I thought the JLab J3M were older than the J5M ones, but they cost more? Why is it?
I’ve been eyeing these on woot for a while, might finally pick up a pair, but not sure of the differences and quality.
I’ve been using the JLab earbuds for a while now. They sound great, have held up well, and are surprisingly inexpensive. You can get five pair of the top model J6M for the same price as one pair of those overpriced Monster Beat phones. The J5M is the one I have, and it’s excellent.
JLab sells the J3M for $11.99!!! Come on woot!
I have been using this brand for years and I always thought they were very good.
Sound quality: they come out of the box as what I can only describe as sounding stiff. I can’t quite place what is wrong with them but I can certainly tell the difference after a week of daily use. J-Labs describes this time as “burning-in” the headphones and provides the user a webpage and instructions for the process. Once they are burned in the sound quality is very good to me. I am not a self-proclaimed audiophile so I cannot compare across brands and models and know what I am talking about.
Durability: I am using the J5Ms right now and these things are so durable I would use them to beat off would be attackers. I have dropped them, sat on them, left them in a hot car, sent them through the washing machine, stepped on them, and wrapped and unwrapped them hundreds of times and they are still just as good as the first day.
Microphone: I don’t know how to asses the recording quality of it but I don’t get complaints about it. It is just as durable as the rest of the cans. It functions differently (read: better) with the iOS than it does with android when it comes to using the push button to stop and start calls and control music.
Warranty: Not sure what the policy is at now since I have not had to use it ever since I bought the J5M since a year ago. When I last used it, they sent me a replacement set with very little hassle. I think I just had to send back the broken pair. They keep track of your products on their site if you take the time to register and is fairly simple.
Extras: I have bought these several times (always nice to have back ups when you don’t want to search for your headphones for 10 mins) and each purchase I get something new. So far I have received 2 different carrying cases, mic clips, and always 3 extra sets of tips so I can size the headphones to my ear canal. Very useful. If they are still packing these headphones like when I last bought them, they come in minimalistic packaging giving you less junk cluttering up your desk after opening them.
Other: Because these are in ear, they will amplify any rubbing noises between the wire and another surface like a stethoscope.
Personally, I have gotten use to it, but I have read other people cannot stand it. I’d give it a week if I were you.
So in conclusion, if you need a pair of in-ear headphones that sound good, don’t cost a lot, come with extras (sometimes), has a mic for phone calls, and are durable I would go with these.