JBL Endurance Race 2 Review: Budget Sports Earbuds With a Standout Fit

Introduction

The JBL Endurance Race 2 are in-ear earbuds designed primarily for sports, and they sit at the affordable end of the market at just under £70 in the UK and just under $80 in the US. They have been available for a while in the UK and are already dropping in price to around £60, which makes them considerably cheaper than the top-tier in-ear sports earbuds while still including features such as active noise cancelling, an ambient aware mode, and strong battery life.

Fit and Comfort: The Strongest Feature

The earbuds come with one size of silicone wing, which you can remove to leave just a silicone covering on the buds, plus three sizes of in-ear tips. If you plan to use them for running, the wing is worth keeping on: you twist the earbuds into place and the fit is genuinely secure. After several weeks of daily runs, plus cycle and strength sessions, they stayed put with very little adjusting, even on hot, sweaty runs, as long as the little wing flap sits under the top of your ear.

Comfort holds up well too. They can be worn for long stretches during and outside runs without irritating the ear, which is not always the case with in-ear buds that use wings. The soft silicone wing here avoids that problem nicely.

Controls and Companion App

The earbuds use touch panels rather than physical buttons, which is never our favourite setup for sport. Touch surfaces are harder to hit reliably mid-run with sweaty fingers, and they are less usable in winter when you might be wearing gloves. That said, the buds give a small beep to confirm a touch, which helps when the first tap goes unnoticed, and the panels are large enough that they work reasonably well in general use.

You can customize the controls in the partner app, grouped into three sets: volume, playback, and ambient noise controls. We had one bud set to switch between ANC and aware mode without opening the app, and the other for play and pause. The downside is that you cannot have playback and volume on the same bud at the same time, which you can on many competing earbuds. It is also a little annoying that the app’s dedicated sports modes cannot be activated from the earbuds themselves, so you have to open the app each time you want to enable your running profile.

Sound Quality

For the price, the sound quality is really good. Compared to high-end earbuds costing £200 or more, you lose some clarity and depth, especially in the upper ranges, but we would not say anything at this price clearly outperforms them. The flat EQ is not especially punchy in the bass, but there is a customizable EQ in the app, and bumping up the bass gives a nice, full low end.

One odd weakness is volume. At times they are oddly quiet on the run, to the point where podcasts can be a little hard to hear. Most of the time they are loud enough, but it is worth knowing. Also worth noting: the thudding footstep sound common to many in-ear buds while running or walking is quite noticeable here, especially in ANC mode, though it is easy to tune out.

Noise Cancelling and Ambient Aware

This is the weak point. The ANC is nowhere near the level you get from the Bose QC Earbuds or Apple’s flagship in-ears; it takes the edge off treadmill or travel noise but filters out far less than those pricier options. Not many ANC earbuds under £100 impress in this area, so it helps a little, but do not expect miracles.

The aware mode has the opposite problem: it filters out a bit too much. Some cheaper JBL earbuds have transparency modes that let you comfortably run on busy roads with both buds in, but here you do not get enough awareness of your surroundings, and cars are not as clearly audible as with some rivals. If that matters to you, take one bud out. You can adjust awareness and ANC levels in the app’s sports modes, but sliding those levels made little noticeable difference in our use.

Battery Life and Charging

Battery life is a strong point, and the earbuds lived up to their listed figures in testing. You get up to 10 hours per charge with ANC on, extending to 12 hours with ANC off. The case brings the total up to 48 hours, which is with ANC off, so expect somewhat less if you use ANC constantly. Quick charging is impressive too: 10 minutes plugged in gives about 4 hours of playback, and JBL says empty buds charge fully in 2 hours.

The trade-off is size. The case is not the most pocket friendly, and the buds themselves stick out of the ear a little, so there is more room for battery, but the space has clearly been put to good use.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The fit uses an in-ear wing rather than an ear hook, so if that design does not suit your ears, look elsewhere. If you prefer an ear hook, JLab has options: the Epic Air Sport 3 (slightly more expensive, often in sales, with basic ANC) and the much cheaper Go Air Sport Plus, which has a good awareness mode and solid sound for the price.

If you want an upgrade in sound and ANC, the Bose QC Earbuds are the obvious step up, with a list price around £170 that is often reduced to about £130. The Jabra Elite 4 or Elite 7 Active can also be excellent value if you find them in sales as JBL’s rival winds down its consumer earbuds range.

Conclusion

The JBL Endurance Race 2 impressed us overall. For well under £100, you get a secure, comfortable fit that is among the best we have tested for running, long battery life, good sound quality, and a full feature set including ANC and ambient aware modes. The ANC and aware mode are the compromises, but as a well-priced pair of sports earbuds they get the fundamentals right.