jbl tour one app

JBL Headphones 4+

Harman international industries.

• #39 in Music
• 4.6 • 46.4K Ratings

iPhone Screenshots

Description.

JBL Headphones app redefines your headphones experience. Through your mobile device, you can now conveniently control the headphone settings, smart ambient, noise cancelling and many more in your JBL Headphones app. Supported models are: JBL WAVE BUDS, WAVE BEAM, WAVE FLEX, VIBE BUDS, VIBE BEAM, VIBE FLEX JBL TUNE FLEX, TUNE ANC, TUNE 130NC TWS, TUNE 230NC TWS, TUNE BEAM, TUNE BUDS JBL TUNE525BT, TUNE 520BT, TUNE 720BT, TUNE 670NC, TUNE 770NC JBL LIVE FREE 2, LIVE PRO 2, LIVE FREE NC+ TWS, LIVE PRO+ TWS, LIVE300 TWS, LIVE FLEX, LIVE BEAM 3, LIVE BUD 3, LIVE FLEX 3 JBL LIVE 670NC, LIVE 770NC, LIVE 460NC, LIVE 660NC, LIVE 400BT, 500BT, 650BTNC, 220BT JBL CLUB PRO+ TWS, CLUB700BT, 950NC, ONE JBL TOUR PRO+ TWS, TOUR ONE, TOUR PRO 2, TOUR ONE M2 JBL SOUNDGEAR SENSE, SOUNDGEAR FRAMES JBL QUANTUM TWS, QUANTUM TWS AIR JBL ENDURANCE PEAK 3, ENDURANCE RACE JBL REFLECT AERO, REFLECT FLOW PRO, REFLECT MINI NC, REFLECT AWARE UA PROJECT ROCK OVER-EAR TRAINING HEADPHONES JBL EVEREST ELITE100, 150NC, 300 and 750NC JBL X TOMORROWLAND JBL QUANTUM STREM WIRELSS Other features include: - Voice assistant setup: Allows you to select Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa as your voice assistant. - EQ Settings: The App provides predefined EQ presets and also allows you to create or customize EQ settings as per their personal preferences. - Application Settings: App setting include Voice Assistant, Smart Audio Modes, Touch gesture setting, Product help, Tips, FAQ, etc, subject to different models. - Tips: Product tutorial will be found under Product help. - FAQ: Allows you to find quick answer when using our JBL APP. - Headphone battery indicator: Displays the headphone battery level so you can quickly see how much playtime is left. - Touch gestures customization allows you to change your button configuration based on your preference (available only on specific models) - Smart audio mode: improve your audio that is adjusted to what you are doing (available only on specific models) - Multi Noise Cancelling mode: By selecting different noise cancelling level to enjoy the best sound in each occasion (available only on specific models)

Version 5.20.9

- Add New Product JBL LIVE BUDS 3 - Add New Product JBL LIVE FLEX 3

Ratings and Reviews

46.4K Ratings

Very impressed

I’ve been researching headphones and reading reviews for headphones for a good month or so and I walked through Kohl’s and found these JBL Tune 230nc and saw the price and walked away. As I stood in line waiting for my food I started looking at reviews for these headphones. I think there was 2 or 3 negative reviews but for the most part they were good. So I thought I’ll get them and if I don’t like them I’ll just return them. Once I got back and set them up and installed the update I haven’t been able to take them out. They’re literally stuck in my ear!!! The sound is amazing, the bass is great and the gestures are easy to use and you don’t have to push them into your head to get them to respond like on my previous headphones. They’re comfortable and feel tight and I don’t feel like they’re gonna fall out of my ear!!! What imma saying is these are the best headphones I’ve had and way worth the price I paid!!! Thank you for making a good product I can talk about. I’ve actually told everyone that I hang with to put them in and listen. Imma very pleased with my purchase!!! Frank

Killed my $300 Headphones

Some months ago I bought the JBL Tour One’s. Phenomenal headphones. Beautiful sound quality with great noise cancellation. I thought it was even cooler that it had an app where I could change sound settings on the headphones too. Then one day just before heading to the gym, I turned the headphones and just fine while also getting on THIS app to change some of the settings again. For the first time it said my headphones needed an update. “An update? For my headphones?” I thought to myself.. I decided to continue with it thinking it might just be a simple fix for something. Worst decision I could have possible made. The update finished and I tried to listen to music, nothing. No sound whatsoever. I turned them off and back on. Still the same thing. That sound JBL products make with the base and the guitar, just stopped completely. The headphones turn on but nothing happens. I’m genuinely disappointed and sad that I even have to write this because I’ve used many JBL products before and have always been more than satisfied. This however is a big stain on their name. I tried to get in contact with anyone from JBL but got little to no response back. So I tossed the headphones aside in their case where they’ve been collecting dust. I don’t know if they’ll even respond to this review, but if you’re thinking of using this app to pair your headphones with- DO NOT DO IT. I REPEAT DON’T. It will mess up your gear and leave you with your money in the trash.

Good app for headphones

I was impressed, the app asked for an update the day I got the headphones and app. I did the update, turned on my headphones (well, first I had to pair them first) and started jamming to music, I felt the vibe like I was at a concert in rl, I suggest you get this app, also if you turn the talk through setting to talk thro, you won’t be able to hear the music, I suggest you put the setting on the middle button, so it’s talk through, and listable at the same time. These headphones can also stop playing music once and a while, this is because they hear talking and they think someone is talking to you, there is a setting for that to, use this app. I was very impressed, but I saw a comment that said that it broke their headphones and I was like that’s weird that I didn’t do that to me, so am I happened to you? It didn’t happen to me, but it might happen to you, so be aware and be safe.

App Privacy

The developer, Harman International Industries , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .

Data Not Linked to You

The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:

• Diagnostics

Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More

Information

English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish

• Developer Website
• App Support
• Privacy Policy

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JBL Tour One review

Jbl’s premium wireless noise-cancelling headphones struggle to impress tested at £279 / $299 / au$369.

What Hi-Fi? Verdict

JBL’s classy headphones certainly look the part, they just lack dynamic and rhythmic finesse when compared to the class leaders

Energetic presentation

Reliable touch controls

Classy build and finish

Beaten for dynamics and subtlety

Coarse and unrefined upper mids

Why you can trust What Hi-Fi? Our expert team reviews products in dedicated test rooms, to help you make the best choice for your budget. Find out more about how we test.

At first glance, the Tour One over-ears look and feel far too minimalist and monochrome for JBL. Where are bright colours? Where’s the white branding to emphasise the JBL exclamation mark? In JBL’s own words, the Tour One over-ears (and their counterpart, the Tour Pro+ in-ear model) have been “designed for business professionals”, and we can see that. For starters, these wireless noise-cancelling headphones boast up to 50 hours of music playback from a single charge and can access virtual voice assistants from Amazon and Google – all very business-like.

Although JBL’s two-strong Tour headphone series was first unveiled in January 2021, the US audio giant only let them loose on the general public in May. So are they worth the wait? And crucially, can they challenge class-leaders Sony, Bose and Sennheiser in this dog-eat-dog category?

At £279 ($299), JBL’s Tour One headphones aren’t cheap, but they do undercut the Apple AirPods Max (£549) by a considerable margin. 

They’re more in the ballpark of the now regularly discounted, Award-winning Sony WH-1000XM4 (currently around £279/$399/AU$395), also-reduced Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless (roughly £233/$270/AU$380) and Bose’s talented Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 (£250/$379/AU$395) at the time of writing). 

These are among the most popular options at this price level, and that’s before you look at models that sit just below their level. Plenty of competition for JBL, then.

Build and comfort 

Unbox the Tour One and the first thing you see is a premium moulded black travel case with a useful snap-fastener on the zip. Inside, the earcups are rotated 90 degrees to lie flat, with the left one folded up towards the headband for greater portability. The smell of classy faux leather from the padded cups and top portion of the headband puts us in mind of much pricier studio over-ears – and we can’t help but notice the similarities between these cans and the Sony WH-1000XM4, which look almost identical in their travel case.

The rest of the Tour One are finished in black plastic (black is the only colour available), but it covers a durable metal frame. The metal extension strap within the headband features etched lines, so you can extend them evenly on each side. They aren’t the most aesthetically original headphones on the market and there’s no IP rating for water or dust ingress, but the high standard of finish we’d expect from an established and trusted name such as JBL has certainly been met. 

Finishes x1 

Battery life up to 25 hours (ANC on), up to 50 hours (ANC off)

Driver size 40mm

Weight 268g

Bluetooth 5.0

Features TalkThru, Ambient Aware and Adaptive Noise Cancellation/everyday ANC profiles, Wearer-detection

As we don them, the clamping force is practically perfect and also well weighted so that they stay put across the course of our listening sessions. The Tour One features 40mm drivers behind the oval, slightly angled earcups plus a four-mic array for taking calls, which are remarkably clear during our testing. 

On the right earpiece, the power/pairing switch and physical volume controls sit on the back edge of the earcup, closest to your neck. The entire top surface of this earcup is touch-sensitive and reacts quickly with a demure beep to stop playback, start it, skip tracks or scroll through noise-cancelling ambient sound control profiles with a long-press – but this can be customised in the JBL Headphones app. 

The left earcup has just one physical button, also towards the back edge of the earcup, which can be customised either to access Alexa or the Google Assistant, or scroll through ambient sound profiles. It’s a neat solution and it works very well indeed. Having tested countless models that have iffy or unreliable touch controls, it is refreshing to find a reliable solution that means we rarely need to dig out our phone. 

Bluetooth 5.0 is at the helm, and battery life is 25 hours with Bluetooth and noise-cancelling switched on, and around 50 hours using just Bluetooth. Thanks to Speed Charging, a quick 10-minute stint at the power socket (via USB-C on the left earcup) should be enough for two hours of playback. Want to get wired? Fine – there’s a 2.5mm jack on the right earcup and a 2.5mm-to-3.5mm cable supplied. 

To set up the JBL Tour One after initial Bluetooth pairing, the JBL Headphones app first sends us to the Alexa or Google Assistant app to add them as an accessory, then slickly redirects us back to our JBL Headphones in-app control centre. Here, under the Noise Cancelling tab, you can select between True Adaptive ANC (which monitors your environment in real-time and alters the level of noise-cancelling automatically) or ‘everyday mode’, underneath which is written the somewhat blasé explanation “Block out the noise of everyday life” – but essentially it just means that ANC is on.

