JBuds J3M Micro Atomic In-Ear Earphones with Microphone (Jet Black, iPhone Compatible)
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The Mothership has Landed! JBuds J3 Micro Atomic. Full metal housing and components, cold forged from solid aluminum core. Stunning anodized finish. Inline mic and control button for iPhone/Blackberry. Tactile L/R ID system. Revolutionized flex joints. Laser cut bassport. Laser etched logo details. Full spectrum, hyper balanced micro drivers. Legendary JBuds sound. The sleekest, sexiest profile ever. A perfect fit. The J3M Micro Atomic Earphones are the JBuds, redefined. Part of JLab’s futurist new design paradigm, the Atomic Wave. Building on JLab’s legendary JBuds sound signature, the Micro Atomics pair the superior resonance of carefully crafted aluminum housing with perfectly balanced full spectrum drivers to deliver a stunning new level of acoustic performance. The rich, dynamic soundstage features crystal clear highs, deep, full mids, and tight, punchy bass. The J3’s ultra slim, ergonomic profile is designed for easy grip, an amazingly comfortable in-ear fit, and first-class noise isolation. The Micro Atomics are built to last with rugged aluminum housing and components, durable rubber flex joints, premium quality micro-braided anti-tangle cable, stainless steel mesh filters at the sound tube and baseport, durable inline cord slide, and a 24ct gold plated 3.5 mm audio jack. The entire product is covered by JLab’s no hassle one-year warranty. Soft silicone cushions are included in four sizes (XS, S, M, and L) to assure an ideal fit from the smallest ears to the largest. JLab’s Atomic Wave lineup also includes new J3-compatible double flanged silicone tips (sold separately).
Features
- Aluminum housing and balanced full spectrum micro drivers deliver a stunning new level of acoustic performance.
- Rich, dynamic soundstage with crystal clear highs, deep, full mids, and tight, punchy bass
- Includes 4 sizes of soft silicone ear buds for a super comfortable, noise-isolating fit
- Mic and in-line control are compatible with iPhone and Blackberry. Also available as J3 model for audio only (no mic).
- Gold plated 3.5 mm audio jack for premium, no-loss sound connection to your audio device.
- Dimensions (W x H x L): 1 x 1 x 1 inches
- Weight: 0 pounds
Nice headset but with some caveats….
I think these sound pretty good. In comparison to original iPhone headsets they sound much better. I think they are great for casual music listening which is honestly what most people are doing off of their phones and expect in this price range.
I did however find that I do not like using them as headsets for talking on the phone. The sound isolation when I talk and they are in is slightly irritating to me but this may be personal preference. I probably will use these for listening to music and another set for talking on the phone.
I did have a problem with the one of the earphones not working but their excellent customer service had a shipment sent to me within 2 days. These phones have a 1 year warranty so that is pretty comforting.
Comfortable, good sound, good value
I have very small ears and usually have trouble finding ear buds that fit comfortably, but these JBuds J3M Micro Atomic earbuds feel comfortable. I like that they came with four different sizes of foam earbud covers; the second smallest are working well for me. The sound quality is very good; my music and phone calls come through loud & clear. Also, the noise canceling is quite good, especially for earbuds. I’m sure these don’t compare to the fancy Bose headphones that cover the entire ear, but they’re good enough for me. And they’re a good value for this price.
great for music, bad for talking
After reading the good reviews here, I bought the JBuds for iPhone. The first pair didn’t work and Amazon sent a replacement via next day service. Kudos to Amazon for that!! I have had them for 2 weeks now and really am happy with how they sound. As suggested I tried all the different ear plugs and found the second smallest is best for me. Other reviewers have already said everything else I could add about how good they sound.
Unfortunately I should have paid attention to the few reviews about the quality of the microphone. My friends and I have “tested” this and found that the person on the other end can’t hear me clearly unless I’m sitting still in a quiet room. If I’m moving or if there is background noise, the person on the other end hears whooshing noises. If other people are standing close to me and talking then the person on the other end hears them as well. I think this means that the microphone is very sensitive and isn’t focused upward towards the mouth of the person wearing the JBuds. My old Curve came with some mushroom headphones and the microphone has a simple clip that lets me attach it to my collar or just under my neck. That worked fine for couple years. Now I have to decide whether to look cool wearing the JBuds and listening to my tunes or look old-timey wearing the mushrooms to talk on my iPhone.
