JBL JBL Endurance Race 2 True Wireless Noise-Canceling Review

Buy these if you need buds that won't fall out, period. They're the athletic tape of the earbud world—not pretty, but they get the job done.

The JBL Endurance Race 2 are the earbuds you buy when you're tired of your buds falling out mid-sprint. That's the one thing to know. They're built for one purpose: staying locked in your ears during intense activity. Everything else—the sound, the noise canceling, the features—is secondary to that mission. They're not trying to be the best-sounding buds on the market, and our data shows they aren't. But if you need a secure, sweatproof anchor for your workout playlist, these are a solid, affordable pick.

The surprise here isn't the sound quality, which is decent but not spectacular, landing in the 40th percentile. It's the battery life. For a $60 pair of buds, getting a total of 48 hours with the case puts it in the 61st percentile, which is genuinely good. You can forget to charge these for days. The noise canceling, however, is about what you'd expect at this price—it's there, it takes the edge off the gym's background noise, but don't expect it to silence the world.

At $60, they're worth it, but only if your main goal is a secure fit for sports. You're trading sound fidelity and premium features for that lock-in design and solid battery. If that's the trade you want to make, the price is right.

Compared to the Nothing Ear (a) at a similar price, you're choosing between fit and sound. The Nothing buds will sound better and have snazzier features, but they won't stay put during a workout like the JBLs. Against the Google Pixel Buds Pro, it's no contest on features or sound—the Google buds win. But they cost more than twice as much and aren't built with the same gym-rat IP68 toughness. The Sony WF-1000XM5? Forget it. That's a different league for sound and ANC, but you're paying for it, and they're not sports buds.

We recommend the JBL Endurance Race 2 for one person: the active user who prioritizes a secure, sweatproof fit above all else. Buy these for the gym, for runs, for hikes. Do not buy them as your primary, all-day earbuds for critical listening or calls. They excel at their specific job and are priced fairly for it.