more natural, similar to switching off noise control entirely.

Sound Quality?

Its sound quality is one of the brighter spots. It’s tuned with a more heavy upper bass and some reverb, remind me of the old Marshall headphones with their rich golden sound. That was pretty enjoyable to listening experience, though the mids and highs lack of vibrance. Track separation can be a little cleaner, but overall the sound is pleasant.

👉 Have a listen to the sound quality samples.

The default sound profile is smooth and dark rather than crisp and exciting, but with the custom EQ, you can adjust it sound closer to your preference.

👉 Have a listen to the custom EQ sound samples.

There are 2 audio modes, music mode and movie mode, which are supposed to provide immersive 360 degree sound. However, switching between them while watching videos or listening to music didn’t show noticeable difference. Maybe this area is still a work in progress.

The 2 audio modes: music mode and movie mode

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think these headphones are seriously underrated. They have good build quality for the price, with a stretchable headband and customisable features. Although I haven’t tested the audio sharing feature yet, the core functionalities are effective, with the exception of its transparency mode not being the best out there.

There are some other areas of improvement, such as the fact that it only supports AAC and SBC audio codecs, whereas audiophiles do expect aptX HD or LDAC for better resolution over Bluetooth. But, for best sound quality, direct USB connection might be preferred.

In terms of fit and comfort, the ear pads are soft and plush, and clamping pressure is not too tight, but the earcups are quite shallow. So people with big ears like mine can feel like it’s a bit cramped, affecting overall comfort. This is likely not a big deal for most people, only those with gigantic ears. Despite this, the Lux headphones perform quite well, they’ve got a complete feature set, and price are competitive.

If you’d like to check the latest prices of the headphones, click on the Amazon links below.

Check latest price:

JLab JBuds Lux ANC - https://amzn.to/4bUfSfm

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