CES 2025 is officially underway, and although I haven’t scratched the surface of what’s on display at the convention, I may have already found my favorite pair of headphones. I get excited by premium headphones, like a kid in a candy store. However, when I test premium headphones, I have to center myself and think deeply about whether I would suggest people spend $400 to $550 on a pair of headphones.
JLab Epic Lab Lux Edition over-ears
It’s not as hard to suggest people spend $200 on headphones, especially when they’re as feature-packed as the JLab Epic Lab Lux Edition over-ear headphones. Sure, I would shorten the product name to avoid it being a tongue-twister, but that’s not part of my reviewing rubric.
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Still, these headphones hit all the premium headphone benchmarks: a sleek yet durable design, a comfortable fit, effective noise cancellation, and at least one feature that may be a bit gimmicky but is still nice to have.
I briefly tested these headphones during a demo with JLab, so I’ll have a solidified opinion on them once I test them in the coming months. But from what I saw, I liked them — especially for less than half the price of their competitors.
To start, the Epic Lab Lux Edition sports a premium design: plush polyurethane ear pads, slim metal headband extenders to avoid catching any hair (similar to the Sonos Ace), touch controls on the right ear cup, and an oval ear pad shape. The design looks premium, but the headphones don’t feel as heavy as premium should; I could tell they’re mostly plastic, aside from the headband extenders.
These headphones boast all the modern headphone bells and whistles: 32mm drivers, spatial audio, a marathon 70-hour battery life, adaptive noise cancellation, and reliable Bluetooth connectivity. I didn’t test the spatial audio—the Epic Lab Lux Edition has JLab’s proprietary spatial audio with head-tracking format, so I’ll have to see how it compares to the renowned Dolby Atmos. If you’re going to play in the premium game, you’ll be judged against the best of the best.
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Plenty of loud music and traveling voices filled the JLab demo suite, and the adaptive active noise cancellation held up against the loud noises. JLab says these headphones use AI to listen in real time for disruptive noises to cancel up to 25 dB of external noise.
Wireless charging capabilities
Aside from the typical markers of premium headphones, JLab had to innovate something uncommon to attempt to occupy an already overcrowded market. Thus, the Epic Lab Lux Edition is equipped with wireless charging capabilities.
JLab Epic Lab Lux Edition on the wireless charging puck.
Jada Jones/ZDNET
The wireless charging puck is included with the headphones, and the headphones’ wireless charging magnets are located in the left ear cup. Plug the included USB-C cable into the charging puck, set the headphones’ left ear cup flat on the puck, and they’ll start charging.
The charging puck can also charge other wireless charging-compatible devices, like your smartphone and earbuds. However, it isn’t Qi-certified, so it likely charges at a slower-than-desired speed. Still, the Epic Lab Lux Edition headphones have a USB-C port for faster wired charging.
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Is the wireless charging feature a gimmick? Maybe. But is it something that direct competitors don’t have? Yes, and that’s why it catches my eye.
Availability
The JLab Epic Lux Lab Edition headphones are now available to pre-order for $199.99 at JLab. They are estimated to ship next month.
