JLab Go Sport+ review: Unbelievably affordable running earbuds
What makes the best running headphones? Is it comfort? Wearability? Sound? Durability rating? Price?
The JLab Go Sport+ tick off 4 ½ of those boxes. At just $29, these running earbuds are crazy cheap and come with a generous amount of features for that price. You get IP55 durability, a companion app, customizable touch controls, customizable EQ, and, to top it all off, as soon as you put them in your ears, they ain’t going anywhere.
JLab Go Sport+ review: Cheat sheet
- What is it? Running earbuds for under $30
- What does it cost? I’ll say that again: less than $30 ($29/£29)
- What do we like? Super affordable, and they stay in my ear really well
- What don’t we like? The sound quality is nothing to write home about, but they’re fitness earbuds and cost less than $30… so I think it’s okay
JLab Go Sport+ review: Specs
JLab Go Sport+ review: Price & availability
The JLab Go Sport+ are available for $29 from Amazon U.S. and $29 from Amazon U.K.. Like pretty much everything JLab makes, these fitness earbuds are super affordable. You’d be hard-pressed to find running earbuds for cheaper.
JLab makes more fitness audio gear: you’ll find the $99 Epic Open Sport, $99 Epic Sport ANC 3, $99 JBuds Sport ANC 4, and the $49 open-ear JLab Flex. If you want ANC, you’ll need to check out these pricier options.
The main difference between the $29 Go Sport+ and the premium Epic Air Sport ANC 3 is the audio quality. The Go Sport+ only has SBC and AAC, while the Epic Air Sport ANC 3 has LDAC, a hi-res codec for near-lossless listening. On top of this, the Epic Air Sport ANC 3 also benefits from dual drivers — a dynamic driver and a balanced armature driver — resulting in better sound.
Even so, if you’re just using the Go Sport+ for exercise, as I did, the mediocre sound quality is easy to overlook considering the buds are just $29.
JLab Go Sport+ review: Design & controls
- Hook design
- Stays in place perfectly, no complaints here
- Custom touch controls in the app
Considering the Go Sport+ are workout earbuds, you’d hope they do their one job of staying in your ears no matter how vigorously you’re moving your body. And you’ll be pleased to know that they do that perfectly.
I went on multiple runs wearing these earbuds, and they didn’t budge even a millimeter. At first, putting the earbuds in requires a little patience, practice, and a mirror, but once I’d inserted them a few times I got the hang of it. You have to tilt the ‘hook’ part forward, put the ear tips into your ear canal, and then twist the hook back until it sits directly in front of your cartilage.
Thankfully, once you’ve done this little twisteroo, the earbuds genuinely don’t move. They won’t go anywhere until you take them out.
The Go Sport+ are as comfortable as you need them to be. No, I wouldn’t wear them for hours and hours in the same way I’d wear my AirPods Pro 2 until they run out of charge, but they’re not supposed to be used like that. They’re comfortable while you’re wearing them for their intended purpose.
For the purpose of science, I wore them for 4 hours and they were surprisingly comfortable (although I wouldn’t wear them for this long again). I will note that the earbuds are quite annoying to wear with glasses, as the hook of the buds and the arm of the glasses don’t fit well together, but again, I feel like most people wear contacts when working out anyway.
The Go Sport+ come with three ear tip sizes — I used small — and while I wish they were a little softer (JLab advertises them as being ‘gel’ ear tips, which I don’t really see), they’re fine for wearing while working out. I only work out for an hour max, and I never found them uncomfortable for that amount of time.
When you’re working out, you need earbuds that both stay put and are also easy to control. You’ll also be pleased to learn that the Go Sport+ have easy, responsive, and customizable touch controls. Out of the box, you can increase or decrease volume with one tap, or double-tap to play/pause or activate your phone’s assistant. I never accidentally missed the earbud while trying to control my music during runs.
JLab Go Sport+ review: Features & connectivity
- No wear detection
- Google Fast Pair, easy iOS pairing
- Custom EQ
Despite being only $29, the Go Sport+ have a couple of features to keep you tickin’ over. In the JLab app (which I’ll discuss in detail below), you can adjust the EQs. You can choose from three preexisting EQs or you can create your own using JLab’s 10-band equalizer. I found ‘bass boost’ worked the best for the genres of music I listen to.
You can also activate ‘Safe Hearing’, which limits the music to a certain volume. You can set it at 85dB or 95dB, so even if your phone volume is turned all the way up, your music won’t play any louder than this.
There’s also a nice IP55 rating, so you can sweat all over the earbuds and they’ll survive. You could also go for a little rain-soaked run, and the Go Sport+ would live to tell the tale.
If you live in a built-up area, you can also turn on ‘Be Aware’. This is effectively a transparency mode, which opens up the mics on the earbuds so you can hear noises around you. This doesn’t minimize your music, but I found only high-frequency noises were relayed through the earbuds, which didn’t affect my listening much.
If you want to stay seriously aware during runs, you might be better off with a pair of open-ears. We’ve tested the EarFun Clip and Soundcore AeroClip, which would be worth checking out.
Alright, so you can adjust EQ, activate Safe Hearing, and your ‘buds won’t die in a deluge. That’s pretty much it in terms of features, but these are workout earbuds, not AirPods or Galaxy Buds. It’s very normal for these types of earbuds to be a feature desert.
Honestly, the only feature I need in fitness earbuds is a little goblin that lives inside and shouts at me when I feel like giving up and going home. Unfortunately, though, technology hasn’t quite got that far yet.
