Etymotic ER4 (2016) vs JLab JBuds Air Icon

The JLab JBuds Air Icon and Etymotic ER4XR make for good, if unremarkable, Earphones at their respective budgets.

With that said, while they both should serve reasonably well, you might want to look into other options at the $30 and $250 price points - it's likely that there are some better alternatives available.

If you want to learn more about the JLab JBuds Air Icon and the Etymotic ER4XR, however, we prepared a summary of the information that we have:

The JLab JBuds Air Icon was loved by reviewers at TechGearLab, a highly trusted source that performs reliable in-depth testing. It did great in its "Best Waterproof Earbuds of 2020" roundup where it was named its "Long Distance Bluetooth Connection", which, in itself, makes it a product worth considering.

Returning to the Etymotic ER4XR, PCmag, a source that's known for its high-quality in-depth testing, has great things to say about it. In fact, it was named its "Best for Sound Professionals" in its "The Best Wired Headphones for 2021" roundup, which is quite a feat.

We conducted an analysis of all of the review data that we could find on these two products. First, we focused on sources that tested and rated both of them, like PCmag, and learned that they all showed a preference for the Etymotic ER4XR.

Then we took a look at the highest review scores that these two Earphones received. We found that the JLab JBuds Air Icon managed to earn a rating of 7.6 from SoundGuys, whereas the Etymotic ER4XR got its highest, 10, score from reviewers at PCmag.

Lastly, in order to better compare them to the rest of their competition, we averaged out their review scores. The Etymotic ER4XR managed to get 8.5 out of 10 - considerably better than the 7.3 review average of Earphones in general - whereas the JLab JBuds Air Icon earned 7.3 points.

It should be said that doing a direct JLab JBuds Air Icon vs. Etymotic ER4XR comparison might not be entirely fair due to the difference in their prices - some sources don't put much weight on value for money and thus tend to give better review scores to more expensive products.