The JLab JBuddies Pro Wireless are kid-friendly headphones that tick off most of the boxes parents will be looking for. At $35, they’re affordable. Their size is ideal for kids ages eight and up, but will fit plenty of adults, and the earcups are comfortable. They also get solid battery life, and deliver some surprisingly robust bass response. A volume limiter switch is tucked behind the fabric of the right earcup, and when switched on, the headphones deliver relatively safe maximum volumes. When it’s off, the headphones can feasibly be used by adults, but you’ll want to make sure to hide this trick from your little ones. If you’re concerned about the volume limiter switch, the Puro Sound Labs JuniorJams are pricier, but they deliver higher-quality audio at a safe maximum volume level that can’t be changed.
Big Bass, Limited Volume
The circumaural (over-ear) JBuddies Pro Wireless headphones are available in blue/black or pink/black models. The “cloud foam” inside the earpads and headband is comfortable, and should work well for long listening sessions. The headphones can fold down to a smaller size, but they don’t ship with a carrying pouch. Given the price, it’s hard to expect much in terms of build quality, but the JBuddies Pro Wireless feel exceptionally lightweight and cheap.
The headphones ship with an audio cable that has a built-in single-button inline remote with a microphone. The cable can connect to either earcup, and the same jack can be used to connect another pair of wired earphones/headphones to share audio with a friend or parent. The button can control playback, track navigation, and call management depending on how many times it’s pressed.
The JBuddies Pro Wireless are fully armed with controls, including volume up and down buttons that double as track forward/backward buttons. The power on/off button is also the play/pause button, and can summon your phone’s voice assistant when double tapped. The same button answers or ends calls.
Of course, there’s that hidden volume limiter switch, too. It’s located behind the cloth covering the right ear’s driver, up top, tucked behind the cushion of the earpad. When engaged (switched to the right), it limits the volume to a maximum of 85dB. When it’s off (switched to the left), volume can get as loud as 95dB. If you want to ensure limited volume levels for your child, this feature might be frustrating, because if your kid figures out where the switch is and what it does, the feature is essentially dead.
JLab estimates the JBuddies Pro Wireless battery life to be roughly 35 hours, which is quite good, but your results will vary with your volume levels.
JBuddies Pro Wireless Audio Performance
The following tracks may not be what your child listens to, but they’re part of our regular testing suite and paint a clear picture of what the drivers are capable of. With the volume limiter engaged, on tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the headphones deliver impressively deep low-frequency response. These drivers are quite adept at recreating thumping bass depth, and with the volume maxed out and the limiter turned off, they get plenty loud for kids’ headphones. The bass on this track never distorted, which is a sign the drivers can handle low frequencies without the audio getting fuzzy. At moderate volumes, the bass still sounds robust.
Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, gives us a better sense of the general sound signature. The drums on this track sound full and heavy, even with the volume limited. Callahan’s baritone vocals sound rich, as well. The high-mids and highs are less bright than they are on most adult headphones, which perhaps makes sense when you think about how human hearing drops off in our adult years. Your kids probably need crisp, bright highs less than you do.
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On Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “No Church in the Wild,” the kick drum loop receives plenty of added bass depth, beefing up the loop and lending the sub-bass synth hits that punctuate the beat some subwoofer-like presence, even with the volume limiter engaged. The vocals remain clean and clear, but this is, again, a notably less crisp sound signature than adults might be used to.
Movie audio and dialogue comes through clearly. If it’s a movie with lots of bass depth in the mix (in music or special effects), the headphones do a good job of conveying it, even at modest volume levels.
The built-in mic offers so-so intelligibility. Using the Voice Memos app on an iPhone, we could understand every word we recorded, but the audio seemed somewhat muffled and the signal a bit low.
Headphones for Kids Who Love Bass
The JBuddies Pro Wireless headphones deliver quality audio with robust bass depth for drivers this affordable, even at modest volume levels. The question will be how effectively you can keep the secret of the hidden volume limiting switch. We think most kids will like these headphones—ultimately, they’re a lot like adult headphones, just with less high-frequency presence. That said, the aforementioned $70 Puro Sound Labs JuniorJams offer a more balanced sound signature with a safe maximum volume level that can’t be changed, making them a better pick for nervous parents, as well as our Editors’ Choice.