Connectivity is also straightforward yet functional: you get Bluetooth 5.3, which results in a range of about 800 feet. In real terms, I was able to go downstairs in the office and halfway across to our photography studio without the connection dropping. Androids also get Google Fast Pair, although I found the connection on iOS to be just as speedy.
JLab Go Sport+ review: Sound quality
- Sound quality isn’t amazing
- Bassy sound signature, good for runs
- But audiophiles won’t be impressed
Now, I was never expecting the Go Sport+ to rival industry leaders like AirPods Pro 3 or Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. I expected sound quality worth $29, and I got sound quality worth $29. There’s a weird staticness lying over the top of the tracks, most distracting in softer genres like pop, and eclipsed by heavy genres like rock and hard house.
Even so, these are $29 workout earbuds that prioritize staying in place, so they’re not going to win any audio awards in the first place. When you’re working out, you’re less fussed about how good your music sounds and more concerned about the earbuds not falling out of your ear holes.
To test the Go Sport+, I went on three runs: one, I listened solely to electronic/house/dance; two, I listened to rock/nu-metal/umbrella heavy guitar music; three, pop.
The Go Sport+ sounded best when listening to electronic (no surprises there, as the soundscapes tend to be less muddy than metal), but they never sounded so bad that I felt the urge to rip them from my ears and fling them into the canal.
‘Duality’ by Slipknot pounded through the tiny 6mm drivers with unabashed volume. The heavy bassline did get a little muddy in the chorus, and the percussion wasn’t hugely clear, but the kick drum and bass worked well enough together to get my feet going on the path.
Corey Taylor’s vocals were prominent at the top of the track. The vocals were loud enough to use the lyrics as, I don’t know, some kind of gym motivation, like a mask-wearing PT from a D-List horror movie (that I definitely want to watch).
‘Artificial Angels’ by Grimes carried itself with a satisfying kick drum, the modulated, segmented electronic bassline contorting itself across the soundscape like some kind of sci-fi, neon-green, armored caterpillar.
The bass at the rear of the track was a little compressed, and Grimes’ childlike vocals in the verses struggled to find their place over top. So, again, this wouldn’t impress me were I listening at my desk, but the bass was strong enough to keep me running.
For my pop test track, I listened to ‘House featuring John Cale’ by Charli xcx. This is a more ambient track, so I wanted to test how interfering the static issue was for a quieter song. As I said earlier, the static sound didn’t really affect rock and hard house/techno, as these genres tend to be a bit more bombastic anyway.
As expected, the track sounded a little fuzzy thanks to the static, but I could still enjoy the music. The eerie violin section was the loudest part of the track, but John Cale and Charli xcx’s vocals weren’t overpowered. All in all, it sounded good, but I wouldn’t say great.
The Go Sport+ are ideal for $29 fitness earbuds, but they won’t cut it if you’re using them as your primary earbuds. I would only ever use them for running.
JLab Go Sport+ review: App
- JLab app
- Simple, straightforward to use
- Easy to navigate
As the case with other JLab gear I’ve tested — Go Pods ANC, JBuds Lux ANC, JBuds Mini — the Go Sport+ use the JLab app. This is a very simple, straightforward app that I’m sure even the most technophobic could make light work of. Here are a few screenshots so you can see what I’m talking about.
As the only features are Be Aware, Safe Hearing, and EQ, that’s the extent of the JLab app. It’s a budget-friendly app for budget-friendly earbuds.
JLab Go Sport+ review: Call quality
- Dual MEMs mics
- Good call quality for everyday use
- But a little fuzzy
To test the call quality on the Go Sport+, I called my boyfriend, who, at this point, has listened to practically every earbud on the planet. He said the Go Sport+ sounded clear and he could understand everything I was saying, but there was a touch of fuzziness modifying my voice.
I would recommend these buds for everyday calls, but I wouldn’t start attending important work calls with them.
JLab Go Sport+ review: Battery
- 9 hours in the buds
- 35 hours in the case
- Charging cable connected to the case itself
The Go Sport+ have a pretty impressive battery life: you’re looking at a whopping 9 hours in the buds and 35 hours in the charging case. This is much better than your commercial, lifestyle buds like the AirPods Pro 3 (8 hours, 24 hours), and Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro (7 hours, 30 hours).
Obviously, this is because the Go Sport+ are driving less power than the Apple/Sony/Samsung/Bose equivalents, but it’s still nice to have, especially if you’re looking to do a marathon or something of that nature. You don’t want your earbuds dying on mile 20!
Interestingly, the USB-C charging cable is permanently connected to the charging case, so you’ll only need a wall outlet plug to get your case filled up. I’ve seen this on the JLab Go Pods ANC. It’s frustrating that if the cable breaks, you’ll need to replace the entire product, but you also don’t risk losing your cable.
JLab Go Sport+ review: Verdict
The JLab Go Sport+ are ideal budget earbuds for running, cycling, or gym workouts. I found they stayed cemented in place during runs and were lightweight and comfortable enough that I forgot I was wearing them.
No, the sound quality won’t impress anyone who knows what “24-bit 192kHz” means, but for less than $30, heck yeah, they’ll do. If you want serious sound and are willing to spend a little more, you might want to check out the Soundcore AeroClip or JLab Epic Open Sport.
I’m probably going to continue wearing my AirPods for runs — I’m bad enough at remembering/charging one pair of earbuds, let alone two — but if you’re of the dual-earbud-life persuasion, I sincerely recommend the Go Sport+.
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