We find the True Adaptive ANC a little distracting because we can hear the levels of isolation audibly change, occasionally creating a disconcerting wind-tunnel effect when out and about, and while the everyday mode is easier on our ears and perfectly sufficient for cutting low-level noise, it isn’t the most effective performance we’ve ever heard at this level. It’s also worth noting that it is impossible to tweak or customise these profiles further than ‘on’ or ‘off’. 

You’ve also got an Ambient Sound Control tab, to locate Ambient Aware or TalkThru profiles (where Ambient Aware filters external sounds in, and TalkThru mutes playback in addition to this), and lastly, an interesting new tab called Smart Audio and Video. By selecting one of the three profiles under this tab, JBL allows you to optimise the Bluetooth connection for normal listening, switch up the quality in “music mode” or switch to the low-latency “video mode” to get your picture and sound in perfect sync – although we’re still unsure why you can’t watch videos and listen in the best quality, particularly as multi-point connection is supported to a maximum of two devices. We try switching between the two while watching a YouTube video on our phone and are unable to detect notable differences or benefits in either mode, but it’s an interesting idea nonetheless. 

At the bottom of the app’s intuitive home screen is an EQ tab, to select from five presets, or you can create your own unique line on a frequency stave to emphasise certain frequencies or lower others – and it works very well. 

You can also turn wearer-detection off to stop playback automatically pausing when you remove them. 

All in all, the app is easy to navigate and well-designed. Is the feature set good enough to take on the class-leading Sony XM4 when coupled with the sound? Sony’s cans are 14g lighter, which isn’t much, but they are slightly more comfortable and cooler during the course of our listening. So, let’s see how the JBL Tour One fares sonically...

Turning all EQ optimisation off to facilitate a neutral listen, we stream Invisible Touch by Genesis on Apple Music and note the considerable onboard oomph from the Tour One. As the track continues, Phil Collins’ driving drum beat and vocals are delivered with an extra dollop of zeal and energy alongside the separate and distinct canon backing vocals. Throughout Land Of Confusion the vocal is central alongside a grippy bass and treble key progressions as JBL proves the Tour One are at home when handling rock tracks. 

We switch to the challenging progressive rock track Thick As A Brick (Pt. 1) by Jethro Tull. The flute feels three-dimensional and the strummed guitar sounds emotive, in as cohesive a mix as the Blackpool prog outfit could have possibly intended. However, it’s here that we start to notice a few shortfalls: the Tour One doesn’t seem to know when to ease off. Through the Sony WH-1000XM4 we hear more dynamic detail in the quieter nuances of the track as it continues to build; the lyrical guitar passages are more sensitively placed in the soundstage so that the surprise power chords, tambourines and trumpets can crash in with extra edginess and impact.

For hip-hop and grime fans, you might assume that the verve and zeal with which J Hus’ Lean & Bop is delivered would mean a huge tick for the Tour One, but the JBL headphones also suffer from a coarse upper midrange, which can become tiring even during short listening sessions. There’s a lack of refinement and subtlety present in both the vocals and instruments across the board, which really detracts from the whole listening experience. It isn’t terrible, it’s just that when you’re up against the Sony Award-winners (and surrounded by a multitude of capable rivals at the money), the differences quickly reveal themselves. 

JBL’s Tour One headphones certainly look the part and the firm has offered a fresh and compelling feature set in a bid to become a true player in the over-ear noise-cancelling headphones sector. There are some things to like here, but you’ll get extra features and, more importantly, better sound quality if you shop around and look at rival pairs from the likes of Bose, Sennheiser and Sony.

Read our Sony WH-1000XM4 review

Read our Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 review

Read our round up of the best over-ear headphones 2021

What Hi-Fi?, founded in 1976, is the world's leading independent guide to buying and owning hi-fi and home entertainment products. Our comprehensive tests help you buy the very best for your money, with our advice sections giving you step-by-step information on how to get even more from your music and movies. Everything is tested by our dedicated team of in-house reviewers in our custom-built test rooms in London, Reading and Bath. Our coveted five-star rating and Awards are recognised all over the world as the ultimate seal of approval, so you can buy with absolute confidence.

Read more about how we test

Review: JBL Tour One

Energetic jbl sound.

JBL Tour One is a pair of proper headphones, which after som help from EQ function in the app, brings out a smile on your face.

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The JBL Tour One feels solid in the hands, and sits comfortably on the head. And I like the feeling they give when they are in the hands. Physical buttons for sound level, wireless connection and sound processing such as noise cancellation and ambient sound make them easier to get to know than some others, such as the Sony WF-1000XM4.

The noise cancellation

External noise is reduced well with the active noise cancellation, but the JBL headphones require more fine-tuning of the position on the ears than the others, so that the noise reduction is the same on both ears. You may have to squeeze a little extra when you put them on, to get it completely tight. When they sit, the noise reduction is good, better than Yamaha which lets in a little more noise.

With noise cancellation activated, the bass becomes fuller, but also less firm. The rhythms in the middle bass do not tap as tightly against the eardrum, as with ANC deactivated. The same is experienced with ambient sound activated, the headphones sound a lot better with everything turned off. But of course, if you are sitting on a plane or in a car, the noise must be shut out.

Out of the box, the sound is a bit flat and unengaging, especially the midrange is very thin so voices do not come out properly. Beyoncé’s latest song, Be Alive, does not exactly sound “alive”. But it does not take much. Here I would take to the EQ in the app.

For after a small increase in the midrange around 1 kHz and also slight subtraction around the sharp range at 4 kHz, then pull up again in the treble, and the sound immediately much better. You may want a different setting, and that’s fine. There are many opportunities here, because the EQ is really good.

Sigrid’s voice is now clear and distinct on the Christmas song Home To You (This Christmas) , and the guitar on the previously unreleased Follow Me Around by Radiohead, now finally released on the double re-release Kid A Mnesia, massages the ears. Thom Yorke, who is rudely placed almost to the far left, stands out clearly from the music. This is good.

JBL Tour One: Conclusion

The JBL Tour One sounds decent right out of the box, but also som much better with a small adjustment in the app. They sound best without noise cancellation, with a tighter and tidier bass, but also work with this or ambient sound activated. In situations where it is necessary to remove the noise, the bass becomes fuller but less controlled. They have this in common with many others.

The noise cancellation itself works well, just make sure that the headphones are tight around the ears.

Specifications

• Type: Over-ear, closed, wireless
• Drivers: 40 mm
• Frequency range: 10 Hz – 22 kHz
• Active noise reduction : Yes
• Ambient sound: Yes
• Battery life: 25 h with ANC / 50 h without ANC
• Water resistance: No.
• Voice control: Alexa, Assistant, Siri
• App: JBL Headphones
• Connections: Bluetooth 5.0 (SBC, AAC), 3.5 mm analog
• Weight: 268 g
• Colors: Black
• Web: jbl.com

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Buy the previous version instead

Lossless at last from bose, good news from bose, listen to your music for the first time, jabra's best by far - but not for everyone, earbuds with a telly.

JBL Tour One Headphones Review

Jbl's latest travel cans give sony's best a run for their money.

Updated July 14, 2021

Products are chosen independently by our editors. Purchases made through our links may earn us a commission.

About the JBL Tour One

What we like, what we don’t like, should you buy it.

Great sound

Solid noise cancelling

Huge battery life

Software is occasionally finicky

All in all, I love JBL’s Tour One headphones. They’re comfortable, stuffed with useful features, do a great job canceling noise, and sound excellent. Apart from some minor complaints about the software defaults and a small issue with the included 3.5mm cable, these headphones are nearly flawless.

The Tour One fit into a particular headphone niche: wireless travel cans that boast just about every feature you could ask for, whether you need them for long trips, working from home, or anything in between. In keeping with the competition, they land in the $300 price range.

Here are the specs you’ll want to know about:

• Price: $299.95
• Style: Over-ear
• Noise-canceling: True Adaptive Noise Canceling
• Battery life: Up to 50 hours (depending on usage)
• Passive operation: Yes (3.5mm cable included)
• Voice assistant: Yes (Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant)
• Weight: 268 g/0.59 lbs. (headphones only)
• Bluetooth version: Bluetooth 5.0
• Colors: Black
• Additional features: Ambient Aware, TalkThru, Smart Audio/Smart Video, Auto Off, Auto-Pause, Hands-free Voice Control, custom EQ

In the box, you're getting the Tour One headphones, a USB-C charging cable, a 3.5mm cable, an airplane adapter, and a zip-up carry case.

Alongside the headphones, you’ll get a USB-C charging cable, a sturdy zip-up carrying case, a 3.5mm audio cable, and an airplane adapter.

Lightweight, comfy, and intuitive

From a design perspective, the cups take up a decent amount of space, rather than molding tight or very flat around your ears. These substantial (yet still quite compact) cups are what make possible the various functions you’re getting here, including voice microphones, an outer microphone array, a big battery, and a few control buttons. The latter present a deviation from the fully touch-capacitive design on the XM4, allowing you to adjust volume, enable Bluetooth, and jump between ANC and transparency modes with actual physical buttons.

However, the Tour One also features a single touch-capacitive function on the right cup that allows for play/pause (with a single tap) or you can tap-and-hold to activate your phone’s voice assistant. This is OS-dependent by default (so Samsung phones will use Bixby, for example), but can be assigned specifically to Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant if you so choose.

You're getting mostly tactile buttons for controls, but you can also tap the right ear cup for play/pause.

While I don’t mind exclusively touch-capacitive controls (once I have a day or two to learn them), I appreciate the certainty presented by real buttons. Within minutes of plopping the Tour One on my head, I was adjusting volume and jumping through playback modes without a single misfire. And with only one touch-capacitive surface to remember, the Tour One’s semi-hybrid approach is easy to get “under your fingers,” so to speak.

The gunmetal/black coloring on the Tour One is bound not to offend any sensibilities, though I wouldn’t mind having at least one other color option here. But as it stands, the Tour One presents a polished, professional look befitting the price point.

Solid accessories

At $300, you expect some nice accessories, and the Tour One deliver there. In general, these headphones are quite compact: they collapse into a fairly tight ball and fold flat to lay over your clavicles when around your neck, but I wouldn’t want to risk throwing them in a satchel or backpack without the carrying case. The case is sturdy enough to keep them safe from bag-related incidentals and compact enough for easy travel. It’s a good middle ground.

The included USB-C charging cable and 3.5mm cable are of equal length, allowing you to charge while listening passively with ease.

I also love that the USB-C charging cable is roughly the same length as the included 3.5mm cable: it means while seated in front of a laptop, for example, you can charge the headphones while continuing to listen to analog audio. This isn’t possible with the shorter USB-C cables you get with a lot of headphones these days.

