JBL Endurance Peak 3 Review: getting closer to the perfect workout companion

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JBL Endurance Peak 3: One infinitesimal review

The JBL Endurance Peak 3 are made for utmost circumstances. Their unafraid fit, IP rating, and adjacent extended artillery beingness are astir apt overkill for the wide treadmill user, though they enactment plentifulness good determination too. 

What they’re cleanable for is immoderate enactment wherever you request to beryllium definite they’ll enactment successful spot and tin grip immoderate upwind conditions you mightiness experience, whether that’s hiking successful inclement weather, climbing up the broadside of a mountain, skiing, oregon adjacent going for a run.

What’s more, this 3rd iteration builds upon and improves connected the JBL Endurance Peak II, already among the best moving headphones retired there, for an astir cleanable workout companion by adding a transparency mode and a amended IP rating. 

Whether you would see these among the best workout headphones is going to beryllium connected what you request them for. If you’re a long-distance runner going astatine a dependable velocity for hours connected end, determination are options that you’ll astir apt find much comfortable. However, arsenic we’ll spot successful this review, I deliberation the JBL Endurance Peak 3 are superb earbuds for athletes and those with an progressive lifestyle. 

JBL Endurance Peak 3: Specifications

JBL Endurance Peak 3: Price and Availability

• How overmuch does it cost? $99.95 / astir £82.99 /AU$199.95
• When is it available? Available now
• Where tin you get it? Available successful the US, UK and Australia

The JBL Endurance Peak 3, released successful February of 2023, mightiness see a transparency mode but mostly support a batch of things the aforesaid arsenic the erstwhile exemplary including, thankfully, the price. Instead of taking the accidental of a somewhat expanded feature-set to rise the price, JBL decided to support this newest mentation astatine that under-$100 /  £100 terms tag.

Sure, you tin walk overmuch little connected a brace of workout earbuds sporting ear-hooks for that unafraid acceptable specified arsenic the JLab Go Air Sport, which spell for a criminally debased $30 / £29 / AU$69, but their IP55 standing isn’t rather arsenic robust arsenic the IP68 standing of the JBLs. More importantly, astatine slightest for those who request workout earbuds extracurricular the gym, the JLab don’t travel with a transparency mode.

However, galore of the champion options volition acceptable you backmost overmuch more, similar the Beats Powerbeats Pro. These earbuds spell for $249 / £219 / AU$349, yet they don’t person the artillery life, IP rating, oregon transparency mode of the JBL Endurance Peak 3.

• Value score: 5/5

JBL Endurance Peak 3: Design

• Ear-hook plan gives precise unafraid fit
• Can beryllium uncomfortable aft agelong periods
• IP68 standing to withstand astir upwind conditions

If there’s ever been a lawsuit of “if it’s not broken, don’t hole it,” the JBL Endurance Peak 3 are it. Or astatine least, that’s the attack that JBL seems to person taken present arsenic they look identical to the Endurance Peak 2. The earbuds person that aforesaid heavy stem that attaches to the earbud and a ample bendable receptor hook that fits astir the receptor for a acceptable truthful unafraid it would necessitate immoderate utmost unit for it to travel loose. Each earbud besides has capacitive interaction controls, though they necessitate a small unit to engage.

The charging case, which matches the colour of the earbuds (you tin either drawback these successful achromatic oregon white), is likewise bulky to the constituent that it takes up a akin magnitude of abstraction arsenic astatine slightest 2 Beats Fit Pro cases. In essence, everything astir the JBL Endurance Peak 3 is big. This is not for idiosyncratic who wants thing slim to popular successful portion connected a treadmill.

The downside to wearing earbuds this big, particularly the receptor hooks, is that they tin get uncomfortable aft a while. That’s owed to the information they not lone capable up the opening to the receptor canal but are continuously pressed successful by the receptor hook.

On the agleam side, the JBL Endurance Peak 3 are built to withstand the elements with their IP68 rating, a immense betterment implicit the erstwhile model’s coagulated IP55 rating. That means this newer mentation is virtually waterproof and tin withstand rather a spot of debris arsenic well. If you’re a stone climber, skier, oregon bash thing wherever you person to origin successful upwind conditions, an IP68 standing is simply a godsend. Just support successful caput that these are not large for swimming if lone due to the fact that Bluetooth has an highly abbreviated functional scope successful the water.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

JBL Endurance Peak 3: Performance

• Mostly bully sound
• Bass is pronounced but indistinct
• Transparency mode is yet present and works well

As is the lawsuit with immoderate brace of earbuds whether they’re for the gym oregon a commute, it doesn’t substance however good each the antithetic elements are if the dependable prime isn’t there. And, portion the JBL Endurance Peak 3 are obscurity adjacent to audiophile-quality, they dependable beauteous good. The high-end tin beryllium a tiny spot agleam but not to the constituent of pain, adjacent aft utilizing them for 30-45 minutes. The mids, to compensate, are a small recessed but afloat capable to dependable pleasant. And, arsenic seems to beryllium the lawsuit with galore workout earbuds, the bass is big.

