JLab Audio is a growing force in the headphone world. Last year, we reviewed a few of the company’s offerings — including the Omni’s, the Epic2’s, and the Flex ANC headphones. Now, the company’s back with yet another offering — the JLab Audio Gravity neckband headphones.
The JLab Audio Gravity neckband actually comes at a very low price, and you can get them for yourself for only $40 from Amazon. But are the worth the cash? We put them to the test to find out.
Design
The first thing you’ll notice about the JLab Audio Gravity’s is that they’re a little different from other headphones. They come in two parts — the actual neckband/Bluetooth receiver, and the in-ears, which plug into the receiver through a standard 3.5mm port. What that means is that you don’t have to use the including in-ears — you can use your preferred headphones, and plug them into the receiver to turn them into Bluetooth headphones.
It’s really a great idea, and one that should appeal to those looking to go wireless but who have a pair of headphones that they like. You don’t have to worry about cable management, either — you can wrap the extra cable around the back of the headphones, which safely tucks the cabling away, ensuring it won’t get caught on anything while you’re working out.
On each side of the neckband, you’ll find a rectangular module. The left-hand one is where you’ll find the controls, and you’ll get a volume up and volume down button, as well as a central multi-use button. On the right, you’ll get a microUSB charging port, and we assume the battery is located inside the right-hand module as well.
In the box, you’ll get the neckband, the in-ear headphones, three eartips, and three wings — so there are plenty of accessories for different ear sizes and shapes.
In general, JLab Audio has come up with a great concept here. The Gravity neckband is well-designed and largely built out of silicon, and while it may not be the strongest neckband out there, it’s still relatively well-built.
Comfort
In-ear headphones often struggle in the comfort department, but JLab Audio has actually done quite well in ensuring that the Gravity in-ears don’t fall into common traps. For example, the in-ear units are relatively small, meaning that you can wear them for a few hours without them getting uncomfortable.
We do recommend experimenting a little with the included accessories though — which will help make sure you find the right fit for your ears. These headphones may be a slightly different fit for you as well — while normally I use medium-sized eartips, because of how these headphones fit into the ear, I found that the larger eartips were better.
The neckband itself is also relatively comfortable. The silicon build wasn’t ever really irritating to our skin, and the device is quite light.
In general, JLab Audio has done well at making both the neckband and the in-ear headphones comfortable — and while any in-ear headphones will get uncomfortable over time, these headphones suffer that problem less so than others.
Sound
As mentioned, the JLab Audio Gravity neckband is really compatible with any 3.5mm-connected headphones, so for this section we’re reviewing the included in-ear headphones. If you plan on using your own headphones, skip this section and ignore the score we gave under “sound.”
Let’s start with the bass, which is generally quite well-tuned. It’s definitely not as deep as it could be, and mega-bass fans will be dissapointed with the sound of the bass, but those who aren’t necessarily all that concerned with bass sound should be fine with it.
The mid-range is slightly better-tuned, offering a good balance between high-mids and low-mids. The low-mids go a long way in helping the headphones sound relatively warm overall, while the high-mids don’t stray into AM-radio territory.
The high-end is the most overlooked frequency range among headphone-makers, and while the JLab Audio gravity headphones generally avoid most of that there’s no denying that the high-end could be slightly better tuned. It’s not as crisp and high-ranging as it could be. That’s not to say it sounds bad — it doesn’t. But it could sound better.
In general, the JLab Audio Gravity headphones sound pretty good. It’s certainly nice that you can trade them out for something a little better-sounding, but if you do end up using these they’re not a bad option.
Performance
The whole point to these headphones is that you can use them with any in-ears, which means that the performance of the Bluetooth connection and the battery life has to be pretty good. Thankfully, it’s not bad.
The Bluetooth connection used is a pretty standard Bluetooth 4.1 connection, and it’ll deliver 10 meters of range, or around 33 feet. In our testing the connection was pretty good, and the headphones didn’t really skip or drop until we were outside the standard range or there were obstacles in the way.
The battery life is pretty decent, but it won’t blow any minds. It sits in at 10 hours of use, which should last at least a few days under normal use. If you’re generally pretty good at keeping your devices charged up, the 10 hours should be fine for you.
Conclusions
JLab Audio has made a pretty unique product here, and we really like it. The JLab Audio Gravity neckband is well-designed, and while there are certainly better in-ear headphones out there, if you end up using the included ones you’ll be fine with what the have to offer.
Because of their excellent design, and the great idea to make the neckband customizable with different in-ear headphones, the JLab Audio Gravity neckband has been awarded the Headphone Review Bronze Medal.
| Store | Price |
|---|---|
 |
$39.99 |
 |
$39.99 |
| JLab Audio | $39.99 |
| Frequency response | Unknown | Active noise cancellation |
No |
| Driver size | Unknown | Noise attenuation | Unknown |
| Driver type |
Dynamic | In-line controls | Yes |
| Design |
Closed | Microphone | Yes |
| Sensitivity | Unknown | Eartip material | Silicon |
| Rated impedance |
Unknown | Magnet material | Unknown |
| Total harmonic distortion |
Unknown | Water resistance | IPX4 |
| Rated input power |
Unknown | Battery life | 10 hours |
| Maximum input power |
Unknown | Wireless distance | 10m (33ft) |
| Wireless connection |
Bluetooth 4.1 | Cable length | N/A |
| Wired connection |
No | Case type | N/A |
| Detachable cable |
No | In-the-box |
|
| Weight | Unknown | Colors | Black |