Great sound quality

When you’re paying this much for headphones, they’d better sound great—fortunately, the Tour One are no slouch. The first thing I did (after getting the JBL app installed on my phone) was boot up one of my favorite “chillwave” Spotify playlists. I was immediately impressed by the Tour One’s presentation of deep synth bass, lush keyboards, and impactful electronic drum beats and snares.

As sound quality goes, I’m hard-pressed to find anything lacking here. Every listening session so far, whether over Bluetooth or passively via the 3.5mm cable, has left me feeling pleased. The entire frequency range—from deep sub-bass to bright treble—is presented evenly along a mostly flat curve, nailing a balance of emphasis that isn’t always easy to find in a pair of “consumer” headphones.

These cups don't just cradle your temples: they deliver excellent sound quality, with plenty of detail and impact.

Many modern headphones seem to embark on one of two paths: either delivering a high-impact experience by placing more emphasis on harder-hitting frequencies at the expense of detail, or maintaining expansive detail that sometimes feels kind of wimpy in its presentation. The Tour One manage to again strike a good hybrid ground here, suffusing the full spectrum of sound with detail while still being impactful and loud enough to satisfy listeners who want their eardrums to rumble a bit.

If you’re really picky about sound quality, you'll want to employ the JBL My Headphones app. Among other features (more detail on those in the next section), there’s a fully customizable EQ (equalizer) to manually adjust frequencies (i.e., more bass, less treble, etc), save your EQ setting and save it within the app, or select from a few preset EQs like Bass and Jazz.

The second piece of good news is that most listeners probably won’t need to mess with the EQ. The default sound is excellent.

Truly useful features

In JBL's My Headphones app, once you’re connected to the Tour One headphones, you’re greeted with a panoply of (mostly) useful features.

At a glance, the main screen clues you into your remaining battery life, as well as whether any firmware updates are available. Chiefly, you’ll want to use the app to do things like toggling noise cancelling on or off and selecting the intensity: “True Adaptive NC” claims to automatically compensate Noise Cancelling performance in real time, while “Everyday mode” is non-adaptive, meaning it applies the same degree of cancelling across environments.

The JBL My Headphones app is an almost indispensable part of the full Tour One experience.

You can also toggle Ambient Sound Control on or off. By default, turning on Ambient Sound Control triggers the Ambient Aware setting, which is tuned to help you stay aware of your surroundings while outdoors. This mode seems to key in on isolated sounds, like sudden squealing brakes or the bleats of traffic horns. It doesn’t work perfectly all the time, but most of the time it’s effective.

TalkThru, the other Ambient Sound Control setting, is a much more drastic and noticeable shift. Playback audio is reduced greatly in volume, while the exterior microphones switch on to amplify the outside world. True to the name, TalkThru makes it very easy to talk right through whatever’s playing: I had a whole conversation with my fiancee while music continued lightly in the background. It’s not the most elegant version of this feature I’ve experienced—the level to which exterior sounds are amplified is almost jarring at times—but it works as it should.

Naturally, you can only have either Noise Cancelling or Ambient Sound Control modes active at one time, since both are using the Tour One’s exterior microphones.

You can also adjust the Bluetooth quality. There are three settings: one for a “congested” environment (such as when you’re commuting in a city, or sitting on an airplane); one that prioritizes audio quality; and one that prioritizes audio and video synchronization for when you’re watching content on your phone.

Taking the Tour One off your ears automatically pauses music, and it picks right up again when you put them back on.

There’s also a rather clever way to integrate the Tour One into your alarm function, which I admittedly did not try, as the intention is to fall asleep with the headphones on your head with noise canceling creating a “silence bubble” ideal for repose. The My Alarm feature allows you to customize the length of time that music plays and the length of time for a “SilentNow” session before your alarm goes off. This could be great for busy travelers.

You can also use the app to do things like adjusting the function button (located on the back of the left earcup) so that it activates your voice assistant instead of jumping between sound modes, adjust your native voice assistant, or even enable multi-language voice prompts, among other features. The auto Play/Pause function also works marvelously: the Tour One have never failed to stop or start playback when I took them off or put them back on.

Effective noise reduction

Since moving cross country to San Diego, I’ve discovered it can be a noisy place during the summer: from construction and delivery trucks to my fiancee's zoom calls and the scream of our robot vacuum as it auto-empties, it's a great environment for testing noise canceling.

In the default mode, True Adaptive NC, the Tour One do an excellent job of dampening ambient noise. The bulk of repetitive background noise fades off, replaced by a peaceful quiet that, especially with music playing, really does seem to shut out the outside world.

While not the best noise cancelers you can buy, the Tour One nevertheless do an excellent job quashing ambient noise.

Terrific battery life

JBL claims that the Tour One deliver a 50-hour battery life, but using features like ANC, ambient sound mode, or tweaking other settings will net you closer to 40 or 45 hours depending on the amount of adjusting you end up doing.

Naturally, this effect was more extreme during the course of the review than it might be for the average person, but here’s the good news: even on the lower end of the scale, this is still terrific battery life for wireless over-ear headphones. The pricier Sony WH-1000XM4 only net you around 30 hours per charge on average, putting the Tour One a step ahead—even if you obsessively alter playback modes and EQ presets.

Some 3.5mm glitches

One of the first things I did after unboxing the Tour One was listen to it passively (using the included 3.5mm cable) my laptop while I charged it up via USB connection to my laptop. Within the first half-hour or so of listening, I noticed some cutting between stereo and mono happening when the 3.5mm cable was jostled. This didn’t leave me with the strongest first impression, though it also may be an isolated incident.

The issue has been intermittent. It’s possible the presence of dust on the connecting pins created this issue, but it’s also possible the thin 3.5mm cable that comes in the box just isn’t terribly reinforced, and may need replacing if you do find yourself using it a lot.

This obviously isn’t a huge issue for headphones that most people are primarily going to use in a wireless/Bluetooth capacity, but it’s still worth mentioning.

Software could be smarter

The only other thing I wish JBL would change is the “memory” of these headphones for software. You can do a lot with the My Headphones app, but it doesn’t always play nice with the headphones themselves: changing your Ambient Sound Control from “Ambient Aware” to “TalkThru,” for example, doesn’t hold over between certain other functions. Changing the quality of the Bluetooth connection will sometimes swap all of the settings for ANC and transparency mode back to their defaults.

This is another minor issue, and it might be easy to fix with a firmware update.

Yes, these are blue-ribbon cans

The Tour One check off all the right boxes: they’re comfortable in the short and long term, deliver high-quality sound, cancel noise very effectively, and are stuffed with useful features. While $300 is not a price tag you’d sneeze at, I would definitely recommend these if they’re in your price range.

While they're not without competition, the Tour One offer a truly valuable collection of strengths for the price.

The JBL Tour One are excellent all-rounders. If you want an equal emphasis on sound quality, ANC, features, and comfort for $300, these are some of the best headphones around.

Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

Meet the tester

Lee Neikirk

Former Editor, Home Theater

Lee was Reviewed's point person for most television and home theater products from 2012 until early 2022. Lee received Level II certification in TV calibration from the Imaging Science Foundation in 2013. As Editor of the Home Theater vertical, Lee oversaw reviews of TVs, monitors, soundbars, and Bluetooth speakers. He also reviewed headphones, and has a background in music performance.

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JBL Tour One Wireless review

Jbl gets a number of things right with these over-ears, except for one important aspect.

TechRadar Verdict

JBL is trying to compete with big players with the Tour One Wireless and their sound, while good, isn’t exceptional. Similarly, while the functionality is fine as well, we’re left thinking these could have hit a higher note.

Punchy bass, with custom EQ

Pretty comfortable fit

Solid battery life

Ambient Aware needs work

Sound quality has its limits

Adaptive NC needs tweaking

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

One-minute review

Over-ear headphones have two jobs: fit comfortably and play audio well enough to truly enjoy the content. Sprinkled within those basic tenets are additional features that are supposed to enhance the experience. You could easily describe any over-ear pair that way, but the JBL Tour One Wireless are an interesting case because they’re designed to cater to a larger audience. 

JBL can be hit or miss on its audio products, and the same could be said about the Tour One: the sound, while good, isn’t exceptional, and while the functionality is fine, we’re left thinking these could have hit a higher note. 

There is potential for JBL to release improvements by way of a firmware update through the app, and had already done so once while we tested them. If the company keeps doing that, it may have enough to push them up the ladder as tougher competitors. For now, however, we'd still recommend a pair of cans from Sony or Bose if you want top-tier noise cancellation.

Price and release date

The JBL Tour One were released in May 2021 and come in at $300 / £279 (around AU$450). The challenge is that ballpark price has plenty of other headphones that can compete or play better, and that’s where things get complicated here. 

For starters, that's just a little bit less money than the stellar Sony WH-1000XM4 , what we consider to be the best noise-cancelling headphones on the market, and the Bose QuietComfort 35 II , which comes in a close second. Because ANC isn't the JBL Tour One's strong suit, both feel like better values despite their higher price.

The Tour One Wireless don’t have any special design treatments to stand out in a crowded field. Look at them straight on and they resemble so many others. Gaze at them from the side and the neutral look also doesn’t particularly stand out. The gunmetal and black color scheme is old hat by now, but it still works, so these will fit right in if you’re not looking for anything too conspicuous. 

The faux leather headband is soft enough to sink in without feeling like it pinches after a while, whereas the earcups have little wiggle room once you put them on. That’s great for stability, but perhaps not so much if you want your ears to breathe a little. JBL may have done this by design to better trap in the bass and avoid leakage that would otherwise dilute it. 

Whatever the case, the fit may be divisive because, unlike the headband, you have little recourse to adjust the earcups. They do swivel, which helps contour to the shape if your head and ears, but if you don’t like the thinner padding or how they sit, there’s not much you can do about it. Plus, they do trap in heat, though we didn’t find it to be stifling enough to take them off for a breather all that often.

JBL did try to allocate controls in a symmetrical way. The right earpiece has a power switch that also doubles as the Bluetooth pairing button. Volume controls sit nearby, including a 2.5mm headphone jack when you want to use the Tour One Wireless in a wired form. The USB-C charging port is on the left cup, along with a solitary button to trigger your native voice assistant.

Interestingly, the right earcup’s entire outer surface is touch-sensitive, housing a number of controls. Play or pause with a simple tap, or double tap to skip a track. Unfortunately, there’s no way to repeat one. We tried triple tapping and got nothing. Tap and hold and you can cycle through active noise cancellation (ANC) and Ambient Aware. JBL’s Headphones app does offer some ways to customize those controls, like allocating voice assistants — Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri or Bixby — to the panel instead. In turn, you could apply the Ambient Aware mode to the button on the left earcup as well.

