Running earbuds are an extremely personal category of gear. Every runner has their own non-negotiables. For me, the top priority has always been a secure fit—which is exactly why I've gravitated toward wraparound designs like the Shokz OpenRun models. I like the safety perks of open-ear, bone-conduction listening too: being able to hear traffic, cyclists, and other runners is more important than hearing my music, personally. Unfortunately, that means I've lived with a serious trade-off in sound quality. There are certain stretches of my city runs that my open-ear headphones just can't cut through. Still, every time I've tried a noise-cancelling option, I've always found some other dealbreaker with comfort, fit, or safety. So it says something that, for the first time, I actually like a pair of noise-cancelling sport earbuds: the JLab JBuds Sport ANC 4.
First things first: As far as running earbuds go, these are a budget pick at $69.99. A few other highlights:
60+ hours of total playtime and IP66 sweat resistance
Flexible over-the-ear hooks for a secure fit
A well-designed charging case with a built-in USB-C cable and wireless charging support (the one catch: the built-in cable is short, so the case needs to stay close to an outlet)
I tested these on the Williamsburg Bridge—one of the loudest, windiest stretches in my regular rotation, and a place where my go-to open-ear pair, the Shokz OpenRun Pro 2, simply get drowned out. The JBuds Sport ANC 4 handled it admirably. I could actually hear my music along with the foot traffic around me, all without losing the secure fit I need to trust earbuds on a run.
I'm over 30 miles into testing them now, and they haven't shifted once. Fit is always subjective—what locks in for my ears might not work for yours—but this is the first ANC sport earbud that's matched what I get from a wraparound design.
If touch controls are an important consideration for you, JLab did something interesting here: there are two separate touch surfaces, one on the outer shell and one on the hook itself, which supports swipe gestures. Out of the box, the controls are the same for both ears:
Long press: cycle through Noise Cancelling, Be Aware (transparency), and Off
Everything is customizable in the app, including setting independent controls per earbud. You can reassign gestures to switch EQ presets, trigger your voice assistant, or control the workout timer.
The "Be Aware" mode (JLab's transparency setting) is fine for quick in-person conversations, but it's not great. It amplifies most ambient sound but struggles with higher frequencies and introduces a noticeable hiss, which makes voices and traffic sound a bit synthetic.
And to be clear: this is an upgrade for running earbuds, not a hi-fi listening upgrade. If premium sound quality is your top priority, look elsewhere.
I wouldn't recommend these to everyone. If pristine sound is what you're after, this isn't your pair. But if you're coming from an open-ear or bone-conduction setup like Shokz and you've hit the same wall I have—where city noise simply overwhelms the open design—then JBuds Sport ANC 4 hits a specific, useful sweet spot. For me, these have enough noise cancellation to make loud routes bearable, a fit secure enough to trust through a hard workout, and a budget price.
