I tried the surprise sequel to the best ultra-cheap headphones, and they offer insanely good noise cancellation for under $30

Over the past few years, TechRadar’s audio team has regularly raved about the JLab Go Air Pop, a pair of ultra-cheap earbuds that massively defied their low price tag with their performance and build quality. They’ve been a mainstay in everything from our list of the best budget earbuds to our full list of the best wireless earbuds of any kind.

However, they’ve become harder to come by lately, so we started looking for alternatives to recommend… but it turns out the reason for this is that their successor was being secretly dropped at IFA 2024.

I say “secretly,” but JLab will be happy to tell you about them if you visit their booth, and even gave me a pair to try out, but the company has mostly talked about three other pairs of headphones launching at the same time, and has been very quiet about them initially.

Obviously, I found this unacceptable, so here’s what you need to know about the JLab Go Air ANC: they have active noise cancellation; they’re super small and lightweight; they have six hours of battery life in the earbuds and 24 hours with the case; they have a built-in USB-C charging cable; they have multipoint pairing; they’ll come in 2000s-inspired translucent cases at a later date (they’re available in black, green, and pink for now); they’re IP55 waterproof; and they’re still stupidly good value for their $29.99 asking price – so around £25 or AU$45, although unlike the confirmed MSRP in US dollars, those last two figures are unofficial estimates.

I tried them out while I was at IFA, and it’s really ridiculous that something so cheap can deliver music as full as what you get here. Obviously, compared to the AirPods Pro 2 I also had with me at the time, the bass is much less deep, the details aren’t as crisp, and the mids are softer. But it all seems fair considering they’re a seventh of the price.

The ANC is also incredibly effective. I know you’re expecting me to add “for $35” here, but based on my initial testing, it’s simply GOODWith music playing and the volume at around 60%, they were as effective as I could need them to be on my flight, a test that more expensive headphones failed. However, they stumble more if you’re listening to podcasts, as the relative thinness of the midrange and slightly soft detail means that vocals are more shaded by the sounds coming through. There’s a fairly crude but effective transparency mode too.

JLab Go Air ANC headphones held between fingers

(Image credit: Future)

I love how lightweight and discreet the earbuds are. If you like earbuds that don’t feel like you have a cybernetic accessory in your ears, these will be perfect for you. They have touch controls that include on-ear volume control, and you can also switch between ANC modes with a single tap, and you can even change EQ modes with a triple tap, although I haven’t played with that yet.

I found them very comfortable, although with the medium-sized eartips I found that the in-ear seal weakened enough to let outside sounds through depending on my head position, as it changes the shape of your ear a little. This is something we’ll explore in more detail in a full review, but it’s definitely a difference from more expensive earbuds.

The case is super slim, which I always appreciate in a pair of headphones. JLab has kept one of the oddest flaws from the previous version, which was a built-in charging cable, although this time it’s a USB-C one. JLab knows what they’re doing, so I have to assume people want that, but it just seems like a shame to remove the flexibility of being able to plug into different power sources – I bought my mom a pair of Go Air Pop headphones, but I don’t know if I’d buy her the Go Pop ANC as she doesn’t have a single USB-C charger in her house, and if I have to buy one, it changes the value of the headphones.

JLab Go Air ANC Charging Cable

(Image credit: Future)

Of course, as an editor at the TechRadar dot com website, I’ve been running an all-USB-C household for some time now – so if you’re the same as a reader of this august publication, then perhaps this will seem like a silly complaint.

We’ll have to make a more in-depth judgement on them, but let me leave you with my prevailing opinion on how good value they are so far: more than once, using them specifically to test the ANC, I’d made my judgement and taken notes, then not bothered to go back to the AirPods Pro 2 sitting there. right there in my pocket. The Go Pop ANC were already doing their job perfectly, so I kept using them. It’s not like I’m going to permanently switch from my premium headphones to these or anything, but as a discerning listener, the fact that I didn’t instantly switch back is kind of a miracle.