While we didn’t like not being able to repeat a track, we did appreciate how effective the overall controls were. We rarely made a wrong move, and that’s not always the case with every pair of over-ear headphones.

JBL includes a very nice case to go with the Tour One Wireless, complete with pouches for the cables that come with them. To carry and transport these felt like a pleasure based on how snugly everything fit inside.

It was easy enough to pair the Tour One Wireless, especially with Pixel smartphones because JBL supports Google’s fast pairing protocols. We had already downloaded the JBL Headphones app from previous reviews, so were able to also get that connection going in short order. 

Within the app is a set of options that do come in handy. We liked the auto play/pause when removing or putting the Tour One on, as well as an alarm in case we ever felt like taking a nap while listening to music or spoken word content. And then there’s the equalizer, which is necessary to tinker with because of the way these headphones sound. 

By default, they play with a balanced, though subdued, sound profile. The EQ has a few presets, including one for bass, but we went ahead and created our own to see what we could get. 

Performance

We tried the Tour One Wireless in varying conditions and situations to gauge their sound. For the most part, we left ANC on, especially because JBL designed it to be somewhat adaptive, but also kept Ambient Aware on often to see how well that feature worked.

The gist is that the Tour One Wireless are steady enough not to go over any proverbial audio cliff, but those guardrails also force you to be more aggressive with the EQ. For example, at regular levels, these headphones feel restrained. Unleash the bass, and they punch through with more of a thump that makes them come alive. We noticed that right away when playing Friend by KastomariN and the live version of Maxwell’s Ascension . With current hip hop and EDM tracks, you feel the rumble even more. On the flip side, play rock or jazz and the treble can rip through a track with verve, like Jimi Hendrix’s All Along the Watchtower . Thing is, the treble can sometimes feel piercing, and that’s where the EQ can help level off the worst excesses of the highs in the audio spectrum. It helps, but can’t always stave off the harsher elements, especially when you find that the headphones treat quieter portions of a song the same way they do the louder ones. 

We also had to consider how the noise features applied. JBL’s True Adaptive NC regulates ANC by raising or lowering the effect based on what’s happening around you. The problem with it is that it makes an audible difference, so if you’re walking down the street, it’s adjusting a lot to compensate for the variances in both low and high frequencies. We opted to keep ANC at Everyday mode for a more consistent approach. 

Ambient Aware was a mixed bag, not because we couldn’t hear our surroundings, but because they were sometimes muddled. The mode did better with others’ voices than with various sounds, making the mode something to use when necessary, rather than a reliable feature to trust. 

We found phone calls were generally okay, particularly when ANC was on to block out other sounds. Despite that, we noticed much better results in quieter settings, so these may not be the best for conversations when things are loud around you. 

Battery life

JBL rates the Tour One Wireless at up to 24 hours per charge at the standard default volume. We actually hit that number quite easily going a notch above that level, hitting closer to 28-30 hours. We also took advantage of the auto-off setting to have them turn off after 15 minutes when we left them idle. 

Battery life is solid during wired playback, including with game consoles using the TRS cable. It’s just that you lose out on the microphones, since only audio passes through, meaning you won’t be able to communicate in multiplayer games.

Should you buy the JBL Tour One?

Buy them if...

You're looking for easy, intuitive controls We did appreciate how effective the overall controls were. We rarely made a wrong move, and that’s not always the case with every pair of over-ear headphones.

You want fun, bassy sound JBL is known for having a fun sound signature and these are no different. Unleash the bass, and they punch through with more of a thump that makes your music come alive.

You need extra-long battery life over-ear headphones We easily hit 28-30 hours of battery life on a single charge with these at medium volume, which should make them great travel companions for people who are always on the move.

Don't buy them if...

Your ears run hot If you've felt overheated by over-ear headphones in the past, you might want to avoid the Tour One.

You like to take phone calls on your headphones The JBL Tour One sound great, but they don't make you sound great, unfortunately. They can be useful if you take calls in quieter settings, but we wouldn't recommend them if you take calls in a crowded office space or walking down the street.

You're big on features like Ambient Aware and Adaptive ANC It's nice that the Tour One have active noise cancellation, but the accompanying features like Ambient Aware and Adaptive ANC could use some more work.

• Looking for the ultimate over-ears? Check out our guide to the best over-ear headphones

Ted Kritsonis is the Freelance Tech Journalist. He is a Tech journalist contributing to a dozen publications: Globe and Mail, MobileSyrup, Futurithmic, Android Central, TechRadar, and WhatsYourTech.ca, among others.

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JBL Tour One M2

Wireless over-ear Noise Cancelling headphones

In stock. Estimated delivery time 2-4 business days

True Adaptive Noise Cancelling with Smart Ambient

Enjoy the soundtrack of your life no matter where you are. True Adaptive Noise Cancelling technology automatically uses 4 noise sensing mics to adjust to your surroundings in real-time, minimizing distractions when you need to focus, optimizing the JBL Tour One M2's performance for a superior audio experience—all while you adjust ANC mode control with the JBL Headphones app.

4-mic superior calls with voice control

The 4-mic crystal call algorithm of the JBL Tour One M2 allows you to have better conversations even in loud or windy environments or to get help from your preferred voice assistant. And with VoiceAware, you can choose how much of your own voice to hear by controlling the amount of mic input routed back into your headphones.

Smart Ambient technology

Stay alert to the sounds of the world around you while enjoying your music with Smart Ambient, controlling the ambient sound levels and turning the Personal Sound Amplification button on through the JBL Headphones App to boost the conversations' volume with +15-20dB and adjust the L/R balance.

Smart Talk for seamless chats

Thanks to the Smart Talk feature, you don't need to pause the music to have a quick conversation: its advanced voice recognition technology reacts to your voice pausing the music and enabling TalkThru.

Legendary Pro Sound

Thanks to extensive global research and testing, the superior JBL sound curve delivers precise, accurate audio and less distortion with all the music you love at any frequency or volume. The Tour One M2 40mm drivers let you experience the ultimate sound performance, from rich, punchy bass to thrilling top notes.

Immersive JBL Spatial Sound

Immerse yourself in JBL Spatial Sound and feel like being in a theatre, at a concert or in the studio with your favorite artist. Thanks to this proprietary technology, sound comes from virtually anywhere around you, no matter the source or the device you are playing from.

Personi-Fi 2.0

Hear and feel every note of your playlist. Shape your audio to match your personal listening profile with interactive customization tools that use precise information about you and your preferences to provide the exact sound curve that suits you best.

Hands free voice control

Stay connected to your digital world anywhere. Just say "Hey Google" or "Alexa" to speak to your preferred Voice Assistant and control your headphones with voice prompts in multiple languages.

Fast Pair enabled by Google and Microsoft swift pair

Discover Bluetooth accessories in close proximity to your device—then connect with a single tap. With Microsoft swift pair you can seamlessly pair your Bluetooth devices with your Windows 10 or higher PC.

Stay in control with the JBL Headphones app

Personalize the soundtrack of your life. Just download the free JBL Headphones app to customize EQ, switch on Adaptive Noise Cancelling, adjust your ANC level or ambient sound control settings, and check your best fit. You can also customize how the headphones behave through the Touch customization or adapt the sound output to audio or video to get the most out of your content, choose your preferred voice assistant and much more.

Bluetooth 5.3 LE audio*

The JBL Tour One M2 feature Bluetooth 5.3, for a more stable and secure connection, so that you can enjoy wireless connection at its best. Featuring the last Bluetooth technology, your JBL Tour One M2 become virtually futureproof.*Available via OTA update at a later stage.

Specs & Downloads

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Product Description

Immerse yourself in seamless sound experience, general specifications, audio specifications, control and connection specifications, what's in the box.

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• 1 x Flight adaptor
• 1 x USB Type-C charging cable
• 1 x Warranty / Warning (W / !)
• 1 x Quick Start Guide / Safety Sheet (S / i)

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The latest owner's manuals, quick start guides, and documents.

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Quick start guide (multilingual), jbl headphones app, jbl global warranty card, psti declaration of conformity (english), spec sheet (english), reviews and q&a, customer reviews, register your jbl product.

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JBL Tour One review: Noise-canceling cans for frequent callers

“A big battery and sweet call quality make these cans ideal for work or travel.”

• Effective ANC
• Good sound quality
• Excellent call quality
• Great battery life
• No sidetone for calls
• No aptX/aptX HD/LDAC codecs

Right now, Sony’s $350 WH-1000XM4 are the best noise-canceling headphones you can buy. We like them so much, they also top our lists of best wireless headphones and best headphones overall. Sony’s success hasn’t gone unnoticed by its competitors, which has led to several attempts to mimic the XM4, including JBL’s $300 Tour One.

• What’s in the box?

Comfort, controls, and connections

Sound quality, noise cancellation and transparency, call quality, battery life.

• Can a lower price and the Grammys save one of 2023’s most controversial products?
• JBL upgrades its 2024 wireless headphones with massive battery life
• Your next noise-canceling earbuds may use Navy sonar tech

The Tour One aren’t just a little like the XM4. From their size, weight, shape, and materials to their controls and features, it’s almost as if JBL used the XM4 as its blueprint for the Tour One and then figured out how to sell it for $50 less.

The question you’re probably asking yourself is, should I go ahead and buy the Tour One and save that $50, or did JBL cut too many features in its attempt to slide in under the XM4’s price? I think the Sony headphones are still the ones to buy, but JBL has still managed to make the Tour One worth your consideration thanks to a few things it does really well. Let’s get into it.

What’s in the box?

JBL still has a thing or two to learn about sustainable packaging. The Tour One box contains lots of foam padding and coated cardboard, making it tricky to recycle.

Open up the box and you’ll find the Tour One nestled in their own semi-hardshell, zippered carrying case. This is your first clue that JBL took its inspiration from Sony. Not only is the case almost exactly the same size and shape as the one Sony uses for both the WH-1000XM3 and XM4, but it also has the same mesh pocket sewn to one side, which can be used for small accessories or perhaps a credit card and ID if you took it to the gym.

Inside the case, the Tour One are folded into exactly the same position as the Sony cans and there’s a paper insert with a diagram to remind you how to insert the headphones so they fit, again, just like Sony does.

If you find Sony’s designs too conservative, the Tour One add just enough bling to avoid looking boring.

The similarities continue right down to the small compartment that houses the included accessories: A USB-A to USB-C charging cable, a 3.5mm to 2.5mm analog cable, and a double-prong flight adapter.

