We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-23 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
If you want an open-ear fit that keeps you aware of traffic, your gym floor and the people around you, choose ACANDYA 3.5mm; if you need a sealed in-ear sport headphone with a water-resistance rating and a bass-forward sound, choose JBL Endurance Run 3.
• ACANDYA 3.5mm — biggest strength: a true open-ear hook design with aluminum housing and flexible ear loops, so nothing plugs your ear canal and you stay aware of your surroundings.
• ACANDYA 3.5mm — biggest trade-off: because it sits outside the ear, it will not isolate you from noise, and it is not rated for water or dust resistance.
• JBL Endurance Run 3 — biggest strength: IP65 dustproof and water-resistant build with TwistLock fit and FlipHook two-way wearing, plus a bass-tuned 8mm dynamic driver.
• JBL Endurance Run 3 — biggest trade-off: it is a sealed in-ear design, so you lose the ambient awareness an open-ear hook gives you, and silicone tips require the right size to seal well.
• Pick ACANDYA 3.5mm if you want open-ear comfort for long wear, office use, walking the dog or school, and you answer calls on the move.
• Pick JBL Endurance Run 3 if you sweat hard, train outdoors in bad weather, and want a secure in-ear seal with punchy bass to drive a workout.
The ACANDYA 3.5mm is built around one idea: keep your ears open. Instead of pushing a tip into your canal, it uses ear loops that wrap around the ear and hold the earpiece in a hook shape just outside it. The result is an athletic headphone that stays put during running, gym work and general exercise without sealing you off from the world. You can hear a car behind you on a walk, catch a colleague's question in the office, or keep half an ear on your dog while you're out with it.
Comfort is the second thing this design buys you. The earhooks are flexible and ergonomic, and the fit is deliberately looser than a sealed bud, which is exactly why it stays comfortable over long stretches — a full lecture, a long shift, a three-hour session at the desk. The housing is aluminum, which gives it a more substantial feel than a lot of plastic 3.5mm earbuds at this end of the market, and it ships with a protective storage case so it survives being thrown in a bag. The 32 ohm impedance and 20Hz–20,000Hz range are a standard, easy-to-drive combination that any phone, laptop or MP3 player with a 3.5mm jack will handle without complaint.
On the call side, there's a built-in noise-cancelling microphone with push-button controls for answering and ending calls and adjusting volume, so you're not fishing your phone out mid-walk. Where it falls short: there is no water or dust rating listed, so treat it as a fair-weather and gym-floor headphone rather than something to wear in heavy rain or a downpour. And the open-ear design means zero isolation — in a loud train carriage or on a busy street you will hear everything around you, which is the point, but it is not what you want if you're trying to block out the world. Buy it if awareness, comfort and long wear matter more to you than thump. Skip it if you want to disappear into your music.
The JBL Endurance Run 3 attacks the problem from the opposite direction. This is an in-ear sport headphone, and it's engineered around staying locked in place no matter what you're doing. TwistLock technology is the mechanism: the tips twist into your ear for a secure seal and stability, and the package includes three sizes of ear tips so you can actually find that seal rather than guessing. FlipHook adds a second layer of flexibility — a two-way design that lets you wear them conventionally in-ear or flipped behind the ear, which changes the feel and the security depending on what you're doing.
The headline spec here is IP65. That's dustproof and water-resistant, and it's the difference between a headphone you baby and one you can take into a sweaty gym, a rainy run or a dusty trail without worrying. If you train outdoors year-round, this is the single most useful line on the spec sheet. The other headline is JBL Pure Bass Sound, delivered by an 8mm dynamic driver. With 8 ohm impedance and a 20Hz–20,000Hz range, these are designed to be easy to drive straight from a phone jack, and the tuning leans toward rich, bold low end — the kind of sound that pushes you through the last set rather than the kind you'd pick for critical listening.
Practical details are handled well. The in-line one-button remote with microphone gives you hands-free calls, and a long press wakes your phone's native voice assistant (Google Assistant or Siri). Magnetic buds let the two earpieces snap together around your neck when you're between songs, which is a small thing that makes a real difference to cable management. At 16.8 g they're light, and the soft silicone-style materials and enhancer in the box round out the fit kit. The trade-off is baked in: sealed in-ears isolate you, so you lose the awareness the ACANDYA gives you, and you have to be willing to fiddle with tip sizes to get the seal right. Buy it if you sweat, you run outdoors, and you want bass. Skip it if you need to hear your surroundings.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for staying aware of traffic and surroundings → ACANDYA 3.5mm. The open-ear hook design deliberately leaves your canal unobstructed.
• Best for bass and workout motivation → JBL Endurance Run 3. The 8mm dynamic driver and Pure Bass tuning are purpose-built for it.
• Best for long, all-day comfort → ACANDYA 3.5mm. A loose open fit with flexible earhooks and aluminum housing is easier to wear for hours than a sealed tip.
• Best for secure fit during high-intensity movement → JBL Endurance Run 3. TwistLock plus three tip sizes plus FlipHook two-way wearing is a lot of fit engineering.
• Best for calls in a noisy place → ACANDYA 3.5mm. Its noise-cancelling mic and push-button call controls are the more call-focused setup of the two.
• Best for cable management between sets → JBL Endurance Run 3. Magnetic buds snap together around your neck.
• Best for students, office and mixed everyday use → ACANDYA 3.5mm. Open ears plus a storage case suit a bag-and-desk life better than a sweaty-gym headphone.
In my opinion, the JBL Endurance Run 3 is the better buy for anyone whose main use is actual training. IP65, TwistLock, FlipHook, magnetic buds and a bass-first 8mm driver add up to a headphone designed for exactly the sweaty, rainy, high-intensity sessions people buy sport headphones for, and I'd recommend it for that. But if your "workout" is really a walk, a commute, a lecture hall or a desk, I'd take the ACANDYA 3.5mm — the open-ear awareness and long-wear comfort are things the JBL simply doesn't offer, and no amount of bass replaces them. Decide which of those two lives is yours and the choice is straightforward. Either way, check the current price on Amazon before you commit.
For running, yes — in my opinion. The JBL has IP65 dust and water resistance, TwistLock secure fit and FlipHook wearing options, which are the features that matter when you're moving hard and sweating.
It has a noise-cancelling microphone for calls, not active noise cancellation for listening. The earbuds themselves use sound isolation, and because they're open-ear, you'll still hear your surroundings by design.
The JBL Endurance Run 3, on the strength of its IP65 rating and locked-in fit. The ACANDYA is fine for light gym use, but it has no listed water or dust rating, so heavy sweat sessions favor the JBL.
Both use a standard 3.5mm jack, so both work with laptops, phones and MP3 players that still have the port. For a plane, the JBL's sealed in-ear fit will block more engine noise; the ACANDYA will let it through.
The ACANDYA 3.5mm leans more toward call use, with a noise-cancelling mic and push-button answer/end and volume controls. The JBL still handles hands-free calls via its in-line one-button remote and voice assistant access.
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