One of the best budget earbuds brands just launched two super-cheap noise cancelling buds, and some open earbuds with Hi-Res Audio

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Incredibly affordable ANC, Spatial Audio and open-ear audio too

A man wearing JLab Epic Open Sport earbuds with a harbour in the background
The Epic Open earbuds deliver Hi-Res Audio over LDAC (Image credit: JLab)
  • JLab GO Pods deliver hybrid ANC for just $36.99
  • JLab JBuds Pods are $64.99 with spatial audio
  • $114.99 Epic Open Sport are JLab's "best sounding and most advanced headphones"

JLab has carved out an impressive niche as a high-quality, low-cost headphone maker: its Go Pop ANC earbuds are some of the best ultra-cheap noise cancelling earbuds on the market. And now the firm has announced three new sets of headphones: new ANC earbuds, new spatial audio buds, and new open earbuds.

There are three new models: the entry-level GO Pods with hybrid ANC; the JBuds Pods with spatial audio; and JLab's highest-end open-ear model to date, the Epic Open Sport.

These are all priced aggressively: $36.99 for the GO Pods, $64.99 for the JBuds Pods and $114.99 for the Epic Open Sport.

A young woman working with JLab GO Pods in her ears

The GO Pods are extremely cheap for ANC earbuds (Image credit: JLab)

JLab GO Pods, JBuds Pods and Epic Open Sport: key features

The GO Pods are compact earbuds with hybrid ANC and around 26 hours of playtime. There's no wireless charging at this price – there's a USB-C cable built into the case, in fact – but you do get three ANC modes: on, off and Be Aware, which is JLab's take on transparency mode. You can also adjust the ANC strength via the JLab app – all pretty impressive compared to the best budget earbuds.

The JBuds Pods also come with ANC, and there are six microphones for in-call clarity. The drivers are 11mm with JLab's spatial audio for a 3D audio experience. Battery life is a very long 56-plus hours in total, and you can charge wirelessly or via USB-C. If the quality is there, they could be a wallet-friendly candidate among the best noise cancelling earbuds.

A young woman wearing sunglasses, looking at her phone in a leafy street with a pair of JBuds Pods in her ears

The JBuds Pods deliver spatial audio and have 11mm drivers for punchy performance (Image credit: JLab)

The most impressive of the three new models is the JLab Epic Open Sport. Inside there are enormous 14.2mm custom-tuned drivers and the headphones are certified for Hi-Res Audio. Frequency range goes up to an airy 50kHz and higher-res audio is delivered via LDAC. We're increasingly seeing the best open earbuds focus on sound quality, and JLab could deliver great bang for buck here.

The Epic Open Sport earbuds will be available from 22 April 2025 from JLab.com. The other buds will be available from 13 May.

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Carrie Marshall
Carrie Marshall
Contributor

Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind.

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