Better than Sennheiser CX300B
I have been using Sennheiser CX300B for the last two years. I really liked the upgrade (bought it $35.00 which was a steal) back then from my basic iPod headphone. After two years one side of CX300 broke (left), and I researched a lot in the Internet to find an alternative for my lovely CX300. I heard that the JLab products are good and wanted to give a try. Boy o boy, it sounds amazing. I had few reservations before buying this J3M because of few complaints about the durability of the product but the breaking point is that, to put it straight I found the Customer service is simply amazing. No other product manufacturer would go to such an extent to back their products. This is the main reason for me to give a go. I am thrilled so far as the sounds in both Highs and Lows are really good and I will update my review once I cross the 3 months time frame (Hopefully mine is defect free). I seriously recommend this product to anyone who wants to listen to good music and attend call @ the same time. It is really better than my old friend CX300. If I get this headphone for around couple of years then I think I made a wise choice.
Note:I have a Samsung Mythic phone and this J3M (as mentioned) only work with iPhone it seems. It is not a complaint but a nice to have feature to me.
Excellent buds for music loving buds…
Love the sound quality. I had a problem with the pair I was sent. Emailed them and they sent me a new set in a day. Great customer service. Definitely worth the money!
Good value for the price
The headphones have very good, almost great, dynamic range. The earbuds form a tight, but not uncomfortable seal, making these almost true noise-canceling devices. The seal also allows the high treble and low bass to shine through.
I bought one set of these and performed the recommended 24 hour burn-in. I was so happy with the quality that I immediately ordered two more sets (one for the office, one for the road). I previously had a set of Bose earbuds and for the price of one set of them, I was able to buy three of the JBuds which comparable sound quality.
Great buy and great customer service team!
When it comes to earphones you have to have one of decent quality and comfort to maximize your music listening experience. That being said, I’ve never been too picky with which kinds of earphones I got, and I usually bought them at Walmart. The price range I would spend is about 20-30 USD. These had so-so quality of sound, I like to sleep with music playing so I would use these earphones to listen to music at night. After 1-6 months of these earphones broke or stopped working (aka stopped playing music on one side of the earphones) I would have to shop for some new ones. I got tired of crappy earphones that stopped working so easily, I even considered to go to sleep without music.. Which takes quite a while for me to fall asleep lol, so I decided to browse Amazon to see what products are good now a days.
I found these earphones and they looked pretty good, so I ordered one and it arrived promptly. Only problem I had with it was that one side was kinda scratchy and loses sound from time to time, I got frustrated with it so I contacted them via email with them. After two emails they sent me a new earphone after saying they believe this to be a imperfect earphones. So in about a week I received my replacement earphones, they worked perfectly! They recommend you burn them in before you can fully enjoy the quality of music, but out of the box (bag) they sounded pretty good already. I love these earphones, I sleep with them every night and it’s been about three months and I have no issues with them at all! JLab does a great job with it’s products and has a excellent customer support staff!
I would highly recommend this product to anyone who is looking for a durable earphone, yes its a bit pricey compared to the cheaper skullcandy. Never mind, they’re 29.95 now and it was 49.95 when I bought it a few months ago. Talk about bad luck eh? lol. Though I’m still very pleased with this product, I constantly recommend JLab products to my friends, who constantly have earphones in one ear while talk to other people. A few of them bought JLab products and loved them, if they keep up the quality of they’re products, my earphone needs will be filled exclusively by JLabs!
No comparison to Ultimate Ears
I bought these to replace my Ultimate Ears 170vi that I lost somehow. I only bought them because the price was great.
I was totally disapointed, not only in comparison to my UEs, but also to the included Apple Headphones that came with my iPhone. The first issue is that none of the supplies earbud cushions fit securely in my ear. However, once the earbuds were in my ears, the sound was actually pretty good. Not as good as the UE, but much better than the Apple pair. Also, I never recieved any complaints about the sound quality of the mic. The button, however, is not very good. The resistance is too firm which makes it difficult to double and triple press the button to advance or replay songs. Also, it is not on the mic module which makes it awkward to find at times.
Those issues are mild compared to the fact that in the left earbud, the sound sometimes would cut out. It seems that it depends on how the bud is in your ear canal on whether it would work properly. Even the right bud has the same issue, but far less frequent. Sometimes if I hold the earbud in my ear just right, I would get full sound, but for a “premium” product, this is unexcusable.
I definately would not recommend these headphones for someone that takes usability and sound quality serious. Now that I need to use my iPhone for music more, I will be buying another pair of UE soon.
