I recently received the JLab Epic2 Bluetooth headphones for review. Some of the new features of the Epic2 are the upgrade from ipx4 to ipx5 to improve resistance to sweat and water. They have also improved the Bluetooth antenna to help with signal\cutout problems. The Epic 2 include AptX compatibility to improve Bluetooth audio. They also last for 12 hours of music which should last someone for the week if they were used in the gym.
Accessories:
The Epic2’s come with lots of accessories to help the new owner get the most of their headphones. The headphones come with 8 sets of tips with all different configurations of single, double, triple flange tips. Also included is a handy hard nylon zippered case that can hold the cable, extra tips and the Epic2 themselves. Another handy accessory is the included plastic cinches that will help the owner change the size of the cable to meet their needs.
Fit:
The Epic2 are fairly easy to figure out in regards on how to wear them, and because of the titanium over-ear hook and how it guides around your ear, it did not interfere with my sunglasses when using them outside. The memory wire in the wire helped keep the headphones over my ear and the included plastic cinches, I was able to lessen the amount of wire, helping to lessen microphonics. The outer housing of the phones are a little large, so the headphones cannot be inserted deep into the ear, making it so they isolate well and block out ambient sound, but it could be better. Still the Epic2 is worlds better than the isolation of the Powerbeats2, which is none at all.
Controls:
The controls are Intuitive with raised buttons, a left arrow, center button, and right arrow. They are at just the right height and raised in the way for you to be able to differentiate from them. It was very easy for me to change tracks, pause music, raise, and lower music. I found them to be easier to use then the ones included on the Beats Powerbeats2. The controls also seem very well made and probably could take a beating if I were someone who was not careful with my stuff.
Sound:
The sound of the Epic2 lean more to the bass side of music, but they are not overpowered by, as I could still discern mids and highs. I do not always listen to classical music, but these sounded fine when I listened to The Very Best of Mozart, they sounded pretty good. Listening to Chris Cornell’s Dead Wishes, the acoustic guitar and vocals were well defined, the headphones did not sound congested and I could make out the individual instruments. The headphones exhibited a decent soundstage.
Gym and Outdoors:
I used at the gym doing chin-ups, bench press, abdominals, legs, and so on and these worked great, no problems. I also tried them on the elliptical and they stayed in and I did not have to reposition them. I sweat a bit, but I did not dunk these in water or anything like that, no torture test here to see if they met their IPX5 rating. These had a decent range of 30 to 40 feet, so when doing weights, I had my phone away from me when possible. Outside, the headphones had no dropouts and were great. I even took them to Europe with me and they performed flawlessly. I have found that some Bluetooth headphones ran into problems when outside, but these were great. I tested them with both my Samsung S7 and an Iphone 6 Plus. I wanted to mention that these also randomly tell me the battery life while listening to music, so you will always know where you are at in terms of how much time you have left.
After having used these for several weeks, I think these are the very well rounded. They have very good sound, great battery life, good fit, are made for the gym and people on the go. These are now my go to bluetooth headphones.