JLab Studio Pro ANC Wireless Headset review

There are so many brands and models of bluetooth headsets now that it can be hard to know which to go for – regardless of your budget. One brand that’s been making real waves in the mid-tier range for a few years now is JLab, who specialise in lower budget options that can sometimes put the big-hitters to shame. I’ve recently been testing their JLab Studio Pro ANC Headphones, and they might have another success on their hands with this one.

First of all, it’s just a gorgeous headset to look at. The cups are small, sculpted to sit over your ears and not protrude too much, finished in matte black and bereft of any flashy RNG. There’s something quite Logitech-y abnout the design, which is meant as a compliment. There’s a 1-inch thick foam cushion encased in leather to protect each cup, and it makes them feel incredibly soft on your ears.

This makes the Studio Pro very comfortable to wear even for long periods. Clocking in and at around 220g they’re easy to forget about while you’re wearing them. They have a volume control and a start/stop on the right cup, as well as a button in the JLab logo that controls the ANC. There are three equalizer options to choose from – which I never felt made a huge difference to what I was listening to. Luckily, the sound quality is pretty decent anyway.

You can adjust the level of noise-cancelling, and there are four options to choose from. Even on the highest setting, though, it doesn’t quite do enough to eliminate external noise. It could be down to the smaller cups or the fact you can’t adjust them to your ears, and so different people may have a different experience. But for me I never found that they eliminated the noise entirely. I have a few sets of in-ear buds that do a far better job, even for a similar price range, but that’s not to say the JLab Studio Pro is particularly bad – it just doesn’t feature true ANC.

Interestingly, it doesn still work when you’re using a wired connection. You can plug the USB-C cable or the provided 3.5mm jack into any standard device and use them like normal headphones, but you can still switch the ANC on. I have a few other sets that simply don’t offer this option in wired mode. Call quality is also pretty solid, despite them having no visiable mic. I actually like this touch as there’s nothing to fold up or unplug when you’re simply listening.

I’ve been mainly using them to listen to background music while working, or with the SteamDeck’s bluetooth mode, and depite them kicking out a little too much bass at times on the standard EQ setting, I have no complaints. It also helps having such a huge battery life. The box promises around 45 hours from a full charge and I’m inclined to suspect that’s 100% accurate. I’m not sure how many hours I’ve actually used them for over the last three weeks, but I haven’t had to charge them once in that time.

The JLab Studio Pro headset also comes with a cute little black travel bag, which they can fold up to fit inside. Being so lightweight and compact anyway, they’re a great headset to use on the move. The price could be a sticking point for some though. They retail currently for around £99, which while still the lower end of mid-tier is quite high considering there’s no accompanying software to expand your options, and the sound leaking compromises the ANC effect. They’re far from the worst option available, but for nearly 100 quid you might choose to shop around a bit first before settling.

If you do plump for the JLab Studio Pro ANC Headset, though, you likely won’t be disappointed with the overall quality of the build and output. It’s a lovely-looking, incredibly comfortable headset with decent, if not groundbreaking, active noise-cancelling, and you don’t need to get ankle deep in a companion app to get a decent sound quality from them.