Unlike Sony, JBL’s charging cable is actually a usable length (40 inches versus Sony’s ludicrously short 9 inches). The USB-A side is reversible for guess-free usage — a nice touch.

Given how closely the Tour One resemble the WH-1000XM4, it’s hard to quibble with their overall design. It’s a compact shape that keeps the earcups and headband close to your head, so you don’t look like you just walked off the set of a Daft Punk video.

The earcups smoothly pivot, fold, and articulate themselves to match the shape of your head. The headband is well-padded and the sliders move with a precise “notchiness” that is both easy to adjust and secure once adjusted.

The Tour One are still very light and very comfortable.

JBL has graced the Tour One with a slightly satin finish on the plastics and added some black chrome accents that give the cans a decidedly premium look. If you find Sony’s designs too conservative, the Tour One add just enough bling to avoid looking boring.

Controls-wise, JBL actually improves on Sony’s design. JBL keeps things simple by ditching Sony’s swipe gestures for a combination of simple taps on the right earcup for playback control and a dedicated set of buttons for volume.  A combo power/Bluetooth pairing switch on the right earcup and a single multifunction button on the left earcup round out the Tour One’s controls.

Though not quite as light as the WH-1000XM4 (9.45 ounces vs. 8.95 ounces), the Tour One are still very light and very comfortable. There’s generous padding on the ear cushions and headband, and I was able to wear them for three hours continuously without any fatigue, even while wearing glasses. One thing that did start to bother me toward the end of that time was the depth of the earcups. My ears stick out quite a bit — maybe a little more than average — and their outer edges make contact with the inside lining. Eventually, that pressure point needed some relief.

If your ears are like mine, both the Sony WH-1000XM4 and Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 offer deeper earcups.

The fold-flat hinges on the Tour One are great for when you want to wear them around your neck, and they fold the right way, meaning that the earcups point down, with the ear cushions against your collar bones. Sony does this too, but Bose makes the peculiar decision to rest the far-less cushy headband sliders against your clavicles.

Despite their comfy fit, the Tour One have a greater tendency to shift around on your head than either the Bose or the Sony. It’s not a deal-breaker by any means, but if you want a set of full-size cans for the gym as well as the office or airplane cabin, you should keep this in mind.

The Tour One’s controls are very easy to use. The single, double-, and triple-tap touches on the right earcup register every time (as long as you tap in the center) and I like having a power switch that instantly powers the headphones on. The Bose 700 power on instantly as well, but the Sony XM4s require more patience, with a press-and-hold gesture on the power button.

Using the JBL Headphones app provides some control customizations. Both the multifunction button as well as the tap-and-hold gesture on the touch panel can be set to control the active noise cancellation (ANC)/TalkThru modes or to trigger your voice assistant.

Bluetooth connectivity is excellent.

The auto-pause option works really well. Pulling the earcups away from your head instantly halts the tunes, then resumes them just as quickly when they are snapped back into place. You can disable the feature in the Headphones app if you want.

Bluetooth connectivity is excellent. Though not considered a class 1 Bluetooth device like the Beats Studio 3 headphones , I was still able to leave my phone at my desk and walk all the way to my garage (about 60 feet, one story, and several walls in terms of distance) and the signal stayed strong. You can also connect the Tour One to two Bluetooth devices simultaneously, though on one occasion this created a static sound that was resolved by disconnecting my phone and reconnecting it.

Out of the box, the Tour One have a relatively neutral EQ. There’s nice definition across frequencies, and excellent clarity in the upper midranges and highs. Bass response is snappy and not overbearing. You can tell that JBL has tuned these cans to be as genre-agnostic as possible, which stands in contrast to headphones that lean toward the low-end.

When compared to the Sony XM4, the Tour One don’t exhibit as much warmth or as wide a soundstage, but the difference isn’t huge. Curiously, just like JBL’s other flagship wireless cans, the Club One , the Tour One aren’t equipped with any high-quality Bluetooth codecs like aptX, aptX HD, or LDAC. So despite being capable of reproducing frequencies from 20Hz to 40kHz (and thus being considered hi-res audio compatible), you’ll never come close to experiencing this when using the headphones wirelessly. The XM4 give you LDAC, which won’t do much for iPhone owners, but will provide better sound quality for those with Android phones.

Listening via Bluetooth lets you appreciate the song’s bones, but going wired lets you hear its soul.

And that’s a shame because when you plug the Tour One into a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) with the included analog cable, they deliver much better depth and resonance.

One of my favorite test tracks is Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy . Not only does it have incredibly deep bass, but it also layers Eilish’s whispery voice on top, creating a torture chamber for audio devices. It’s also a deceptively complex recording. Listening via Bluetooth lets you appreciate the song’s bones, but going wired lets you hear its soul. Suddenly, Eilish isn’t just whispering her way through the lyrics, she’s whispering directly into your ears — it’s a goosebumps-inducing ASMR-level experience .

I don’t want to dump on the wireless performance too much as it’s actually very good, and I really like the fact you can access EQ presets and manual EQ adjustments within the app. Doing so can radically alter the Tour One’s sound signature, so if you’re not a fan of the so-called flat EQ, you don’t have to put up with it.

The Tour One does a decent job of canceling external sounds, but its performance can be a bit uneven. Unlike the Sony XM4 and Bose 700, the Tour One seems to struggle to create a nice, even cancellation effect. I have a fan under my desk that produces both consistent sound and consistent wind. JBL’s ANC blocks it well enough but it can’t quite decide which of the fan’s frequencies to block, so you can actually hear it hunting around and the result can be a bit unpleasant.

This mostly happens when you use JBL’s True Adaptive ANC mode, which attempts to respond to your listening conditions in real time. Turning that feature off helped a lot. In fairness, my desk fan situation is a bit of an anomaly — I wasn’t aware of the problem at all at other times — but both the Sony XM4 and Bose 700 handled it flawlessly, with the Bose being easily the best of the three.

The Silent Now mode is handy for when you just want quiet: It activates ANC but keeps Bluetooth communication turned off, saving the battery for when you need it.

In short, I’ve never tested a set of wireless headphones with better call quality than the Tour One.

JBL gives you two distinct transparency modes to choose from, and both have their advantages. For better general awareness of your surroundings, you can pick Ambient Aware — which lets in a lot of external sounds without altering your music. Or, if you need to actually speak to someone, you can engage TalkThru mode, which is just like Ambient Aware, but it also drops the volume of your audio to the point where it’s barely detectable.

Strangely, you can flip back and forth between full ANC mode and TalkThru by double-clicking the multifunction button, but if you want to switch between ANC and Ambient Aware, you’re forced to switch between three modes: ANC >,  Ambient Aware >, Ambient Aware off  > ANC .

So far, most of the JBL Tour One’s qualities put them more or less where you’d expect in comparing them to the Sony WH-1000XM4 and Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. But one area where the Tour One blow these other headphones away is their call quality.

I was able to walk down a very busy street, with varying kinds of traffic noise including loud buses and some construction machinery, and yet when you listen to the recording I made, you’d swear I was sitting in a quiet park by myself — that’s how little external noise was picked up by the Tour One’s mics.

Not only is your voice uninterrupted by these competing sounds, but it sounds really good too. The Tour One capture and preserve your voice’s deeper tones, the ones that give it depth and resonance, which stands in sharp contrast to most other headphones and earbuds.

The only caveat here is that JBL has dedicated all of the Tour One’s mics to canceling noise and optimizing voice quality, which means there’s no sidetone, and no way to stay in Ambient Aware mode or TalkThru mode while on a call. So while your callers will love the way you sound, you won’t be able to hear your own voice as clearly.

JBL claims you’ll get 50 hours of battery life from the Tour One if you disable ANC, and about half that amount if you keep it on. I did not run them for a full charge/discharge cycle, but after about 10 hours of playing music at 50% volume with ANC on, the JBL Headphones app gave me a battery reading of 55% which seems pretty close to JBL’s claims.

These are great numbers. Better than Sony, better than Bose, and even a tiny bit better than the Marshall Monitor ANC II , our previous best premium cans for battery life.

It takes two hours to charge them fully from empty, but you can get three hours of play time from a 10-minute quick charge.

JBL’s Tour series which includes the Tour One headphones and the Tour Pro+ true wireless earbuds , are one of the few on the market that offer hands-free access to your choice of Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa.

Once you pick your assistant, you can say “Hey Google,” or “Alexa” and then ask for whatever you need — including controlling playback, call answer, and volume. Using this option frees up one of the Multifunction button’s gestures, giving you more control over other headphone functions.

I only tested Amazon’s Alexa, but it worked flawlessly. JBL hasn’t indicated if using hands-free access reduces battery life (and I wasn’t able to determine if it does), but it’s highly likely that it will.

You also get JBL’s My Alarm feature, which lets you select from a variety of soothing sounds, combined with a customizable sleep timer.

For those who want a premium set of noise-canceling headphones, the JBL Tour One offer an excellent (and cheaper) alternative to Sony and Bose, with very few sacrifices made for their more affordable price. And they’re killer for phone calls.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes, overall, the Sony WH-1000XM4 are still a better set of noise-canceling headphones, beating the Tour One in sound quality, ANC, comfort, and wireless hi-res audio. But unless you can find them on sale, they’re a good bit more expensive than the JBL Tour One. If you don’t mind the trade-offs, I see no reason not to buy the Tour One instead of the Sonys.

How long will they last?

From what I can tell, the build quality and materials on the Tour One are both excellent, and I suspect they will fare about the same as models from Sony and Bose in terms of longevity. They may even have an edge thanks to their bigger battery life, as batteries are usually the first part to degrade in a set of wireless headphones.

JBL backs the Tour One with a one-year warranty.

Should you buy them?

Yes. They’re a solid option for those looking for comfortable noise-canceling headphones with good sound quality, great battery life, and excellent call quality

Editors' Recommendations

• Best wireless earbuds for 2024: Sony, Bose, Soundcore, and more
• The 11 best noise-canceling headphones for 2024
• JBL’s $200 Live 3 earbuds get the Tour Pro 2’s touchscreen charging case
• Best noise-canceling earbuds for 2023: from Sony, Soundcore, Jabra, and more
• What is ANC and how do noise-cancelling headphones work?
• Entertainment
• Headphone Reviews
• Product Reviews

Marshall's second-gen Motif ANC wireless earbuds -- appropriately called the Marshall Motif II ANC -- look exactly like the first-gen Motif, but under the hood are some welcome enhancements like better battery life, better active noise cancellation (ANC) performance, and support for Bluetooth LE Audio. The price, on the other hand, remains the same: you can buy them staring August 29 for $199 on Marshall's website. The company expects them to ship on September 12.

