We live in an increasingly wireless world, but Bluetooth isn't for everyone, and if you're still flying the wired earphone flag in 2019, your options sound better than ever.
At $19.95 (and sometimes available for even less), JBL's Endurance Run earphones are cheap enough that you might be wondering if they can possibly sound better than the free earbuds that came with your phone.
The answer is a resounding yes.
The earphones deliver far better audio with more bass depth and clarity than their price would suggest.
On top of that, a secure fit and sweatproof design make them ideal for exercise—as long as you don't mind the wires.
Design
Available in black, dark blue, light blue, red, or black and neon yellow, the Endurance Run earphones feature lightweight but relatively large earpieces that use JBL's TwistLock design to stay firmly in place.
The cable can be looped up and over/behind your ear, or you can wear them more traditionally with the cable dropping straight down—this means each earpiece can be either the left or right, and are labeled differently right side up and upside down to tell you which earpiece goes where depending on which wearing style you opt for.
Either way, the earpieces offer an exceptionally secure fit that's unlikely to fall out.
JBL claims the earphones are sweatproof, but there is no listed IP rating, so we can't tell you whether they can merely get splashed, or whether they can be held under the faucet and rinsed off.
If we get an update on the IP rating, we'll post it here, but JBL's track record with exercise gear is solid enough that you should be able to use these in the rain or during a sweaty workout without issue.
The earphones ship with three pairs of clear silicone eartips, which are separate from the large TwistLock pieces that are also removable.
When not in use, the earpieces can be stored by snapping the backs of the earpieces together magnetically.
There's no storage pouch, however, and there are no replacement TwistLock pieces, either.
But have we mentioned the earphones are less than $20?
An inline remote control is located at roughly chin-level along the right ear's cable (when worn in standard mode).
The remote is of the single-button variety, and thus its abilities are limited—you can play or pause music, answer or end calls, or skip tracks forward or backward (with multiple taps).
Holding the button down will summon your phone's voice assistant, so really the only major function missing is volume control, but that will be an annoying limitation for some, especially if you're exercising and want to quickly adjust the volume.
Internally, each earpiece houses an 8.2mm dynamic driver delivering 20Hz to 20kHz of frequency range.
The mic offers excellent intelligibility.
Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 8, we could understand every word recorded cleanly and clearly, and without any hints of audio artifacts added to the signal.
There was even a hint of bass depth to the mic.
Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the earphones deliver powerful audio performance with deep bass response that doesn't distort even at high, unwise listening levels.
At moderate levels, the bass is still powerful, but the balance is notable—there's plenty of high-mid and high-frequency presence here, too.
Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the Endurance Run's general sound signature.
The drums on this track receive some added bass presence—nothing over the top, but there's a little extra thump that bass lovers will appreciate and purists will enjoy less.
Callahan's baritone vocals have a solid low-mid richness to them, balanced nicely with some crisp high-mid presence that also allows the acoustic guitar strums to carve out their own spot in the mix.
This is a bass-forward sound signature, for certain, but it doesn't throw balance out the window—the lows are boosted, but there's enough high-frequency presence to keep things clear and defined.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop receives enough high-mid presence to retain its punchy attack.
The vinyl crackle that's typically relegated to the background jumps forward in the mix here somewhat, while the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with gusto.
The vocals on this track are delivered with crisp clarity, and without any sense of added sibilance.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, get some added low-frequency push, so the lower register instrumentation takes a notable step forward in the mix.
The higher register brass, strings, and vocals, however, retain their bright treble edge and dominance in the mix.
It's not an accurate sound signature, but JBL does a solid job of maintaining a sense of balance.
Conclusions
Bass lovers who reject Bluetooth and want to spend very little money on secure-fitting exercise focused in-ears...all of your demands have been met! There's really no room for complaint when earphones this affordable sound this solid.
If in reading this, you realized that you would actually prefer wireless exercise earphones, we've got you covered.
Check out our reviews of the Jabra Elite 25e , the JBL Endurance Sprint, the pricierJaybird X3, and the budget-friendly true wireless JLab JBuds Air.
For under $20, though, JBL's wired Endurance Run earphones are hard to beat.
Pros
Powerful audio performance with deep bass and crisp highs.
Sweatproof, secure-fitting design.
Can be worn in two different ways.
Excellent mic clarity.
View More
Cons
Light on accessories.
Not for audio purists.
The Bottom Line
The exercise-focused JBL Endurance Run earphones sound better than you'd expect from a sub-$20 pair, wired or not.