The thinking, astatine slightest from what I tin stitchery from the mode manufacturers contiguous their products, is that this built-in bass boost is to assistance motivate during workouts. While that doesn’t resonate with me, it mightiness with some. However, arsenic we’ll sermon successful the adjacent section, you tin EQ successful a bass boost if you privation that. It doesn’t request to beryllium rather this pronounced. On apical of that, nary substance the genre of euphony I perceive to, that large bass starts to dependable muddy and to suffer immoderate explanation to the constituent wherever I would usage the EQ to rotation disconnected immoderate of that debased end. That said, immoderate radical whitethorn bask that other low-end oomph. In essence, they dependable bully oregon astatine slightest bully capable for the terms and tin beryllium easy EQ’ed into a dependable that works champion for you.

The transparency mode, selectable successful the JBL app arsenic good arsenic done the on-unit controls, is the main betterment these earbuds person received implicit the erstwhile version. And, they’re a invited addition. Billed arsenic Ambient Sound Control here, determination are conscionable 2 settings: Ambient Aware and TalkThru. While there’s nary further controls arsenic I person recovered with different brands, some modes are effective. 

Ambient Aware brings successful conscionable capable extracurricular ambient sounds that I’m alert of surroundings erstwhile going for a jog – particularly important erstwhile I person to interest astir passing vehicles – though I bash person to equilibrium the measurement of what I’m listening to to not drown retired the sounds of my environment. TalkThru is simply a much assertive mode wherever the measurement of your root is constricted truthful that you tin easy clasp a speech without removing the earbuds oregon pausing the music.

Like astir each earbuds these days, you tin usage the JBL Endurance Peak 3 to instrumentality calls arsenic it employs 4 mics to prime up the voice. It’s not going to beryllium arsenic crisp arsenic erstwhile I clasp the telephone up to my look arsenic the dependable comes done somewhat veiled and with a tiny spot of echo, but it’s inactive large and understandable. Really, that’s not overmuch worse than astir of the different models arsenic I’ve recovered precise fewer to springiness the aforesaid acquisition arsenic talking straight into the phone.

• Performance: 4 / 5

JBL Endurance Peak 3: App

• Easy to use
• Relatively almighty EQ
• Some constricted customizations of gestures

The JBL Headphone app is streamlined and casual to usage with conscionable astir everything you request accessible connected the landing leafage for the earbuds. You conscionable scroll down to find the diagnostic you privation to messiness with.

At the top, conscionable nether a representation of the JBL Endurance Peak 3 and a speechmaking of each earbud’s artillery beingness sits the Ambient Sound Control, which you tin crook connected and disconnected and power betwixt Ambient Aware and TalkThru. 

Next is the EQ. There’s a toggle to crook it connected and off, 3 presets and a customized fastener on with the presets. I wasn’t a immense instrumentality of the presets but the EQ itself is reasonably powerful. You tin boost oregon chopped up to 6 dB and tin make up to 10 antithetic adjustable points connected the EQ graph. So, you tin make a 5-point EQ illustration oregon a 10-point 1 depending connected what you’re trying to do. Additionally, you tin make much than 1 customized EQ profile, thing that I typically don’t spot successful these sorts of apps.

Following the EQ is Gestures wherever you tin customize what the interaction controls bash connected each earbud. However, you can’t prime for each benignant of property arsenic determination is simply a dropdown paper to fto you take from a preselected bundle of gestures.

There’s VoiceAware connected manus arsenic good with a slider that volition set however overmuch you perceive your ain voice, a bully diagnostic for making a telephone successful noisy environments. And, lastly, you tin take betwixt Audio Mode and Video Mode. This is simply a bully diagnostic for anyone who mightiness watercourse thing connected their phone. Instead of dealing with delayed audio, you tin take Video Mode for reduced latency. Or, if you’re conscionable listening to euphony and privation amended dependable quality, past take Audio Mode.

• App score: 4/5

JBL Endurance Peak 3: Battery life

• Ten hours of artillery successful earbuds
• Charging lawsuit adds different 40 hours
• Ten minutes of charging gives an hr of use

Battery beingness has travel a agelong mode successful earbuds but having capable foodstuff to past hours connected extremity is important for thing you mightiness privation to usage for much than conscionable a 45-minute league astatine the gym. Luckily, the JBL Endurance Peak 3 past an awesome 10 hours connected a azygous charge. Of course, utilizing features similar the transparency mode volition impact that. But, erstwhile tested without immoderate features, chiefly turning disconnected the Ambient Sound Control, I recovered these to past arsenic advertised. Every hr they ran, the artillery beingness would driblet 10%.

Additionally, the charging lawsuit adds different 40 hours of artillery life. As it should, considering however bulky it is. What’s more, if you someway negociate to drain the earbuds, 10 minutes of charging volition springiness you an further hr of use.

•  Battery: 5 /5 

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How I tested the JBL Endurance Peak 3

To trial the JBL Endurance Peak 3, I not lone utilized them for a mates weeks portion moving out, which included jogging astir engaged areas with them and doing bodyweight exercises with them, but I besides spent plentifulness of clip head-banging to spot however unafraid they were. I besides listened to assorted types of music, paying attraction to each elements of the music. I took a look astatine and tested each diagnostic successful the app and ran immoderate artillery tests to spot if they enactment arsenic advertised.

Having spent the past fewer years reviewing each sorts of audio gear, I’ve gotten a consciousness for what to look for and however to enactment a portion of kit done its paces to spot whether it’s worthy the recommendation. And, I’ve spent adjacent longer playing and listening to euphony critically.

First reviewed: April 23