Marshall has a talent for understatement. Its press release for the Marshall Motif II ANC talks about the improved battery life twice -- the new earbuds now get six hours of ANC playtime on a charge and a total of 30 hours with the case (versus 4.5 and 20 on the first-gen) -- but never mentions that the new Motif now have Bluetooth Multipoint for connecting two devices simultaneously.

While most of the attention these days is on true wireless earbuds, it's easy to forget that some folks much prefer the older neckband style for its simple convenience and longer battery life. Beyerdynamic clearly hasn't forgotten. Despite launching its first true wireless earbuds in 2022 -- the Free Byrd -- the company is continuing to develop its original Blue Byrd neckband-style buds with the introduction of the second-gen Blue Byrd ANC ($149).

As the name suggests, the new earbuds have active noise cancellation (ANC), a feature that remains fairly rare in the neckband earbuds category. You can buy them now from Beyerdynamic or Amazon.

Sony has announced its latest wireless earbuds, and they bring the cost of the company's excellent active noise cancellation (ANC) technology to a new low price. At $120, the WF-C700N are a step up from the entry-level $100 WF-C500, which lack ANC, yet they're considerably more affordable than the $200 Sony LinkBuds S or the $279 WF-1000XM4, the company's only other ANC models.

The WF-C700N can be preordered immediately in one of four colors (black, white, lavender, and sage green), with an expected delivery date of April 17 to April 18.

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• Buy Authentic

JBL Tour One

Wireless over-ear noise cancelling headphones

True Adaptive Noise Cancelling

Struggle to find "your" space? Create your ideal environment with JBL Tour One True Adaptive Noise Cancelling. Immerse yourself in music, block out unwanted noises and focus on your goals. The Noise Cancelling level adjusts to the change of environment in real time, should you decide to go for a walk.

JBL Pro Sound, hi-res certified

From rich, punchy bass to thrilling top notes, your music will always sound amazing thanks to the dynamic 40mm dynamic drivers. JBL Tour One headphones are hi-res audio certified, supporting frequencies up to 40kHz, to ensure that your music always sounds the best that it possibly can.

4-mic Technology for Accurate and clear voice call

Enhance your voice, eliminate the noise. The JBL Tour One is equipped with 4 mics on the earcups to offer superior call quality. 2 adaptive beamforming mics ensure that the voice reproduction is clear and accurate; acoustic echo cancellation technology suppresses any echoes and cancels noises. Feel the pleasure of a face-to-face conversation, in every meeting or call. With VoiceAware you can control the amount of mic input routed back into your earbuds and choose how much to hear of your own voice.

Ambient Aware & TalkThru

Stay alert to the sounds of the world around you while enjoying your music with Smart Ambient technology. Or have a quick chat with a friend or colleague without having to turn off your tunes with TalkThru. Control these features with a simple touch of a button and fine-tune them via the App.

Boost your productivity

JBL Tour One can help you create an ideal world where you can fully focus on your tasks. In need of a quiet space? Create a silence bubble with SilentNow where NC is activated but music is off. This also helps you saving battery time, as does Auto Off, that switches off your headphones after a period of time set by you. Or get help in waking up with My Alarm, fine-tune the sound output with Smart Audio & Video and automatically pause your headphones when taking them off with Auto-Pause. All these features are controlled via the My JBL Headphones App.

Up to 50 Hours of Music Playback

Your JBL Tour One headphones keep you connected all day long, boasting 25 hours of playback with Noise Cancelling technology engaged and a whopping 50 hours with Bluetooth only.

Hands-free Voice Control

Activate Hey Google (*) or Alexa (**) with just a simple tap or hotword for easy access to your digital world as accurate voice call technology ensures your commands are crystal clear. Voice prompts are available in multiple languages. (*) Only supported on Android (**) Android 6.0 or higher is required for full access to Alexa features when using this device.

Make the most out of your headphones with the free JBL App

My JBL Headphones App personalizes the soundtrack of your life: set up custom EQ, switch on your Adaptive Noise Cancelling or adjust your Ambient Sound Control settings. Download the App for free on your App store.

Personalize How You Listen

With the JBL Headphones App

Specs & Downloads

Item# JBLTOURONEBLK

Product Description

Control your environment, power your productivity., general specifications, audio specifications, control and connection specifications, what's in the box.

• 1 x JBL Tour One headphones
• 1 x Type-C USB charging cable
• 1 x Audio Cable
• 1 x Flight Adaptor
• 1 x Carrying case
• 1 x Quick Start Guide
• 1 x Google Assistant set up guide
• 1 x Amazon Alexa set up guide
• 1 x Warranty / Warning (W / !)
• 1 x Safety Sheet (S / i)

Documents & Downloads

The latest owner's manuals, quick start guides, and documents.

Declaration of Conformity

Quick start guide (multilingual), jbl headphones app, jbl global warranty card, spec sheet (english).

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• © 2024 Harman International Industries, Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The JBL Tour One Review: Stunning Pair of Commuter Headphones, But Are They Worth $300?

JBL's Tour One headphones offer exceptional comfort, crisp sound, and an upscale look. All for around $300.

JBL Tour One

Known best for youthful, bright-colored beach speakers, JBL shows its grown-up side with its new Tour One headphones. They're sleek, stylish, and sound fantastic---all for just a hair under $300.

• Ambient Aware mode
• True Adaptive Noise Cancelling
• 50-hour battery life
• JBL Pro Sound, hi-res certified
• 4-mic technology for voice calling
• Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Siri support
• Hands-free control
• 40 mm driver
• JBL Headphones app
• Battery Life: 50 hours (ANC on) /25 Hours (passive mode)
• Material: Plastic and Metal
• Bluetooth: 5.0
• Noise Cancellation: True Adaptive Noise Cancelling, Ambient Aware mode
• Stylish and subdued
• Excellent sound-staging
• Bluetooth pairing was easy
• Lightweight
• Calls sound phenomenal
• Slightly uncomfortable after long listening sessions
• Can't charge and use wireless at the same time
• Noise cancelling feature doesn't block out louder sounds
• Midrange dominates at higher volumes
• Extremely sensitive touch panel

For some people, Bluetooth headphones are only important when isolating themselves from grunting gym-goers or noisy subway cars. For these purposes, a pair of cheapies will do the trick just fine. True music aficionados, however, want a little more.

Enter JBL’s new Tour One. These over-the-ear, closed-back headphones are designed for the discerning mobile audiophile that wants Bluetooth flexibility but isn’t satisfied with “just fine.” Offering a 40mm driver, True Adaptive Noise Cancelling, TalkThru, and certified hi-res audio, the Tour One makes some big promises.

But can these classy cans measure up? Read on to find out.

What’s in the Box?

Opening the foam-lined box on these $300 headphones reveals a hardshell zipper case with everything tucked snugly inside. The ear cups are protected by a couple of plastic inserts, which keep the foam earpads from deforming during shipping.

In the case with the Tour Ones are an airplane adapter, a flat USB-C cable, and a 2.5mm to 3.5mm headphone cable.

Removing the protective case from the box reveals a rectangular package, that houses JBL’s quick-start guide, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant set up guides, the warranty information booklet, and a safety booklet.

Technical Specifications

• Headphone style: Over-the-ear
• Driver size: 40mm
• Driver sensitivity @ 1kHz/1mW (dB): 95 db SPL @ 1kHz
• Dynamic freq response range: 10 Hz — 40K Hz (in passive mode), 10Hz ~ 22kHz (in active NC mode)
• Impedance (ohms): 32
• Weight: .59 lbs (268 g)
• Battery: Li-ion (920 mAh / 3.7 V)
• Max play time (ANC on): 25 hours
• Max play time (ANC off): 50 hours

Initial Impressions

The first thing you'll notice about the Tour Ones is how understated they are. Like the Bose QuietComfort35 and Sony WH-1000XM4 models in the same class, JBL’s flat-black offering doesn’t shout “look at me.” This flat-black also avoids all but the greasiest fingerprints. That said, the majority of the Tour One’s components are plastic.

They feel light and a bit—shall we say—delicate. Not terrible, mind you, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable tossing them in my work bag without their protective case.

On the outside of the headphones, the JBL logo is tastefully engraved into each of the earcups. In addition, the headband is adorned with a discrete Tour One logo printed on a glossy black accent. On each of the earcups, you’ll find another glossy accent with the word TOUR.

Everything on these headphones is pleasingly symmetrical, save for the volume buttons on the right earcup. On that same side is the on/off/Bluetooth button, the audio input jack, and a tiny microphone grille with a tell-tale “R” printed on it.

The left side of the headphones has the customizable function button and the USB-C charging port. Next to the port is a nearly invisible LED that will let you know when the headphones are charging or when the battery is about to die. There’s also another speaker grille like the one on the right.

The inner portion of the headband is metal, the center of which JBL wrapped with marshmallow-y memory foam and faux leather. The padding for each earcup is the same foam and the same faux leather.

There is also a 12-step adjustment in the band to fit both larger and smaller-sized heads. Additionally, the headphones swivel inward if you need to pop them onto your collar temporarily.

As I said, the understatement of these headphones is striking. At first glance, the Tour Ones don’t scream expensive, but once you start digging into the details, you can see why they command a $300 MSRP.

Related: What Is a DAC and Do You Need One?

Sound Quality

Despite how nice a pair of ‘phones looks the true test of quality is how they sound. These headphones carry JBL’s Pro Sound designation and are hi-res certified, so they should sound fantastic. But do they?

For the Tour One’s, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. These cans sound balanced to my ears—with only a tickle of mid-range dominating the mix.

Because this pair comes with a wired option, I chose to evaluate both wireless performance via my iPhone Xs, and my 2018 iPad Pro, and wired performance through two Fiido DACs that I own.

Compared to my favorite pairs of wired headphones—the ATH-M50 and the Sennheiser HD598—the JBLs performed well. When wired and run through both my Fiido K1 and my Fiido E17K Alpen 2, the Tour One’s sound-staging was impressive, and it was easy to pick out sparkling cymbals and layered harmonies.

While not quite as powerful when using wireless, instrumental separation on the Tour Ones was still remarkable.

James Blake’s “Limit to Your Love” is one of my favorite bass test tracks because the wobbling lows can’t be reproduced well on sub-par audio equipment. Queueing up the track on the Tour Ones resulted in the intended bass response, though it wasn’t quite the earthquake I believe Blake was going for.