Great for Two Months
I loved the quality and comfort of these earphones. Until they broke two months after using them.
great combo
Like all the jlab ear phones I own the sound quality is great and the mike works well. It would be great if they included an adapter so could use with cell phones. Found one at radio shack but would have been nice to just get with earphones.
Wow.. left earphone broke.. 3 TIMES
I bought these and i loved them, loved the comfort, loved the sound quality, loved the overall feel of these ear phones. 1 month later the left earphone just doesn’t make ANY sound, I think oh well ill have them replace it. Jlab replaced it very fast, and it was very easy. Then a month later left ear phone breaks AGAIN. Jlab replaces it. 1 month later the left earphone breaks AGAIN. Jlab replaces it…. I love the product but the left earphone DOESN’T WORk sorry Jlab but it DOESNT WORK. Now im have to buy a Klipsch s2 with mic for same price [on sale now] hopefully Klipsch is better.
Had some issues, but overall good product and excellent service
First of all, the basic elements of the ‘phones, which is to say, sound quality. They sound good, especially after a little breaking in. Maybe not amazing like some top end models at five to ten times the cost, but definitely good. Pretty well balanced, good bass if you have a proper fit in your ear, and I can even hear some details in music (I listen to a fairly wide variety) that I can’t hear with my over-the-ear headphones. I’m no audiophile, so I’m more than happy with that; I just need something that sounds better than the stock iPhone buds, and these definitely do, especially for the price. If you’re an audiophile, you’re probably more willing to invest in a high-end pair anyway, so these are definitely targeted at people like me–people looking for good sound at a reasonable price. (Or I guess I should specify: people looking for a good sound and a microphone/iPhone controls for a reasonable price. If you don’t care about the mic, there might be better sounding non-iPhone pairs out there for the same price. I wouldn’t know.)
Other points: the cord is thin but feels strong enough. The mic works well enough, although having a conversation with noise-isolating headphones is a bit like talking in a barrel. It’s hard to find a comfortable fit with the stock tips, but that applies to basically any earbuds in this range; in fact, the included tips look identical to the tips included with my older Creative pair. My only (minor) uncorrectable complaint is that the control button is a little too small to be easily used by touch. And volume controls on the line would be nice as well.
Now for the real issues–in which one of the bright spots of a JBuds pair emerges. My first pair worked fine for a few months, but after some heavy-duty but still typical use (during workouts), the right earbud started having problems, first intermittently cutting out then working again, then finally cutting out altogether. Apparently, these don’t hold up all that well to perspiration–be careful if you live in a warm region and use them outside a lot. A pair of earphones with only one working earbud is no use to anybody, so I put in a claim with JBuds under the one-year warranty.
Within a day or so of my first message, I received an email from Breanna, JBuds’ “Brand Ambassador”, asking first that I confirm that the bud was dead (it was), and then for some order information to confirm the warranty. Once Breanna confirmed that my pair was still under warranty, she immediately sent out a new pair and even included a case since I mentioned that I didn’t have one. I got the replacement pair (and case) in about two days…and promptly discovered that the left earbud was completely dead out of the package. So I wrote Breanna again to replace the replacement pair; this time I heard back from her the same day, with a promise that she would send out a second replacement pair at the end of the weekend. I received the new pair right on time, this time with two working earbuds.
The moral of this story is, first of all, that these are not the most reliable earphones in the world. They do sometimes run into problems if you use them in anything more than optimal conditions; all I did was sweat on them a bit–I otherwise took good care of them–and I lost a pair. And yes, they are even DOA sometimes. But maybe that’s to be expected for $40, or at least, I’d certainly expect more for $400 than for $40. And if you do run into problems, JBuds makes fixing them extremely easy if you’re still under warranty, even though their automated warranty system isn’t working yet. I had my first replacement pair a few days from when I first contacted them about my issue–it was just bad luck that I needed another–and the level of service I received from Breanna was outstanding throughout. So I am definitely satisfied with JBuds and the J3Ms overall–although I’ll be sticking to stock Apple earbuds for workout use from now on
Finally…ones that work
I’ve had a comical love/hate relationship with wired and wireless headsets for years. I use them every day so they are an essential part of my life, however finding a durable, reliable headset has been a never ending challenge. I’m not an audiophile, I use the headset to listen to podcasts when i walk and to take calls, so if they sound decent, they are good for me. However finding ones that don’t break, are comfortable and do sound half decent has been much more difficult then you would ever imagine considering there are hundreds now. I should also say that in general i am very gentle with them. I don’t crush them up or even wrap them around my iPhone knowing the problems I’ve had in the past.
