It looks like an ordinary pair of wireless headphones. Except, the darn thing is comically large. As in, your head needs to grow at least twice as big to fit in it. That’s because the JLab JBuds XL Speaker Headphones is actually a speaker that’s styled to look like a pair of headphones for whatever momentary joy that might bring your way.
That’s right, it’s a wireless speaker styled to look like a giant pair of headphones. Since it’s not going to fit on any puny human’s head, the idea is to wear it around your neck and play your music on the go. You know… kind of like the way some people hang their portable Bluetooth speakers on a backpack and play music that way. Of course, you can also just hang it somewhere in your bedroom and enjoy your music that way, which does seem like a smart way to free up some shelf space.
The JLab JBuds XL Speaker Headphones take on the traditional over-ear headphone form factor. Except, instead of being designed to minimize the amount of sound that gets out, it looks to maximize it, since it’s actually a proper two-channel speaker. As such, it blasts a whopping 30W of power, which is way too much for any traditional headphone. It’s also equipped with two 2.5-inch dynamic drivers, along with a pair of 2.5-inch passive radiators, which, again, are way too big for headphones, but are a reasonable size for a mobile speaker.
The drivers are custom-tuned using the JLab Signature Sound EQ, which amplifies the vocals and the bass to give it the punchy sound that makes it ideal for playing modern hip-hop and dance tracks. If you want to set down the device on a tabletop, by the way, you can use one of the earcups as the base, then turn the other one 90 degrees and insert it into the top of the base. Yes, it’s supposed to secure properly that way, which definitely makes for a novel way to display a pretty unique speaker.
The JLab JBuds XL Speaker Headphones connects to your audio source wirelessly via Bluetooth 5.4, with support for both the SBC and AAC codecs. There’s no wired option, though, so you can’t hook it up your 90s-era CD player. It’s meant mostly as a novelty speaker, by the way, so there’s no high-res Bluetooth codecs, too, but it sure will make for a fun gag gift at any point during the year.
The onboard battery allows the speaker to run for up to 20 hours between charges, allowing you to use it nonstop for the better part of an entire day without plugging in. It supports 10W charging via USB-C, too, allowing you to fully charge it in just three hours. Due to its novelty nature, JLab says they’re only making the speaker in limited quantities, so you should definitely pick one up soon if you’re interested in a ridiculously oversized pair of headphones.
Want one? The JLab JBuds XL Speaker Headphones is available now, priced at $99.99.