On the other hand, switching to hip-hop allowed these headphones to shine. The bass on both Lil Uzi Vert’s “XO Tour Llif3” and J.Cole’s “pride.is.the.devil” was head-knockingly satisfying. It didn’t overwhelm the other elements, however.

To mix it up a bit, I also tried the Tour Ones with a more rock-inspired favorite—Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” Despite being produced in 1982, both Jackson and Quincy Jones outdid themselves on this track.

It’s full of layered musical bliss in the form of Jackson’s ad-libs and harmonies, an ethereal synthesizer, an iconic bassline, and a bright buzzsaw of a guitar solo. Each of these elements was easy to distinguish on the JBLs, whether wired or wireless, and Jackson’s tongue rolls and other eccentricities came through with grinning clarity.

The playful violin of Beethoven’s “String Trio in C Minor, Op. 9,” and the introspective cellos of Hans Zimmer’s “Time” was also enjoyable when piped through the Tour Ones.

Overall, I would rate the sound quality of these headphones as excellent, with the mids displaying slightly more prominence. For all but the most well-tuned ear, the Tour Ones will be a significant step-up over something like the AirPods Pro.

Related: What Equipment Do You Need to Enjoy Lossless Audio?

If you’re wearing your headphones for long periods, you want to ensure that they won’t give you a sore neck. The feathery weight of the Tour Ones is fantastic here, though they do start to get a bit cumbersome after four or five hours.

I noticed this much more when wearing my glasses, as the earcups pressed the temples into the bony area behind my ears. However, the padding does a lot to mitigate the ultra-light clamping force, so it is possible to wear these headphones for most of the day. But, if you’re planning on wearing them for more than a few hours, you’ll want to take breaks.

Speaking of clamping force, it falls squarely in the Goldilocks range as it’s not so tight you feel constricted, but not loose enough that the headphones fall off when you’re dancing in the living room. As for using these babies in the gym, you could toss them on for exercise if you’d like, though getting them sweaty might not be best for longevity.

The generous earcups also stand out. I have slightly larger than average ears, so tucking them into headphones isn’t always easy. But, with the Tour Ones, I didn’t have any trouble.

From a comfort perspective, these cans are decently comfortable, though I wouldn’t give them the absolute highest marks. In my experience, however, headphones can take a bit to break in, and perhaps they’ll become more comfortable as time passes.

Pairing and Controls

Bluetooth pairing.

Bluetooth pairing consists of toggling the switch on the right earphone and holding it down. Once in pairing mode, you can connect to most devices with Bluetooth support. My iPhone, iPad, Mac mini M1, and Macbook Air laptop all paired perfectly.

JBL designed the Tour One to switch between two devices, so if you have a computer and a smartphone, you can use the headphones with both. Switching is as simple as toggling the button downward for a moment. To pair new devices, just hold down the button for a bit longer.

Once you’ve completed pairing a few times, the act of switching devices becomes second nature.

There are a minimalistic amount of controls on the headphones themselves. The off/on and Bluetooth switch are on the right earphone. Below this switch are the volume buttons, which allow you to adjust volume without taking your phone out of your pocket.

There’s also a touch sensor outside the right earcup that responds to single, double, and triple taps as well as touch-and-hold input. Like many headphone controls, a single tap plays and pauses audio, a double skips forward, and a triple skips backward.

Touching and holding can be customized to toggle TalkThru, Ambient Sound Control, or the voice assistant. On the left earphone is a customizable function button that you can also use to summon your voice assistant or toggle noise cancellation modes.

For the most part, these controls work swimmingly, save for the play/pause touch function. Given the sensitivity of the touch sensor, sometimes lifting your arms overhead will inadvertently tap the touch panel, which pauses your music.

While not quite a dealbreaker, I wish there was a way to adjust the sensitivity of this sensor so that it wasn’t prone to so many false activations. Touch and hold would also get confused at times, which required me to turn the headphones off and back on again. Again, not a huge deal, though slightly annoying.

Ambient Aware, TalkThru, and True Adaptive Noise Canceling

Ambient aware.

Ambient Aware mode allows you to hear outside sounds while using your Tour Ones. The benefit of this mode is that you can still hear when someone says something to you, but your music will also play at normal volume.

This mode is excellent if you still need to pay attention to your surroundings—but don’t want to miss out on your tunes. It’s also fantastic for gaming, as you can still pick out in-game sounds while staying alert to what’s going on in the house.

A unique feature of the Tour One is TalkThru which lowers music volume and allows you to converse as though you weren’t wearing headphones. To activate the TalkThru feature, tap and hold on the outside of the right earcup.

This particular mode functions like Ambient Aware mode, but where Ambient Aware doesn’t lower music volume, TalkThru will—drastically. The mode also uses the built-in microphones for a more natural-sounding conversation.

I found TalkThru to be ideal for when I needed to pay close attention to my conversations, though I feel like sliding the JBLs off of my ears and onto my shoulders was slightly more polite. Doing so also automatically paused my music.

True Adaptive Noise Canceling

JBL’s flavor of noise cancellation is called "True Adaptive Noise Canceling." While this designation may sound exciting, the general principle of using a microphone to filter out ambient noise is common.

However, with True Adaptive, the Tour One headphones will automatically adjust the amount of noise cancellation based on the noise level in your environment.

The wizardry that makes active noise-canceling work is still somewhat foreign to me, and True Adaptive, even more so, but what I do know is that noise-canceling works well. While listening to music or watching movies, the room sounds were almost completely filtered out.

The good news is that the Tour Ones did filter out almost everything when music was playing, save for a reversing garbage truck and my dog’s aggressive barking at said garbage truck.

JBL states that you can turn this feature on when nothing is playing to eliminate outside distractions. That’s ideal for those who need a little quiet time in busy social spaces or who want to drown out distractions without playing music. Snapping my fingers with nothing playing was still slightly audible, though alternating between the ‘phones being on and taking them off was noticeably different.

Related: Offline Apps to Keep You Entertained During Your Commute

Charging and Battery Life

Two of the best features for the Tour Ones are the quick charge time and the extended battery life. Plugging the headphones in for just 10 minutes yields three hours of playtime. Perfect for situations where you only have a few minutes to charge.

Two hours on the charger will top up the headphones to full. Once there, you have around 50 hours of playtime without True Adaptive Noise Canceling active and 25 with the feature enabled.

In the JBL app, there is also the ability to shut the headphones off after a certain amount of time. If you’re chasing the maximum battery life, then I’d recommend you use this feature. I have mine set to 15 minutes which allowed the first charge to last a whole week despite almost constant use.

I have to say that battery life has impressed me, and having to charge these headphones only once or twice a week saves a bit of hassle. The automatic off function also ensures that I’m not leaving the Tour Ones drained when I forgetfully set them down without turning them off, which I often do.

Microphones and Call Quality

JBL has equipped the Tour Ones with four microphones for phone calls: two voice mics, a voice feedback mic, and a noise cancelation mic. These four microphones do a phenomenal job of picking up sound, and it’s difficult for callers to tell you’re talking through a set of headphones.

It is slightly awkward to make calls with the noise cancelation feature enabled, though, as it filters everything outside of the headphones, including your voice. Not hearing your voice results in feeling a bit like someone stuffed you into a compression chamber. This won’t be an issue for some people.

Voice Assistant Support

Given the popularity of Amazon Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant, JBL has included support for these voice assistants in the Tour One headphones. To activate your preferred assistant, you’ll first need to set things up in the JBL app. From there, you can assign the assistant to a button press with the function button or to a tap-and-hold with the touch sensor.

I tried both Siri and Alexa and was able to control each assistant easily. No hiccups, no glitches, just a quick setup, and the voice assistant capabilities are available. Of course, if you have Android 6.0 or higher, you’ll have access to a much wider range of features, but even with iOS, I was able to adjust the volume and ask Siri stupid questions.

Related: How to Make Spotify Sound Better

The JBL Headphones App

Everything seems to have an app these days, and the JBL Tour Ones are no exception. The JBL Headphones app allows users to customize controls, manipulate EQ settings, set up voice assistants, and wirelessly toggle feature settings.

I found the app easy to work with, though it’s nothing out of the ordinary. The EQ settings do offer a bit more of a tailored sound for those who want to tweak their music even more. Additionally, the customization controls allow you to change what the touch surface and the left function button do.

Download: JBL Headphones for Android | iOS (Free)

Warranty and Repairability

Warranty coverage on these headphones is one year from the date of purchase. Unfortunately, there are no user-serviceable components inside. That means if you have a problem, then you’ll need to contact JBL directly.

I also feel I should mention the customer service experience briefly. I had a bit of trouble getting these headphones at first, but the customer service representative I dealt with was extremely helpful in sorting everything out. They were polite, kept in contact, and emailed me with updates. For that, JBL gets an A+ from me in the customer service department.

Are the JBL Tour One Headphones Worth It?

Absolutely. For a $300 set of headphones , these things—excuse the cliché—rock. They’re comfortable, light, good-looking, and, man, do they sound fantastic. If you’re in the market for a good set of wireless headphones and $300 is your cost ceiling, then the JBL Tour Ones are well worth a look.

At $50 cheaper than the Sony WH-1000XM4, and $249 less than the AirPods Max, these puppies are pretty enticing. That’s why, for most people, the Tour Ones are going to be money well spent.

What’s Not to Love?

As previously noted, these cans tend to become uncomfortable after long periods of use. Additionally, they made my ears a bit warm as they aren’t exceptionally breathable.

You also can’t use the Tour Ones while charging unless you have them plugged in via the 3.5mm headphone cable. That isn’t too bad when using the headphones on a computer, but it’s not so much fun when you’re using them with a device lacking a headphone jack.

Additionally, as good as the True Adaptive Noise Cancelling is, it doesn’t block out extremely loud noise. Dogs barks, loud subway cars, and noisy airplanes are going to get through the noise cancellation. That might be an issue for someone searching for that “sealed-in-a-glass-jar” feeling of serenity.

Our Verdict: Should You Buy the JBL Tour One?

Even though headphones will be individually subjective, the Tour Ones are a superior choice for a noise-canceling model in the $300 price range. They’re sleek, stylish, and subdued while also offering enhanced audio fidelity. They’ve seriously impressed us, even if they do possess a few slight annoyances. Overall, JBL’s new Tour Ones are a wonderful way to enjoy your favorite ear candy, and we think that they're pretty sweet.