My main problem with wired headsets has been the dreaded sound going out of one of the earpieces after a very short period of time. In many cases, after only three weeks! I’ve had this problem on the following wired headsets, sometimes with multiple pairs as I’ve either returned them for a replacement or simply bought new ones. Griffin TuneBuds Mobile for iPhone 3G, 3G S (Black) Skullcandy FMJ Earbuds / Headset (iPhone Compatible) – Black V-Moda Vibe II Earbud Headset with Microphone (Black, iPhone Compatible). On all of these headset one of the earpieces stopped working after several weeks to a month or so. Particularly disappointing on the more expensive Skullcandy’s and V-Moda. You’d think for the price they’d at least work for a few months. All of those headsets worked fine for me, when they worked.
Then I figured i had to escape from wires so i started to try wireless headsets. I tried the Motorola S9s, Motorola MOTOROKR S9 Bluetooth Stereo Headphones but they were incredibly uncomfortable for me to wear, the earbuds hurt my ears, plus i felt pretty dorky walking around with these on. They’d probably be good for the gym, but for day to day use, you definitely are making a techno-dork statement walking around town with these on. The blue light on the backside of the headset that makes you look like something out of Star Trek doesn’t help.
Then I moved on to the Plantronics Voyager 855 Bluetooth Headset (Black). These actually worked pretty good as headphones, but nearly useless as a headset. No one could ever hear me on calls. My wife eventually refused to talk to me if i called her using these. I even got three different ones to see if they were defective or something because i generally liked these. Nope. Same problems. Back to square one.
Finally i got these Jlabs. I was in to trying them because i always liked their cheaper non-microphone headphones (even though those suffered from the malfunctioning earbud as well), but they seemed durable. I’m knocking on wood as a write this, but I’ve now had these for 7 months and have not had any problems with them. Much to my shock, both earpieces are still working fine. The sound is good. They are comfortable in me ears even if i wear them for several hours, the microphone sounds good and people hear me fine when i talk. My only wish is the headset button had a volume control. I know Klipish makes a set where you can control the volume but they are also 100 bucks. Maybe one day I’ll try those, but for now, i’m amazed that these have lasted and worked so long, I felt I owed JBuds a review.
What I was looking for
I was looking for something with a microphone to use with my iphone while traveling as well as good sound quality to use for recreation. These have fit the bill. I immediately did the “burn in ” procedure on both pair (purchased one for me and one for the wife) and they sound great. Sound insulation is great. I have used them while mowing and could hardly hear the mower (where before I could barely hear the music. I have been using them somewhat regular for three weeks or so. So far so good.
I prefer the mid-range/treble of the J3M
I have tried half a dozen different earbuds with my iPhone and the JBud J3Ms are the set I have liked the best. I find most earbuds in the $20-60 range tend to overemphasize the bass and muddle the vocal range. Vibe Modas sound good but replacing them at $100 a throw makes me shudder. At $40, the JM3s are an acceptable compromise.
Others have complained these are “tinny”. If you like your THUMP-THUMP you’ll probably find this true as well. I mostly listen to vocal and classical and I prefer the balance of mid-range and treble vs bass of the JBud J3Ms.
Follow the manufacturers suggested 24 hour burn-in. The JBuds definitely had a cleaner sound afterwards.
The mike is only so-so. I had some people say they could not hear me clearly. However, calls sound clear on my end.
ADDENDUM: I’m not a gentle owner. I’ve forgotten the JM3s in my pants pockets twice and they survived twice. The *third* time in the wash, the grille fell out of one of the ears and compromised the sound! I will getting replacement set soon.
Very nice, but you might want to look at the J3 model first
These are great little earbuds. The quality and construction are excellent, and they sound very good (at least to my 62-year-old, non-audiophile ears). I did adjust the equalizer settings on my iPod to make them sound better to me, but that’s no reflection on the sound accuracy of the earbuds, just a recognition of how I like my music to sound. With the equalizer turned off, the sound is a bit brighter than the Sony buds that the J3M replaced, but that’s not a deal-breaker to me. As long as I can get the sound I want with the equalizer on, I’m happy.
That said, the music control function is not particularly useful to me. I will use the J3M primarily to listen to an iPod classic, and the button does absolutely nothing to control the iPod – despite JLab claiming that the J3M is compatible with all iPod models (unless what JLab means by iPod compatibility is just the ability to listen to music, and not to control anything). As for compatibility with “most smart phones with a 3.5-mm jack,” I also have a T-Mobile myTouch 3G, and while the J3M’s button does activate the music player’s Play and Pause, it doesn’t activate Track Backward or Track Forward. Additionally, rather than hanging the phone up, the button just mutes or unmutes the microphone.
