I purchased the J2 earbuds before doing some serious flying beginning in mid-summer, and I was well pleased with the quality on them. My husband kept teasing me about the color--a lovely pink!--and it took some time to convince him to actually give them a listen. When he finally did, he was blown away, and caved on the idea of getting his own. Neither of us are huge audiophiles, but I'm a bit more picky about overall sound quality than he is. I still haven't found a set of iPhone speakers that I'm satisfied with after 2 years of searching.
I came to Amazon to purchase a set of J2's in white, and found that the J3 version had just been released. Reading up, I knew we needed to give these a try instead, and ordered the Titanium Silver for him.
As mentioned both in reviews and by JLab, you MUST allow these earbuds (and the J2 model) to burn in before you're going to get the fullest range of sound. Even so, my husband was utterly stunned the first time he used his new pair. He raved about them so much, I stole them for an hour to compare to my now well-used J2's, and I found improvements all the way around. Even with a fresh out of the box pair that had perhaps a few hours of burn in time, the trebles are incredibly clear, and the bass to my ear is both significantly deeper and clearer in tone. (I'm a bass girl, this was the most important thing for me.) The audible background "hiss" you can hear on older or poorer quality mp3s is even muted.
I bought a new Paparazzi Pink pair for myself that night, and my J2's have been relegated to emergency backup status. With the release of the J3, J2 models are at an exceptional price, but these are so superior that they're well worth the extra money.
Little things:
The new packaging is fabulous; I hope more companies start working with Amazon to switch over to this type of packing material.
The little case provided with the J3 model is a big plus. I have the larger case for travel and this one is way more convenient for daily use. It's small enough to slip into a shirt or jacket pocket.
Four sizes of silicone ear buds will make it much easier to fit for some. I did transfer over mine from the J2 as the material from those feels a bit thinner and I preferred the old color My husband found he was most comfortable using different sizes for each ear, so having the wider variety of sizes worked well for him. His only complaint is that even with the best fitting pair, occasionally he finds the fit to be almost too tight to the point of pressure-induced discomfort. Most of the time, it's not a problem. He did have ear issues as a child and I suspect this may be a factor, as I have had no trouble at all with either model.
For reference, both pair are being used with 1st gen iPhones for music and audiobooks. I use the EQ settings for the iPod function, he makes no adjustments.
Overall, one of the best products I've bought in any category this year! JBuds J3 Micro Atomic In-Ear Earphones with Travel Case (Titanium Silver)
In an earlier review, I mentioned that these high-quality JBuds J3s were too treble-heavy for my tastes, which too much sound in the upper register instead of a balanced sound. Of course, sound is subjective and many may find these $30 J3s worth the money.
I posted this review on Amazon and my blog and got an email from JLab Audio telling me that they were "surprised" by my criticism, that my critique contradicted focus groups and their "overwhelming conclusions." The email also implored me to consider removing my review until I made a more thorough evaluation.
JLab Audio makes similar requests to Amazon reviewers who give their product less than sterling praise. Clearly, JLab cares about their customer feedback and wants evaluations to be both thorough and they also make it clear that the earbuds should go through a breaking-in process, playing the buds through the earphone jack for 24 hours straight.
I want to be fair so I deleted my Amazon review and want to give my evaluation as a "second look," having allowed my J3s to go through the breaking-in process. I am comparing my $30 J3s to the $14 J2s, listening to them through a C.Crane CCR-2, a Sangean WR-2, and an iPod.
For me, the J2s, while not offering the same brightness and dynamic volume as the J3s, are for me the better deal. Simply put, I just find too much treble in the J3s at the expense of other sound range resulting in a less than balanced listening experience. On my CCR-2 radio, I turned the treble all the way down to mitigate the J3's upper end effect. On the Sangean WR-2, the high-end was also too much for me. Same story with the iPod. Now I expect many will be happy with the bright sound in the upper register. It's just too much for me. JLab makes a good product. I bought their original JBuds and still use them as my travel buds and I love them as they're very comfortable. The J2s offer better fidelity than the originals. I use them for my bedside radio. The J3s for me offer too much treble but definitely bring a brightness that many will enjoy.
Update: JBuds contacted me and offered me to exchange my J3s for two pair of J2s. Kudos to JBuds for accommodating my preference for the J2s. - Earbuds - J3 - Earphones - Ipod Earbuds'
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