We live in an increasingly wireless world, but Bluetooth isn't for everyone, and if you're still flying the wired earphone flag in 2019, your options sound better than ever.
At $19.95 (and sometimes available for even less), JBL's Endurance Run earphones are cheap enough that you might be wondering if they can possibly sound better than the free earbuds that came with your phone.
The answer is a resounding yes.
The earphones deliver far better audio with more bass depth and clarity than their price would suggest.
On top of that, a secure fit and sweatproof design make them ideal for exercise—as long as you don't mind the wires.
Design
Available in black, dark blue, light blue, red, or black and neon yellow, the Endurance Run earphones feature lightweight but relatively large earpieces that use JBL's TwistLock design to stay firmly in place.
The cable can be looped up and over/behind your ear, or you can wear them more traditionally with the cable dropping straight down—this means each earpiece can be either the left or right, and are labeled differently right side up and upside down to tell you which earpiece goes where depending on which wearing style you opt for.
Either way, the earpieces offer an exceptionally secure fit that's unlikely to fall out.
JBL claims the earphones are sweatproof, but there is no listed IP rating, so we can't tell you whether they can merely get splashed, or whether they can be held under the faucet and rinsed off.
If we get an update on the IP rating, we'll post it here, but JBL's track record with exercise gear is solid enough that you should be able to use these in the rain or during a sweaty workout without issue.
The earphones ship with three pairs of clear silicone eartips, which are separate from the large TwistLock pieces that are also removable.
When not in use, the earpieces can be stored by snapping the backs of the earpieces together magnetically.
There's no storage pouch, however, and there are no replacement TwistLock pieces, either.
But have we mentioned the earphones are less than $20?
An inline remote control is located at roughly chin-level along the right ear's cable (when worn in standard mode).
The remote is of the single-button variety, and thus its abilities are limited—you can play or pause music, answer or end calls, or skip tracks forward or backward (with multiple taps).
Holding the button down will summon your phone's voice assistant, so really the only major function missing is volume control, but that will be an annoying limitation for some, especially if you're exercising and want to quickly adjust the volume.
Internally, each earpiece houses an 8.2mm dynamic driver delivering 20Hz to 20kHz of frequency range.
The mic offers excellent intelligibility.
Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone 8, we could understand every word recorded cleanly and clearly, and without any hints of audio artifacts added to the signal.
There was even a hint of bass depth to the mic.
Performance
On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife's "Silent Shout," the earphones deliver powerful audio performance with deep bass response that doesn't distort even at high, unwise listening levels.
At moderate levels, the bass is still powerful, but the balance is notable—there's plenty of high-mid and high-frequency presence here, too.
Bill Callahan's "Drover," a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the Endurance Run's general sound signature.
The drums on this track receive some added bass presence—nothing over the top, but there's a little extra thump that bass lovers will appreciate and purists will enjoy less.
Callahan's baritone vocals have a solid low-mid richness to them, balanced nicely with some crisp high-mid presence that also allows the acoustic guitar strums to carve out their own spot in the mix.
This is a bass-forward sound signature, for certain, but it doesn't throw balance out the window—the lows are boosted, but there's enough high-frequency presence to keep things clear and defined.
On Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild," the kick drum loop receives enough high-mid presence to retain its punchy attack.
The vinyl crackle that's typically relegated to the background jumps forward in the mix here somewhat, while the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat are delivered with gusto.
The vocals on this track are delivered with crisp clarity, and without any sense of added sibilance.
Orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary, get some added low-frequency push, so the lower register instrumentation takes a notable step forward in the mix.
The higher register brass, strings, and vocals, however, retain their bright treble edge and dominance in the mix.
It's not an accurate sound signature, but JBL does a solid job of maintaining a sense of balance.
Conclusions
Bass lovers who reject Bluetooth and want to spend very little money on secure-fitting exercise focused in-ears...all of your demands have been met! There's really no room for complaint when earphones this affordable sound this solid.
If in reading this, you realized that you would actually prefer wireless exercise earphones, we've got you covered.
Check out our reviews of the Jabra Elite 25e , the JBL Endurance Sprint, the pricierJaybird X3, and the budget-friendly true wireless JLab JBuds Air.
For under $20, though, JBL's wired Endurance Run earphones are hard to beat.
Pros
Powerful audio performance with deep bass and crisp highs.
Sweatproof, secure-fitting design.
Can be worn in two different ways.
Excellent mic clarity.
View More
Cons
Light on accessories.
Not for audio purists.
The Bottom Line
The exercise-focused JBL Endurance Run earphones sound better than you'd expect from a sub-$20 pair, wired or not.
