I’ve tried a lot of different headphones for running. I’ve tried different earbuds, but I have never run with bluetooth earbuds before trying the JLab Epic2 Bluetooth Wireless Sport Earbuds, which was a new experience for me.
The earbuds are connected to each other via a wire that goes behind the head, but the earbuds themselves have a wireless connection to the music device (in my case an iPhone). A remote control with three buttons rests behind the right ear to start and stop the audio and raise and lower the volume – as well as the micro usb port to charge the earbuds. The Epic2 earbuds also come with small clips that are used to tighten the wires behind the head, so they don’t hang so far down. The shortened wires did help with wearing the earbuds, but would occasionally catch on the collar of my shirt when I would turn my head.
The earbuds fit in comfortably and securely when the wire coming off the earbuds hooked behind the ear. The rubber earbud tips did muffle the sounds outside the headphones, but external sounds could still be heard while wearing them, which is important when running out on the street.
The sound quality of bluetooth tends to not have the fidelity of wired headphones, but the sound from the Epic2 were good. A robust sound with very high potential volume made it very clear to listen to music and audiobooks. I found the sound had decent bass, but songs with heavy bass wasn’t quite as deep as I would like when listening to bands like Metallica.
Although more expensive than many of the wired competitors, I find that the sound is almost comparable (and even less noticeable when actually running), making me more likely to recommend the JLab Epic2 Bluetooth Wireless Sport Earbuds over the wired models. When I am next asked what running earbuds to get by someone, the JLab Epic2 Bluetooth Wireless Sport Earbuds are likely to be my top pick for them.
