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Updated April 11, 2024·
If you're on a budget and need earbuds for exercise and travel, the Jlab Go Air Sport with their wireless design, good fit, and sweatproof certification are well-suited. However, they offer poor sound quality and are not ideal for music enjoyment. On the other hand, if superior audio quality is your priority and you're willing to pay more, the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II provide best-in-class sound with a durable build, but lack wireless convenience and are not tailored for exercise or sweat resistance. They also come with detachable cables and the potential for a balanced audio connection, but you'll need to purchase specific cables separately. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Jlab Go Air Sport
Very good for exercise
Very good for air travel
Advantages of the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II
Best in class for music
Very good for TV and video
Good for podcasts and audiobooks
Key differences
Music
5.6/10
9.5/10
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is best in class for music, while the Jlab Go Air Sport is poor.
Gaming
5.4/10
6.7/10
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is only fair for gaming, while the Jlab Go Air Sport is poor.
Podcasts and Audiobooks
5.6/10
7.9/10
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is good for podcasts and audiobooks, while the Jlab Go Air Sport is poor.
TV and Video
5.8/10
8.8/10
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II is very good for TV and video, while the Jlab Go Air Sport is poor.
Battery
8.0 Hours
N/A
The Jlab Go Air Sport has 8 hours of battery life. The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II does not have a battery.
Cost
$30
$999
$0
$100
$200
$300
$400
The Jlab Go Air Sport has a price of $30 and the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II costs $999.
Build Quality
8.0/10
9.0/10
The Thieaudio Monarch Mk II has excellent build quality, while the Jlab Go Air Sport has very good build quality.
"If you want seriously bass-forward earphones for the gym, you'll be hard-pressed to find a pair more affordable than the JLab Go Air Sport. We like their long battery life and solid water-resistance rating, though we aren’t fans of their finicky on-ear controls and the case’s hardwired charging cable."
"No other earphone I have listened to in the past 12 months has given me as much joy as the Thieaduio Monarch MKII. One of those IEMs will make you question where we can go from here. The sound is jaw-dropping, leaving you wanting more and more. It makes you want to run through your entire music library and reevaluate. It makes you not feel bad about paying full price for them, especially in a hobby where buyers' remorse is genuine. For me, it's top tier, rivaled by a few but not surpassed."
Get a great deal on the Jlab Go Air Sport or the Thieaudio Monarch Mk II
About Thieaudio
Thieaudio is the in-house brand of Linsoul Audio, a Chinese earbud and headphone retailer specializing in what the community lovingly calls Chi-fi, that is high fidelity brands out of China. Thieaudio was established in 2019 as the creative engineering branch of Linsoul. As of today, they market three different lines of earbuds, Voyager, Legacy and the extremely well-received Monarch.
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