JLab Epic Lux Lab Edition Review – Epic Performance?

Hey everyone! Let’s dive into this review of the JLab Epic Lux Lab Edition headphones—let’s hope their name lives up to their “epic” title.

These headphones are noise-cancelling, over-ear, and branded as JLab’s most advanced product yet.

The JLab Epic Lux Lab Edition headphones can remember up to three devices in pairing memory based on my testing, though this isn’t stated on the website or in the documentation. This should suffice for most users.

Accessories

Accessories include a hard travel case—a thoughtful addition not usually offered at this price point. Alongside the USB-C auxiliary cable, there’s also a pure USB-C cable for charging. It’s refreshing to see this since many headphone manufacturers oddly default to USB-A to USB-C cables. The USB-C cable is 57 inches long, offering impressive length.

Another unexpected feature for this price range is the included wireless charging dock.

Like all headphone manufacturers, no power adapter is included in the box. You’re expected to plug into a computer via wired connection, use your phone adapter, or rely on the wireless charging dock itself.

Design & Comfort

Design-wise, the headphones are striking with uniquely shaped earcups, metallic headband arms, and a faded JLab logo that adds a stylish touch. There are no colour options beyond the current black and metallic version.

They don’t fold but come with a travel case, so portability isn’t an issue. At 300g, they’re on the heavier side but remain comfortable even during extended wear, with or without glasses. Thanks to thick, soft ear cushions and a fabric-like padded headband, they offer excellent comfort—even for people with little to no hair.

While not sweat-resistant and prone to dust accumulation, the headband fabric is easy to clean with a simple wipe of your hand. The headband strikes the perfect balance of flexibility—not too tight nor too loose. Overall, they seem to deliver on both style and comfort.

When I first handled the headphones, the body construction seemed a bit fragile, but after putting it through some tough testing, it proved stronger than expected. That said, these aren’t ideal for workouts. Over-ear headphones generally get sweaty, and the headband shifts slightly forward during movements like deadlifts or rows—small but potentially distracting.

The headband adjusts smoothly with a sliding mechanism, and the earcups rotate freely in all directions, which is impressive. However, official ear pad replacements aren’t available yet, likely due to the headphones being new. Third-party options don’t exist either, so replacement may require patience.

While they don’t fold, carrying them around your neck isn’t uncomfortable. The soft cushioning prevents it from digging into your neck, even when you look down. To ensure there is no bother, you can simply rotate the earcups flat down against you.

Controls

All controls are on the right earcup. A small physical button handles power, Bluetooth pairing, and basic playback or calls. Double-tapping activates your phone’s smart assistant, while triple-tapping switches equalizer modes via the app.

The JLab button toggles listening modes: ANC (Active Noise Cancelling) for blocking external sounds, transparency mode to amplify ambient noise, and standard mode to extend battery life (which turns ANC and transparency mode off).

Additional controls, like track navigation and volume adjustment, are touch-based on the earcup—swipe gestures handle everything seamlessly.

The controls on these headphones are fantastic, with spot-on sensitivity that works seamlessly. A standout feature is the ability to customize the physical buttons and the touch controls—using the app. This adds a lot of versatility, and it’s great that JLab included it. The smart assistant functionality also performs well, especially with Android devices and Google Assistant.

One unexpected feature at this price point is passive play/pause. If you remove the headphones while content is playing, it pauses automatically, and it resumes when you put them back on.

Noise Cancelling

For active noise cancelling (ANC), the headphones handle low-pitched sounds, like airplane engines, impressively. You can comfortably listen to podcasts at 70% volume in loud environments like planes. Music at 50–60% volume is also enjoyable.

On buses or trains, however, voices and higher-pitched noises can seep through. While not perfect, the ANC performs slightly better than you’d expect for mid-tier headphones. In this type of setting you can listen to podcasts at about 50-60% volume and be quite comfortable.

Transparency mode lets you hear your surroundings, but the experience isn’t ideal as ANC—it feels like there’s a layer of paper in front of people’s mouths muffling the sound. This isn’t to say performance is bad, it’s just that ANC performance better than expected while transparency mode performs at the price tag.

Additionally, there’s no sidetone mode for phone calls, which means you can’t hear how loud you’re speaking or monitor background noise during calls. This is a minor limitation and not surprising at this price level.

