JBL Endurance Zone: Review

Open ear earbuds are not the most auspicious of pieces of kit in the wearables market.

Granted, there are plenty of options out there, but most users, if pressed would no doubt proclaim that they'd prefer to have options that sit in the ear and are subtle, rather than ones which are obtrusive, sit on the ear and stand out.

It's this kind of snobbery perhaps that JBL's decided to tackle with these Open Ear Design IP68 secure fit ear pieces. And it's a joy to report that they largely work better than you'd be expecting.

Comfort is perhaps the first thing you notice about these. Once you've adjusted to their design, they do fit securely over the ears, and while the IP68 waterproof and dustproof rating hints at them being durable, the idea of getting water into the ears and into the speakers feels like it sits at odds with how the best earbuds work.

In terms of fit, they can mould to your ear and sit snugly over the ear canal - but as with all fits, they're personal in terms of how it feels for each individual. So for an over-the-ear piece of kit, they offer an impressive volley against the stigma of something not fitting inside the ears.

They come with a charging case and while it's not most the light of cases and feels chunkier in comparison to most other models out there, it holds around 24 hours of charge for the buds, which is nothing to be sneezed out. (The Zone ear pieces last around 8 hours on a single charge).

And while the sounds inevitably not as custom-fitting as other earbuds offer, you'd have to be a prude to sniff at what they actually give out in terms of audio quality. Perhaps call quality is the biggest surprise with the buds not dropping out at all and providing a stability that impresses.

Perhaps the weakest part of this little bit of kit is the need to tap them to get responses and to adjust volumes and so on. Overly responsive and annoyingly fiddly, the tap controls remain the weakest part of this offering. 

With app customisation and the chance to retrofit these to your own personal tastes, it has to be said that the JBL Endurance Zones surprise and offer a stronger case for over-the-ear technology than perhaps you'd first expect. With minimal outside noise affecting the audio, all they need is an adjustment of attitude and you're away laughing.