JBL Endurance Race TWS review: A durable workout companion

Rugged build, slightly unusual design that's on the bulkier side

These JBL buds have a solid build but aren't the most compact or lightest around. They weigh close to 12 grams each and stick out of the ear a little bit. You get silicone fins for a better fit while exerting less pressure on the earlobes. The fit is near perfect with the earbuds never dislodging from the ears accidentally. While the fins stay out, the silicone eartips enter the ear canals and provide decent passive noise isolation. You get two more pairs of different sized tips in the bundle to choose from. Just like the buds, the charging case too is on the bulkier side, weighing approximately 45 grams. I wouldn't call it pocketable; it will fit in your pocket, but a distinct bulge would be visible. The buds and the case have a black matte finish with some glossy accents. The combination looks good and does not attract too many fingerprints or smudge marks. A charge indicator LED can be spotted at the front of the case, while a USB-C charging port is located at the back. The earbuds are touch enabled with the touch zones present at the back as expected. The touch sensitivity is slightly below par, partly because the entire surface at the back of the buds is not touch enabled and you often end up tapping in the wrong area. Also, it is recommended that you tap at a more leisurely pace for the inputs to register, especially for the triple tap gesture. Else it ends up doing something you didn't want it to.

IP67 ingress protection, transparency modes, app support and more

These earbuds are IP67-rated dust and water resistant, and you can not just wear them during workouts but also for a jog in the rain. I tried doing the latter and came down with a nasty cold, but the earphones are doing fine. Each earbud houses a 6mm driver, but there are no wear detection sensors, something we expect in this budget. There is no active noise cancellation (ANC) either, but you do get two transparency modes called Ambient Aware and TalkThru. The former lets the ambient noises through, and the latter enhances vocal frequencies enabling a fairly clear conversation even with the buds in the ear. These Bluetooth 5.2 earbuds support SBC and AAC codecs. You also get companion app support to access more functions of this product. Through the JBL Headphones app you can alter the sound profile, configure touch controls, update the firmware and access a few more settings. Control configuration could have been much better had the company let you assign a function for each gesture. Here, you need to choose an entire set for each earbud, and the functions for each gesture get assigned automatically with no option to change that. For instance, if you choose Playback controls for one of the buds, single tap is used for play/pause, double tap lets you jump to the next track, while triple tap takes you to the previous track. You cannot alter that. Now when you look to go to the previous track and the third tap doesn't register, you end up jumping to the next track leading to some serious frustration. At times, it's best to leave this choice to the user; something for JBL to ponder over.

Energetic sound output with ample bass; more customizations through app

These buds reach ideal loudness at 70% volume level when indoors and close to 80% when outdoors. Given that these are sports earphones, there is an unwritten rule that they need to be bass heavy to provide that extra dose of energy during workouts. And as expected, the default sound signature of the Endurance Race is high on bass. With 'JBL Pure Bass Sound' written on the box, there was very little doubt anyway. While the JBL Endurance Race sounds punchy and energetic, the extra bass does mask certain frequencies towards the lower half of the midrange spectrum. But the company has made sure it doesn't impact the vocal clarity as much, which is a smart thing, as it lends a fair degree of sharpness to the sound. The highs are tempered well but roll off a bit too soon at times. If you find the default sound a bit too warm, head straight to the JBL Headphones app. You don't just get five audio presets to try out but also a 10-band equalizer to fine tune the output to your liking. Pro tip: Try boosting certain midrange and high-end frequencies in the equalizer for a better balance without losing out on the bass punch. If you don't like it, you can always revert back to the default sound preset. Though the detail in audio isn't spectacular, the soundstage is fairly broad and gives a nice feel to the overall sound output. The Ambient Aware and TalkThru modes do their job well when you need to be aware of the surroundings or talk to people around you. The latency figures aren't mentioned, but it seems to be low enough as there was no noticeable lag between the video and audio when watching content on OTT platforms. The wireless range is good with the buds retaining a strong connection up to 10 meters with a clear line of sight.

Average call quality, very good battery backup, not-so-fast charging

We would term the call quality of the JBL Endurance Race as average. Though you are heard with reasonable clarity by the person on the call, your voice doesn't sound completely natural. Several callers did ask me if I was using a hands-free device. While the microphones do pick up some background noise when outdoors, they manage to keep it in the background without interfering with the conversation much, which is a good thing. The battery backup of the JBL Endurance Race is one of its strong points. The company states 10 hours for the earbuds and 30 hours overall with the charging case, and that isn't far from the truth. With the loudness between 70-80% during the course of the review, the earbuds lasted for almost nine hours before one of the earbuds ran out of juice. That is a highly impressive figure for buds alone. The charging case can charge them twice more, thus taking the overall battery backup of the Endurance Race close to 27 hours (buds and case combined), which is very good. Fast charging numbers aren't half as impressive though. You get an hour of playtime after charging the buds for 10 minutes, which is useful during crunch time but nothing great. It takes about two hours to charge the buds and case fully with a standard USB-C charger.

Not the best-sounding TWS earbuds, but pretty good fitness companion

The JBL Endurance Race was launched at Rs. 5,999 with a one year warranty, but is often available for Rs. 500 less on popular e-commerce platforms. You can even buy it under Rs. 5,000 during online sales. It is a fair price for what it offers, but it's not a product for all. It is meant to be an ideal fitness companion, and it plays that role well thanks to its rugged construction, IP67 ingress protection, solid battery backup and an energetic sound output. The transparency modes and sound tweaks through the companion app are an added bonus. However, this is not the best sounding or the most feature rich product in the price bracket. If that's what you seek in TWS earphones you are looking to buy, there are better alternatives. In terms of pure sound quality under Rs. 5,000, the top two options would be the Soundcore Liberty 2 and Lypertek Levi. If you are looking for more style and features like ANC and wear detection, then you should consider the OnePlus Buds Z2 or Realme Buds Air 3. Choose the one that best serves your needs.