Design and features:This Bluetooth wireless noise canceling home/studio-style on-ear model provides good sound and excellent active noise reduction. Its closed 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, and the audio cable can be detached to get it out of the way when the headphones are being used for noise reduction only. The headphones have low sensitivity when the noise cancelation feature is turned on; so while they can provide satisfying volume levels when used with home audio equipment and higher powered portable audio devices, they may not be a good match for lower-powered portables. When the noise cancellation feature is turned off they have medium sensitivity; so they can provide satisfying volume levels when used with home audio equipment and all but the lowest powered portable audio devices. The Studio ANC has a volume control plus an integrated microphone and player function controls. Additional features include Detachable audio cable. Ear cups fold and swivel for ease of carrying and storage. Free JLab 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. Has power on/off, Bluetooth connect/disconnect, and battery status voice announcements. Supports Siri and Google digital voice assistants when used with Bluetooth devices that have those features. Bluetooth connected Apple mobile devices using iOS Version 5 and above will show the battery level. Has quick charge feature: 10 min. of headphone charging will provide 1+ hr. of playtime. This model comes with Detachable micro USB to 3.5mm audio cable, USB charging cable, carrying bag.
Sound quality:We found the Studio ANC delivers sound quality that falls in the good range - it reproduces music and voice reasonably well despite the obvious shortcomings in its sound and excellent active noise reduction. With the noise cancelling mode engaged the bass (as in bass drums, bass guitars, stand-up bass, etc.) has good impact and goes deep, but is a bit prominent and somewhat boomy. The midrange (voices, guitars, horns, etc.) is fairly even, but is somewhat hazy, soft, and congested (think sonic traffic jam), and a bit grainy. The treble (cymbals, the upper range of violins, etc.) is extended but is subdued and smeared. While the sound has a decent sense of liveliness, it is somewhat closed (sound-wise it's fairly obvious you have something plugging your ears) and does a so-so job of recovering room ambience. Warmish character. The overall sound can best be summarized as somewhat bassy, hazy, and soft. When cord connected to AC powered devices this model may produce a noticeable humming noise regardless of whether it is powered on or not or the noise cancelling feature is engaged; when the noise cancelling feature is engaged the hissing noise may also be more prominent. Noise Canceling: Excellent noise reduction across the entire frequency range with the low frequencies reduced the most. Very faint hissing can be heard when there is no audio program to drown it out.
Comfort and Fit:We found that these headphones produce a sense of light to moderate pressure on the ears.
As typical of on-ear models the ear pads might feel hot and/or sticky after prolonged use.
Large
Users with larger heads might find that the headband does not have enough adjustment range resulting in the headband pressing uncomfortably on the top of the head and/or the ear cups not sitting properly on the ears; the less-than-ideal fit on the ears might interfere with the ear pad seal and reduce the noise reduction capabilities of the headphone.
Stability
Some users may find that when they lean far forward the headphones may feel unstable and shift forward.
Other noise
When wearing this model while walking the muffled vibrations from each foot step can be heard through the headphones regardless of whether the noise cancellation is turned on or off.
When the audio cord is used the sound of it rubbing on clothing may be heard through the headphones regardless of whether the noise cancellation feature is tuned on or off.
Clearances
The ear cup folding mechanism can pinch fingers painfully.
