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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want an ultra-light ear-fit pair you can forget you're wearing during long desk sessions and commutes, choose Audio Technica ATH-EQ300M; if you need a full over-ear headset with a mic, inline controls and folding travel design, choose JLab Studio Pro Over-Ear.
• Audio Technica ATH-EQ300M biggest strength: A 20 g ear-fit design with a thin housing and a 1.2 m cord that stays out of the way and barely presses on your ears.
• Audio Technica ATH-EQ300M biggest trade-off: No microphone, no inline call control beyond basic media control, and no noise isolation — this is a wired listening tool, not a headset.
• JLab Studio Pro Over-Ear biggest strength: Full over-ear comfort with 1" Cloud Foam cushions, 40 mm neodymium drivers, a braided tangle-free cord, an in-line mic and push-button controls.
• JLab Studio Pro Over-Ear biggest trade-off: At 8 ounces it's roughly eleven times heavier than the Audio Technica pair, and the over-ear fit runs warmer on long sessions.
• Pick Audio Technica ATH-EQ300M if you want the lightest possible wired listening for music, podcasts and laptop work with nothing clamped to your head.
• Pick JLab Studio Pro Over-Ear if you want one wired headset for calls, music, gaming and travel, with controls and a mic built into the cable.
The ATH-EQ300M is built around one idea: get sound into your ears without making your ears carry the weight. The housing is described as ultra thin and the whole unit weighs 20 g — about 0.7 oz. That's the number that matters here. Ear-fit headphones rest on the outer ear rather than sealing over it, so there's no clamping force and no pressure build-up around the ear canal. If you've ever taken off over-ear headphones after three hours and felt relief, this is the opposite experience by design.
The audio side is a dynamic driver with 20 ohm impedance and a frequency range of 16 Hz to 24,000 Hz. A 20 ohm load is easy to drive, which means a phone, a laptop headphone jack or a cheap dongle will all push it without struggling. The 16 Hz low end and 24 kHz top end are generous on paper for a lightweight ear-fit model, and the wired 3.5 mm connection means no pairing, no charging and no codec dropouts. There's a 1.2 m cord, media control on the wired remote, and the package is the main unit only. It also comes in six colors, and the purple version ships with a black faux leather carrying case.
Who should buy it: commuters who want to hear announcements and traffic, office workers who wear headphones all day and hate the heat of ear pads, students who want something that lives in a bag and never needs charging, and anyone who finds in-ear tips uncomfortable. Who should skip it: if you take a lot of calls, the ATH-EQ300M has no microphone and no noise control. If you need isolation on a plane or a loud train, ear-fit headphones leak sound in both directions. And if you need heavy bass slam or a sealed listening environment, this isn't the tool.
The JLab Studio Pro Over-Ear is the opposite philosophy: wrap the ear, add features, and make one cable do everything. The Form-Fit Earcups are shaped to the natural outline of the ear, with 1" Cloud Foam cushions and adjustable hinges. The build uses smooth-sliding metal adjustments in a metal enclosure, and the whole thing folds down to roughly palm size. It's an over-ear headphone, so it physically sits around your ear instead of on it — a different comfort equation than the Audio Technica pair, and one that leans on cushioning rather than lightness.
The driver is a 40 mm dynamic neodymium unit with C3 (Crystal Clear Clarity) tuning and a 20 Hz–20 kHz frequency range. Bigger drivers in a sealed over-ear cup generally mean more low-end weight and a fuller midrange than a thin ear-fit housing can produce, which is why JLab markets this one around "vibrant highs, mids and pumping bass." The cable is braided nylon to resist tangling, terminates in a 90-degree 3.5 mm jack that plays nicely with phone cases, and carries an in-line mic plus push-button controls for play, pause, track skipping and answering calls. Noise control is listed as sound isolation — passive, from the cups, not active cancellation. Weight is 8 ounces, and JLab lists a 50-hour battery charge time figure tied to the product's power spec.
Who should buy it: anyone who wants one wired headset for work calls, music, gaming (the theme is listed as Video Game) and travel. The folding design and metal sliders suit people who toss headphones in a backpack. The mic and inline buttons suit remote workers and students on video calls. Who should skip it: if weight is your main complaint with headphones, 8 ounces is a real presence on your head compared with 20 g. If you need to stay aware of your surroundings — cycling, running outdoors, walking busy streets — the over-ear seal works against you. And if you want zero cables, both of these are wired, so neither fits that need.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for all-day wear without pressure → Audio Technica ATH-EQ300M. 20 g and an ear-fit housing beat 8 ounces of over-ear clamping for marathon sessions.
• Best for travel and packing → JLab Studio Pro Over-Ear. It folds into roughly the palm of your hand, and the 90-degree jack works with phone cases.
• Best for staying aware of your environment → Audio Technica ATH-EQ300M. Ear-fit headphones don't seal the ear, so you keep ambient awareness.
• Best for bass weight and a fuller sound → JLab Studio Pro Over-Ear. 40 mm neodymium drivers in over-ear cups versus a thin ear-fit housing.
• Best for easy driving from any device → Audio Technica ATH-EQ300M. 20 ohm impedance is undemanding, and there's nothing to charge.
• Best for cable durability and cord management → JLab Studio Pro Over-Ear. Braided nylon cord and tangle-free routing versus a standard 1.2 m cord.
• Best for color choice → Audio Technica ATH-EQ300M. Six colors, plus a faux leather carry case with the purple version.
In my opinion, most people shopping this pair of headphones actually want the JLab Studio Pro Over-Ear. It does more: a mic, inline buttons, a braided cord, folding travel design, bigger drivers and passive isolation. If you want one wired headphone that covers calls, music and gaming, that's the one I'd buy. I'd pick the Audio Technica ATH-EQ300M only if lightness is the whole point for you — 20 g, no clamp, no charging, and full awareness of what's around you. That's a real, specific need, not a compromise. Check the current price on Amazon before you commit, since both sit in different budget brackets depending on the day.
No. It has media control on the wired remote but no microphone and no noise control, so you can't take calls with it. For calls, the JLab Studio Pro Over-Ear is the right pick — it has an in-line mic and push-button answer/hang-up.
The Audio Technica ATH-EQ300M, in my opinion. At 20 g with a thin ear-fit housing, there's no clamping force and no ear-pad heat. The JLab pair is 8 ounces with 1" Cloud Foam cushions — comfortable, but heavier and warmer over a full workday.
No. Its noise control is listed as sound isolation, which is passive — the over-ear cups block some outside noise, but there's no active cancellation. The Audio Technica ATH-EQ300M has no noise control at all.
The JLab Studio Pro Over-Ear, based on the specs. Its 40 mm neodymium dynamic driver in a sealed over-ear cup is engineered for stronger low-end than a thin ear-fit housing, even though the Audio Technica model reaches lower on paper at 16 Hz versus 20 Hz.
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