JLab Go Air Sport Long Term Review: One Year Later

Workout earbuds need to be tough, secure and motivational. For this JLab Go Air Sport long term review, I have tried these earbuds in a variety of settings including at the gym, out running and for simple home listening. I have owned them for over a year now, so I’ve had plenty of time to test them out.

These earbuds are priced at only £30 / $30 and the value for money really shines through. You get Bluetooth 5.1, 30 hours total of battery life (including the case), IP55 water resistance, easy touch controls and decent sound quality. If you’re on a tight budget and looking for earbuds for working out, I would recommend them. Read the full review below for the details.

Our Rating: 8.0/10

JLab Go Air Sport Long Term Review: Overview

Single JLab earbud sitting on top of a weight plate.

Pros

Comfortable and secure on the ear.
Battery life.
IP55 water and dust resistance.

Cons

They would benefit from a custom EQ option.
You can’t turn them on without the case.
Honestly, there’s not much at this price.

Who are the JLab Go Air Sport for?

Anyone who wants a secure listening experience when moving around. They are great for exercise and for the price you won’t find many that are better suited.

Who are the JLab Go Air Sport not for?

If you only care about sound quality and never plan on working out with them, look elsewhere.

Whilst the sound quality is OK, there are better in this price range. The balanced EQ mode sounds flat, but the other two EQ settings sacrifice mid and treble quality.

JLab Go Air Sport earbuds sitting outside their case.

JLab Go Air Sport Long Term Review: At the Gym, Outdoors and at Home

Ultimately, workout headphones need to be versatile, some might use them outdoors, others might take them to the gym, or they might be used at home. For this JLab Go Air Sport long term review, I have tried them extensively in all of these settings over the last year.

At the Gym

I’ve worn them to the gym often and they have always been dependable, on both cardio machines and weight machines. When exercising I don’t like to take my heavy phone, so I paired them with a cheap Oakcastle MP3 player.

The Bluetooth connection has been rock solid and they stay firmly on my ears. This is great since the last thing you want to do while working out is to have the need to constantly fiddle with your headphones.

In terms of noise isolation, you can still hear what’s going on around you including the gym music and machines. However, this isn’t too much of an issue and can, at times, be beneficial. Regardless, at this price point you won’t find much better noise isolation.

Outdoors

I’m not a big cardio fan, but tried them running outdoors for the purpose of this review. Wearing them outside while running was very similar to my experience in the gym, though the noise isolation level was perfect for this use case. I could hear my music well, but also felt confident that I would hear any loud outside noises that I might need to react to.

Relaxed Listening at Home

When using them at home, they perform OK. They are comfortable to wear but they don’t really excel in any area for relaxed listening and are better suited to exercise.

JLab Go Air Sport earbuds on a grey fabric background. — Whilst they come in several colours, the black looks very sleek and elegant.

Design and Comfort

The JLab Go Air Sport are sleek and comfortable to wear. The ear hooks are excellent: flexible but secure on the ear. I don’t find I need to adjust them whilst listening, nor worry about them falling off my ears.

I tried them with glasses on and they were still comfortable. The ear hook did not get in the way of the arms.

Apart from that, I can wear them for a long time without any issues. There’s not really much else left to say on the comfort front. They perform significantly above average.

They have withstood the test of time over the last year, the case has attracted a few, subtle scratches but they generally feel and function as well as the day I got them. The buds themselves are still pristine.

Features

The earbuds have an IP55 rating for dust and water resistance. This is great for peace of mind whilst exercising or out in the rain.

The touch controls are intuitive and you can perform all the necessary functions such as pausing music and changing the volume easily. There’s a bit of a knack to tapping it correctly, but it worked well overall.

The Go Air Sport also have Dual Connect, which allows you to connect each earbud independently of the other. They have Bluetooth 5.1 which provides a solid connection, even when leaving my phone in one room and walking to another upstairs.

They have a built in microphone, this is nothing special but would suit you fine for taking a quick call while out and about.

Lastly, they have a two year warranty!

JLab Go Air Sport earbuds on the gym floor.

Battery Life

The Go Air Sport come with a charging case. Each earbud has around 8 hours of battery, this is extended to around 30 hours total with the case. The charging cable for the case is concealed in the back and peals out when needed.

I am impressed with the battery life and think these would suit people for a wide variety of use cases.

I have not noticed any significant degradation in the battery over the last year and they still hold a charge well.

Sound Quality

For the price, the sound quality of the JLab Go Air Sport is decent. You get three sound profiles that can be changed by tapping the right earbud three times: JLab Signature, Balanced and Bass Boost.

My favourite is the Balanced mode, which is well… balanced. It is the best by far for overall clarity. Bass Boost sacrifices the mids and highs too much for my liking. JLab Signature has good bass, but sounds tinny on some songs, especially rock and metal music.

Overall, I find the sound quality to be average for this price. They sound clear provided they are left on the Balanced setting, though perhaps slightly cold and lacking in dynamics.

I would have loved a custom EQ option through an app, but perhaps at this price that’s asking too much. For working out, a touch more bass on the Balanced mode would liven them up.

In the £30 / $30 range there are better sounding headphones but they don’t have the comfort and features these have for exercising. If sound quality is important to you, you will either need to increase your budget or sacrifice the aforementioned positives of these buds.

Overall though, for specifically working out? These rank highly when considering their many positives.