Battery

Battery life introduces another quirk. JLab claims over 60 hours with ANC on, but my tests consistently delivered around 33 hours, even after draining and recharging the battery multiple times.

The battery performance claims for these headphones are a bit inconsistent. JLab’s website under the technical specs states 60 hours with ANC on, but in their FAQ section, it states 40 hours at 50% volume. My tests at 60% volume delivered around 33 hours, aligning more with their FAQ rather than the technical specs. This mismatch in information is frustrating and highlights a recurring issue for JLab. For instance, their excellent Go Pop ANC earbuds were similarly mislabelled—manuals mentioned physical buttons that didn’t exist, as they had touch-based controls. It’s disappointing when such basic details are incorrect.

However, battery life for regular headphone mode is impressive. JLab claims over 90 hours, and I achieved a whopping 96 hours in testing. While their ANC and transparency mode results could be clearer, a 33-hour battery life is solid for this price range.

Charging times are slightly quicker than listed. JLab estimates three hours with a wired charger, but I clocked it at 2.5 hours. Using their wireless charger took around four hours, though JLab doesn’t specify this duration.

Microphone Quality

The microphone performance was tested across different conditions. In quiet settings, it does okay, and is noticeable that headphones are being used, but the key thing to note is that conversations work well and it’s easy to understand the Epic headphones user.

In a simulated noisy environment, it does a splendid job of blocking out surrounding noise. My voice came through just as clear as it did in a quiet setting and would make it difficult for someone to tell if you were sitting in a café.

While simulating a windy environment the performance is a bit far from flawless and can be a bit annoying for the listener on the other end.

Audio Quality

The audio experience on these headphones brings yet another mix of quirks and surprises. They support AAC, SBC, and LDAC codecs—an unexpected treat since LDAC is typically seen in Sony headphones.

Out of the box, the default JLab Signature Profile leans slightly toward bass-heavy tuning. It’s decent, though nothing groundbreaking, offering a typical mid-tier sound. The real potential comes from the equaliser options in the app. While the preset equalizers work flawlessly, switching to the custom equaliser dramatically lowers the overall volume before any adjustments are made. For instance, if you’re listening at 70% volume on a preset equaliser, switching to custom requires cranking the volume to 90–95% for similar output. This issue persists across devices and is present with the latest firmware, so it might need a future patch. Despite this volume anomaly, at maximum levels with a custom equaliser, the headphones can still deliver very loud audio.

When it comes to equaliser performance, adjusting the bass truly impressed me. Songs like Girls Come By by Havoc and Lawn (a fantastic track!) showcased deep, rumbling bass that even caused slight vibrations on my head—something rare for headphones in this price range. Better yet, this didn’t sacrifice mids or highs, which maintained their clarity.

Adjusting the mids and highs requires a light touch. For instance, when boosting frequencies around 1000 Hz to emphasize vocals, pushing the sliders too high can create an unnatural separation of the vocals from the rest of the sound and warp other audio elements. However, subtle tweaks—raising sliders by about a quarter—deliver a satisfying projection of vocals without compromising the overall audio quality.

Audio sensitivity applies to the highs just as it does to the mids. Songs with sharp, crisp sounds—like clicks or guitar riffs—shine, but overly aggressive adjustments can distort the rest of the audio. To get the best experience, keep your settings balanced and fine-tune cautiously. Overall, the sound quality is impressive for the price.

Wearing these headphones with glasses leads to the usual trade-off seen in over-ear models. While mids and highs remain clear, bass suffers due to the frames breaking the ear cup seal. If strong bass is a priority, wireless earbuds are a better option for glasses wearers.

Software

The app offers several features, some already covered throughout this review. For instance, you can adjust noise-cancelling levels and customize touch controls—an excellent addition. There’s also spatial audio, but it feels like the same gimmick offered by many brands. However, a standout feature is “safe hearing,” which allows you to set decibel limits—something more headphones should include.

Built-in manual and troubleshooting features in the app are basic but helpful for resolving issues or contacting JLab support.

Conclusion

Despite quirks like the sensitivity issues and occasional misinformation, these headphones deliver great value. Their strengths outweigh their drawbacks, and they largely live up to JLab’s claim of being their most advanced model yet. For the budget-conscious, they’re worth considering.