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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-25 · 6 min read · Independent comparison
• JLab Epic Air Sport — biggest strength: staggering battery life (15+ hours per bud, 55+ more from the case) plus an IP66 sweatproof, in-ear, gym-first build with active noise cancellation.
• JLab Epic Air Sport — biggest trade-off: it's a plastic true-wireless earbud. No boom mic, no wired option, and if you lose a bud, you're done.
• SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 — biggest strength: dual wireless (2.4GHz dongle + Bluetooth) running at the same time, a noise-rejecting boom mic, and 50+ hours of over-ear comfort for long sessions.
• SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 — biggest trade-off: it's over-ear and heavy-ish, it's not sweatproof, and there's no headphone jack — USB-C and wireless only.
• Buy JLab if you run, lift, commute, or want the most playtime per charge in the smallest possible package.
• Buy SteelSeries if you're a gamer on PC, PS5, PS4 or Switch who also takes calls and wants one headset for both.
The Epic Air Sport ANC is built around one idea: keep going. Each earbud holds 15+ hours, and the charging case adds 55+ more, which works out to roughly 70+ hours of Bluetooth 5 playback before you need a wall outlet. Switch on active noise cancellation and you're still looking at 50+ hours of ANC playtime. That is a genuinely huge number, and it's the single most persuasive thing about this product.
Then there's the workout angle. IP66 means it shrugs off sweat and dust, and the angled in-ear shape is designed to sit in your ear rather than clamp around it. The feature set reads like a checklist for people who move: Be Aware pass-through so you can hear traffic while running, Movie Mode low-latency for watching video on your phone, wear-detect sensors that pause your music the moment you pull a bud out, and dual connect so either bud works on its own. Six microphones handle noise cancellation and calls, and C3 Calling splits the work — one mic kills background noise, the other grabs your voice. You get three EQ presets (Signature, Balanced, Bass Boost) right on the earbuds, plus deeper tweaking in the JLab Air ANC app. Charging is flexible too: wireless pad or the built-in USB-A cable. Fifteen minutes gets you about an hour of use, and a full charge takes roughly 60 minutes.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7: Who It's For
This is a different species of product entirely. The Arctis Nova 7 Wireless Gen 2 is an over-ear gaming headset, and its headline trick is simultaneous 2.4GHz + Bluetooth — meaning you can hear your game through the USB-C dongle while your phone audio comes through Bluetooth at the same time. That's the feature that makes it more than a gaming headset: you can take a call mid-match without pulling anything off your head.
Around that sit a lot of sensible gaming features. The portable USB-C dongle unlocks 2.4GHz across PC, PS5, PS4 and Switch, with a USB-A adapter in the box for older ports. Battery life is rated at 50+ hours, and USB-C fast charge tops it up quickly. The custom neodymium magnetic drivers are tuned for a deep, detailed soundstage with 360° Spatial Audio support. The ClearCast Gen 2 mic reduces background noise substantially, so keyboard clatter and fans don't ride along with your voice, and Sonar AI sharpens it further on PC. There's real-time audio control through the app with a large library of game-specific presets, so you can tune per title instead of fiddling with a system equalizer.
Build quality is where it earns its keep over long sessions: a rugged steel frame, an elastic headband, and memory foam cushions. It's an over-ear design with 36-ohm impedance, a 40ms latency figure, and passive noise cancellation rather than active. Controls are integrated buttons for volume, mute, pairing and power.
Who should buy it: PC and console gamers who also want one headset for calls, streaming, and mobile audio. Who should skip it: anyone who trains in their headphones, wants something pocketable, or needs a 3.5mm jack — there isn't one.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for battery life → JLab Epic Air Sport. 15+ hours per bud and 70+ hours total beats 50+ hours, and it wins by a wide margin.
• Best for workouts and sweat → JLab Epic Air Sport. IP66 sweat and dust resistance versus a fabric-and-foam over-ear build that isn't rated for it.
• Best for hearing your game and your phone at once → SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7. Simultaneous 2.4GHz + Bluetooth is the deciding feature here.
• Best for noise cancellation → JLab Epic Air Sport. It has hardware ANC with three modes; the SteelSeries relies on passive isolation only.
• Best for portability → JLab Epic Air Sport. Two small buds in a pocketable charging case versus a full over-ear headset.
• Best for long sit-down sessions → SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7. Steel frame, elastic headband, and memory foam cushions are built for hours at a desk.
• Best for running while hearing traffic → JLab Epic Air Sport. Be Aware pass-through is designed exactly for that.
In my opinion, these two barely compete — they solve different problems, so pick the problem you actually have. If your day involves running, sweating, commuting, and wanting headphones that just keep playing, I'd buy the JLab Epic Air Sport ANC: the battery figures and IP66 rating are the whole argument, and nothing in the SteelSeries spec sheet answers them. If your day involves a desk, a console, and voice chat, I'd buy the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 — simultaneous 2.4GHz plus Bluetooth, a ClearCast Gen 2 mic, and 50+ hours in a steel-framed over-ear is the more capable tool for that job. Only you can decide which of those two lives is yours. Whichever you land on, check the current price on Amazon before you commit.
Yes, clearly. IP66 sweat and dust resistance plus a lightweight in-ear fit make it the sensible choice for exercise. The Arctis Nova 7 is an over-ear headset with no sweat rating, so I wouldn't recommend it for training.
Not the same kind. The JLab has active noise cancellation with three hardware modes (ANC On, ANC Off, Be Aware). The SteelSeries uses passive noise cancellation, meaning the cushions block sound physically rather than with electronics.
Yes — it has Bluetooth 5 as well as 2.4GHz, and you can run both at once to mix game and mobile audio. Just note there's no headphone jack, so wired listening isn't an option.
The JLab. It's rated at 15+ hours per earbud with 55+ additional hours in the case, and 50+ hours with ANC on. The SteelSeries is rated at 50+ hours on a single charge with no charging case involved.
That depends on what you need it for, and prices move around — so check the current price on Amazon for both before deciding. Buy the JLab for workouts and battery life; buy the SteelSeries for gaming, voice chat and dual-source audio.
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See also: Skullcandy SLYR Pro vs SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5X, Amazon Renewed SteelSeries Arctis Nova vs Kinglucky Clip-On Earbuds Ge, SteelSeries Arctis Prime vs BlueFire Gaming Earbuds