In this review, I gave the microphone 3 stars because of the lack of iPod control and failure to hang up calls on my phone, not because of any problems with the mic itself.
If I could get a do-over, I’d buy the J3 model instead of the J3M, and save a little money.
Greatt sound for the best price
Great sound for the price you pay! Just looking forward for these to be compatible with the new iPhone 4. Great customer service, they want you to be fully satisfied with their product.
Unreliable
Although I liked the sound quality, this set turned out to be a flimsy devise. Very soon one of the speaker started to go off and on until it finally died on me with no recourse, because it conveniently happened after the return window has expired.
Great product, even better company
I’ve owned my J3M’s for about four months now and have really liked them overall. The microphone and controls work as advertised on my iPhone; the sound quality is great (although I’m no audiophile, just a regular guy who listens to music), and most important for me, they actually fit in my ear unlike the Apple earbuds that come with all iPods. They’re a 200% improvement over the Apple earbuds just in comfort alone. The only feature I wish they had, and this is minor, is to have volume controls on the microphone/control.
A couple of weeks ago while using them one of the earbuds fell down, while still attached to my iPhone in my pocket, and got caught on something. It didn’t feel like it pulled that hard, but when I looked at them I noticed the wire had pulled out of the microphone/control. The plastic outer sheathing was still attached, but the wire pulled out. So I sent JLab an email to see if they’d be covered under warranty, and if not, asked for hints as to how I could fix them since I figured it might be considered an accident/misuse and not covered under their warranty. To my surprise, they promptly replied that they would indeed be covered under warranty, and simply asked for an address to where to send the new ones! They didn’t even ask for my old J3M’s back to be examined or anything. They arrived in the mail the other day.
Most companies these days have outsourced customer service and you have a hard time even dealing with a human. But there are others that have made a name for themselves because of their customer service – Apple and USAA come to mind for me. JLab is now among those companies.
Out of two earbuds, one of them sounds fantastic and both are very comfortable
Albeit, the reason why only one sounds fantastic is because the other one flat out does not work! No sound, nada. Conveniently, as fate would have it, I ordered these and had them sent overnight after I left my sennheisers in a rental car. I need these for a trip I’m going on, which I guess will not include music, because they are faulty.
I had a feeling to order another pair of my sennheisers, and I’m sure these could match up to them if both buds worked, sennheisers are atleast known for shipping functional earbuds.
PROs
*They are comfortable, they do block out background noise
*The sound I can hear is OK – granted I havn’t burnt them in yet (something I think should be taken care when they are manufactured. But there seems to be a psychological motive in asking the user to be apart of the creation of a product so that there is more pride of ownership – I digress)
*They do FEEL solid
*Environmentally friendly packaging, if they could switch the plastic bag to corn plastic I dare say they could put “green” on their marketing material.
CONs
*Only one earbud works
*I’ll probably be on a trip without music
Sidenote: I will not be paying extra to overnight another brand that I have never used before- it’s simply not worth the risk.
*UPDATE* So I go on the site to register my warranty and pray that I can get some new earbuds before I leave and I get this wonderful message
“Thank you for entering your product info. We are currently upgrading our product registration system. We will contact you to complete your registration after the upgrade has been released. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.”
you must be kidding……………………….
**UPDATE 2** I called them, the lady I spoke with was very kind and she priority mailed a new pair of J3M Earphones to me. I just received them, and guess what? Same problem. The earbud which is connected to the microphone is defective – JLAB THE WHOLE BATCH IS DONE! ANOTHER PERSON BEFORE ME HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. I will now be going on my trip without music – I knew I should have bought the Sennheisers. I don’t see the point in continuing to use the warranty when it appears that each pair I receive will be defective. Their customer service is 5 stars, but this batch in their product is garbage. I try not handing out 1 stars on anything, but 1 star.
This is ridiculous – I feel like pinching myself.
***UPDATE 3*** I moved the stars from 3 down to one, and I’m moving it back up to two because their customer service woman (I believe she said her name is Brianna – which I’m probably butchering on spelling) is outstanding and should be promoted. She embodies the type of customer service all companies should strive for in that she had genuine empathy for this situation and clearly took this matter personally. Hats off to their customer service team.
Thus the extra star is for that one person I’ve had contact with on their team.