Design and features:This Bluetooth wireless noise canceling portable ear-insert model provides very good sound and excellent active noise reduction. Its ear plug-like design and electronic noise canceling feature reduce both outside noise and sound leaking out into your environment. The headphones work with or without the noise canceling feature being turned on. You can use the noise-canceling feature without listening to music. The Epic Air ANC -2nd Gen has a volume control plus an integrated microphone and player function controls. Additional features include - either earpiece can be used alone for one ear monitoring of Bluetooth streamed audio and telephone communications. Charging/carrying case has built-in rechargeable battery that the manufacturer claims can be used to recharge the earphone batteries for an additional 40hrs. of listening time for a total of 48 hrs. Manufacturer claims dust and water resistance of (IP55) for earphones. Free JLab store app for Apple and Android mobile devices provides an audio burn-in sequence; otherwise just seems to be a shopping portal for other JLab products. The headphone noise cancellation touch control setting switches between ANC on, ANC off, and ambient sound monitor (Pass-through) modes by touch control on Left earbud. JLab Sound app offers 21 different levels of ANC and 21 different levels of ambient sound monitoring. These settings can be customized using the JLab sound app for Android. Has touch controls for volume, music player play/pause, call connect/disconnect, next/prev track music player function controls, noise cancellation on/ambient sound on, digital voice assistant activation, change sound modes and EQ change. Supports Apple Siri and Google Assistant digital voice assistants when used with Bluetooth devices that have those capabilities and that, if needed, have the appropriate apps installed. Has automatic pause feature - pauses audio when either earphone is taken out of an ear; audio automatically restarts when the earphone is placed back in the ear. Has quick charge feature: 15 min of charging will provide 1 hr. of playtime. Bluetooth connected Apple mobile devices using iOS Version 5 and above will show the battery level. Free JLab Sound app download for Apple and Android mobile devices can be used to change the change the EQ settings between preset sound profiles and custom profiles, show battery level, deactivate the auto pause feature, activate the gaming mode feature, set power off timer, update firmware and to help locate the earphones if they are misplaced by providing link/download to free TILE app. The Epic Air ANC -2nd Gen comes with 6 pairs of ear pieces in various sizes, Charging cradle/recharger battery/carrying case with built in USB-A connector charging cable, Quick start guide.
Sound quality:We found the Epic Air ANC -2nd Gen delivers sound quality that falls in the very good range - it reproduces music and voice very well although it does have some noticeable sonic quirks and excellent active noise reduction. With the noise canceling mode engaged and the tone settings set to the Signature EQ mode (default setting) the bass (as in bass drums, bass guitars, stand-up bass, etc.) has good impact and goes deep, but is somewhat prominent and boomy. The midrange (voices, guitars, horns, etc.) is even, but is somewhat grainy and hazy, and a bit congested (think sonic traffic jam). The treble (cymbals, the upper range of violins, etc.) is extended but is a bit subdued and somewhat smeared. While the sound has a good sense of liveliness, it is somewhat closed (sound-wise it's fairly obvious you have something plugging your ears) and does a decent job of recovering room ambience. Warmish character. The overall sound can best be summarized as somewhat bassy, hazy and grainy. The JLab Sound app EQ controls had a noticeable effect on the sound. Noise Canceling: Excellent noise reduction across the entire frequency range with the low frequencies reduced the most. Orientation does not changes the noise reduction characteristic. A very faint rushing sound can be heard in quiet environments when there is no audio program to drown it out.
Comfort and Fit:We found that these earphones as typical of in-ear models they produce a sense of pressure in the ear canal opening that might be uncomfortable for some.
Small
Users with small ear bowls might find that the earphone body feels bulky in their ear bowl and that they stick out too far and feel like they may lever out of place, but that they will stay in place during casual use and are stable during fairly vigorous head movement with the black silicone ear pieces and are very stable during vigorous head movement with the blue foam ear pieces.
Medium
Users with medium sized ear bowls will probably find that this model stays in place with no problems for casual use and that they are stable during vigorous head movement with the black silicone ear pieces and are very stable during vigorous head movement with the blue foam ear pieces.
Large
Users with large sized ear bowls will probably find that this model stays in place with no problems for casual use and that they are stable during fairly vigorous head movement with the black silicone ear pieces and are stable during vigorous head movement with the blue foam ear pieces.
Incidental contact with the touch controls can cause unintentional volume level changes.
Hitting the stem that hangs out of the ear can knock an earphone loose and cause it to fall out of the ear.
