As consumer expectations for high quality audio, long-wear comfort, and advanced personalization features continue to evolve, Knowles has partnered with JLab on the development of the company's latest flagship product. The new JLab Epic Lab Edition earbuds combine Knowles RAN balanced armatures (BAs) with dynamic drivers to deliver a well-balanced sound across the full frequency curve, and improve the design's active noise cancellation performance.
Knowles BAs enable these JLab earbuds to achieve the higher frequencies necessary to produce the optimal audio performance and bring depth and life to music. Epic Lab Edition users will be able to customize their equalizer settings for the earbuds in the JLab App, choosing between four settings: JLab signature, Knowles Preferred Response Curve, Bass Boost, and a final option to customize their own settings.
These are also the first earbuds to reach the market that were designed with consideration for the results of the Knowles Preferred Listening Response Curve study, delivering also on the high frequency response required for hi-res reproduction. The Knowles Preferred Listening Response Curve study revealed that listeners across age ranges and hearing abilities prefer expanded treble response beyond 10kHz for the most satisfying music listening experience.
Small enough to fit in the ear tip, the RAN balanced armatures used in the design also enable comfortable fit without compromising sound quality, range or battery life. Delivering exceptional treble performance, with output up to 40kHz for JAS Hi-Res Audio certification, the high sensitivity of Knowles BAs also facilitates improved hearing personalization and enhancement.
"Knowles' approach to sound made the collaboration a no-brainer," says Win Cramer, JLab CEO. "Pairing our technology with Knowles BAs creates an unrivaled sound experience for the listener".
"JLab is a well-known brand with a great reputation among both casual listeners and audio connoisseurs," states Jon Kiachian, President of MedTech and Specialty Audio at Knowles Corporation. "Our collaboration with JLab on the Epic Lab Edition true wireless earbuds stands as a testimony to Knowles' relentless pursuit of excellence in audio engineering. We are eager to foster this synergy and deliver the audio performance that customers crave."
Coupled with Smart active noise cancellation, the Epic Lab Edition true wireless earbuds offer three distinctive noise control modes, allowing users to customize their sound preferences and minimize distractions. These modes are ANC On, ANC Off, and Be Aware Audio. The "On" mode is the Smart ANC feature that attempts to reduce external disturbances as they occur, combining feedforward and feedback ANC technologies and 3 MEMS microphones per earbud. Each earbud has a 9-hour battery life with ANC turned on, or 13-hour with ANC off, and a total of more than 56 hours of playtime from the charging case.
The Epic Lab Edition earbuds feature Hi-Res Audio support via LDAC (Android) or AAC (iOS) advanced codecs. According to the San Diego-based company, these earbuds deliver the best sound experience JLab has ever created with Classic Bluetooth, and already support Bluetooth LE Audio and the mandatory LC3 codec, ensuring future experiences when compatible LE Audio sources start to be available in the market. Users who play audio through devices that have USB-C ports like the new iPhone 15 can experience Bluetooth LE audio and LC3 codec through the included USB-C dongle.
According to JLab, the new Bluetooth 5.3 earbuds already feature Auracast with the ability to support multiple audio streams simultaneously for Personal audio sharing or to tune into Broadcast streams. With LE Audio, the Epic Lab Edition true wireless earbuds will also deliver a longer battery life and lower latency. JLab projects a 20-30% improvement in battery life of LE audio supported devices compared to non LE Audio. Additionally, the latency is drastically reduced from 20-60 milliseconds.
“For the Epic Lab Edition, I tasked our engineering team with creating something that brought exceptional sound quality to market and still offered an incredible value compared to similarly priced earbuds. We’ve shown the world the amazing things that can be done in the under $100 category, and now we’re going full throttle with our most premium sound experience yet," adds Win Cramer. "JLab’s Epic Lab Edition elevates our portfolio of audio products with new technologies, including specialized balanced armature drivers to match the Knowles Preferred Listening Response Curve, something no other brand has right now."
The JLab Epic Lab Edition True Wireless Earbuds are available now and retail for $199.99.
www.jlab.com
www.knowles.com/premiumsound