BUY NOW: JBL TOUR ONE

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• Tour One Wireless

JBL Tour One Wireless Headphones Review

The JBL Tour One Wireless are high-end over-ears with active noise cancelling (ANC). These headphones offer a versatile performance with a comfortable fit and well-built design. However, their ANC offers a mediocre overall performance, and they're prone to inconsistencies in audio delivery. Luckily, if you prefer something more neutral than their default bass-heavy sound profile, their companion app offers a parametric EQ and presets to help you adjust them to your liking.

Our Verdict

The JBL Tour One are decent for neutral sound. Out of the box, they have a slightly bass-heavy sound profile. Luckily, you can tweak them to your liking using their companion app's parametric EQ and presets. On the downside, they're very prone to inconsistencies in bass and treble delivery. Their passive soundstage is also poor and feels like it's coming from inside your head.

• Comfortable, well-built design.
• Parametric EQ and presets available.
• Prone to inconsistencies in audio delivery.
• Disappointing passive soundstage.

The JBL Tour One are satisfactory for commute and travel. While they have a comfortable, well-built fit, they're also bulky, which can make them hard to take with you on the go, and their ear cups can trap heat. Their ANC also struggles to block out bus or plane engine noise. On the upside, their over 33 hours of continuous playback time should get you through long days on the road.

• Excellent battery performance.
• Mediocre overall noise isolation.
• Not very breathable.

The JBL Tour One are satisfactory for sports and fitness. They're comfortable and well-built. However, they can fall off your head with moderate head movements, and heat can get trapped inside the ear cups, which may make you sweat more than normal. They also lack an IP rating for water resistance, although we don't currently test for this.

The JBL Tour One are decent for office use. They have a comfortable fit, and you can pair them with up to two devices at a time. They also have over 33 hours of continuous battery life, which is excellent, and their ANC can help block out ambient chatter around you. However, their ear cups can trap heat, which may be uncomfortable during long shifts at the office.

The JBL Tour One aren't recommended for wireless gaming. While you can connect them to a Bluetooth-enabled PC, the latency is likely to be too high for gaming. They also aren't compatible with Xbox or PlayStation consoles.

The JBL Tour One are good for wired gaming. Using their 1/16" to 1/8" TRS cable, you can connect to consoles with an AUX port. However, you can only receive audio and can't use their mic. That said, they have a slightly bass-heavy sound profile that can help bring out the intensity of sound effects in your games. They also have a comfortable fit, although they can trap in heat, which can be uncomfortable.

The JBL Tour One are fair for phone calls. Their microphone can record your voice clearly, although it sounds a bit bass-heavy. However, if you have an important call to take, it's better to do so from a quieter environment since the mic struggles to separate speech from ambient noise. Although the headphones have active noise cancelling, the system does a mediocre job blocking out background sounds.

• 7.4 Neutral Sound
• 7.1 Commute/Travel
• 7.1 Sports/Fitness
• 5.8 Wireless Gaming
• 7.5 Wired Gaming
• 6.8 Phone Calls
• Updated Jul 29, 2021: Review published.
• Updated Jul 26, 2021: Early access published.
• Updated Jul 12, 2021: Our testers have started testing this product.
• Updated Jun 29, 2021: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
• Updated Jun 19, 2021: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

The JBL Tour One only come in one color variant: 'Black'. You can see our model's label here . If you come across another variant, please let us know in the discussions, and we'll update our review.

Compared To Other Headphones

The JBL Tour One are premium over-ear headphones with an adaptive ANC system. However, the ANC does a mediocre job of blocking out ambient noise around you and is especially poor at reducing the low rumble of bus or plane engines. On the upside, just like most JBL headphones like the JBL Tour Pro+ TWS Truly Wireless , they have a customizable sound profile, thanks to their companion app's parametric EQ and presets.

See our recommendations for the best noise cancelling headphones , the best over-ear headphones , and the best wireless Bluetooth headphones .

The  Sony WH-1000XM4  Wireless are better over-ears than the JBL Tour One Wireless. The Sony are more comfortable, are better built, and can deliver audio more consistently. They have a significantly better noise isolation performance.

The JBL CLUB ONE Wireless and the JBL Tour One Wireless are somewhat similar headphones, although the CLUB ONE have a slight advantage. The CLUB ONE are better built, and their ANC can block out more ambient noise. However, both headphones are comfortable, and their sound profile is customizable, thanks to their companion app.

The JBL Live 660NC Wireless and the JBL Tour One Wireless are similarly performing over-ear headphones. The Tour One are more comfortable and have a better battery performance. However, the Live have a better noise isolation performance and can deliver audio more consistently.

The Bose 700 Headphones Wireless are better headphones than the JBL Tour One Wireless. The Bose are more comfortable, feel better-built, and have a significantly better noise isolation performance. They also have a better overall microphone performance. However, the JBL have a longer continuous battery life. 

The JBL Tour Pro+ TWS True Wireless are better overall headphones than the JBL Tour One Wireless. The Tour Pro+ are in-ears that are better built, have more consistent audio delivery, and have a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer. Their ANC also does a significantly better job of blocking out background noise. However, the Tour One support multi-device pairing and longer continuous battery life.

The  AKG N700NC M2 Wireless  are better over-ears than the JBL Tour One Wireless. While both headphones are equally comfortable and well-built, the AKG have a more neutral default sound profile, which some users may prefer, are less prone to inconsistencies in audio delivery, and have a significantly better noise isolation performance. However, the JBL have much longer continuous battery life.

The Beats Solo Pro Wireless and the JBL Tour One Wireless are similarly performing headphones and depending on your usage, you may prefer either one. The Beats are on-ear headphones that are better-built and have a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer. They also have a better noise isolation performance and have an H1 chip, so you can seamlessly pair them with your Apple devices. In contrast, the JBL are over-ears that are more comfortable and have a longer continuous battery life. They also support multi-device pairing, and have a companion app that offers a parametric EQ and presets to help you adjust their sound.

Test Results

The JBL Tour One have a fairly non-descript look. They have the manufacturer's logo embossed on each ear cup and only come in one color variant: 'Black'.

The JBL Tour One are comfortable over-ears. They're lightweight, and they don't clamp on your head too tightly. The padding on the ear cups and headband also feels nice against the skin. However, if you have larger ears, they may touch the inner padding on the cup. Your ears may also feel hot when you wear the headphones for long periods.

The JBL Tour One have great controls. They have a mix of touch and physical controls. The right ear cup has a power button that you can slide down and hold to enter pairing mode. You can also adjust the volume by using the '+' and '-' buttons, but it can be hard to tell which button is which when you're wearing the headphones. On the center of the right ear cup, you can tap once to play and pause, tap twice to skip a track forward or end a call, and tap three times to skip a track backward. You can also touch and hold while in a call to mute or unmute the microphone and touch and hold for voice assistant.

The touch panel provides feedback for the number of taps you make and is responsive. There are also voice prompts for noise cancelling on/off, 'Ambient Aware', which allows you to hear background sounds around you, and Bluetooth pairing. Although the volume buttons feel a bit mushy, they make a slight clicking sound. Unfortunately, it's easy to accidentally activate a touch command when you're adjusting the headphones on your head.

The JBL Tour One have sub-par breathability. They trap in a lot of heat and don't allow for much airflow. Your ears could feel hot, even if you're not wearing them for long periods. If you're wearing them during physical exercise, you may sweat more than normal.

These headphones have mediocre portability. They're bulky, although they can fold into a slightly more compact shape to fit into their carrying case.

The JBL Tour One have a good carrying case. There's a mesh pocket on the outside, and a clip fabric handle, so it's easy to carry with you. The hard case also has a zipper that completely closes. While it can be tricky to put the headphones into the case, there's a removable cardboard diagram inside to indicate the position the headphones should fold in. There's also fabric to help hold the position of the headphones.

The JBL Tour One Wireless have a good build quality. They have faux leather padding on the ear cups and headband, while the rest of the headphones are mostly plastic. There's a metal strap inside the headband that has lines so that you can evenly adjust them on both sides. Overall, they feel like they could survive some accidental impacts without taking too much damage. However, although we don't currently test for it, they lack an IP rating for dust and water resistance.

These headphones have decent stability. They should stay on your head while you're working at your desk. However, they can fall off your head with more high-intensity head movements, so they're not the best choice for use during physical activity.

• JBL Tour One headphones
• USB-A to USB-C charging cable
• 1/16" TRS to 1/8" TRS audio cable
• Carrying case
• Flight adapter

The JBL Tour One have a bass-heavy sound profile that delivers extra boom and warmth to your mixes. Vocals and lead instruments also reproduce clearly and accurately. If you prefer a different sound, their companion app offers a parametric EQ and presets to help you customize their sound to suit your tastes.

Note: We normally test our headphones with the ANC on. The JBL have an adaptive noise cancelling system, which automatically adjusts its level depending on your environment. During human testing, the ANC seemed like it was switching between being on and 'Ambient Aware' mode, which allows you to hear background noise around you, during the sweep. Without moving the headphones, we received a different audio curve each time we did a sweep. Turning the ANC off seemed to solve the inconsistency issue between sweeps, and the headphones seemed to stop switching to Ambient Aware. As a result, we tested these headphones with their ANC off for all sound tests except for Noise Isolation.

The JBL Tour One have sub-par frequency response consistency. They're very prone to inconsistencies in bass and treble delivery as they perform differently depending on their fit, seal, and positioning. You may especially notice a drop in bass if you have thick hair or glasses.

The JBL Tour One's bass accuracy is very good. It's overemphasized across the range, which some users may prefer. Mixes have a lot more thump, rumble, and boom.

These headphones are very prone to inconsistencies in bass delivery. Our results represent the average response, and your experience may vary.

The mid accuracy is excellent. They have a fairly neutral response, although there's a small bump in the low-mid which can slightly muddy vocals and lead instruments. However, vocals and lead instruments still sound clear, accurate, and detailed.

The JBL Tour One have good treble accuracy. The low-treble is underemphasized, which can slightly veil vocals and lead instruments. The bump in the mid-treble can also make sibilants like S and T sounds piercing.

These headphones are very prone to inconsistencies in treble delivery and are sensitive to fit and positioning. Our results represent the average response, and your experience may vary.

The JBL Tour One's peaks and dips performance is good. A small dip in the low-bass reduces thump and rumble, while an extended peak across the high-bass to low-mid adds a bit of boom and muddiness to your mixes. A dip in the mid-mid nudges vocals and lead instruments to the back of your mixes, while another dip in the low-treble veils the upper harmonics of these sounds. A large peak in the mid-treble makes sibilants like cymbals piercing.

The JBL Tour One's imaging performance is good. The weighted group delay falls mostly below the audibility threshold, resulting fairly tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. However, there are some peaks in the phase response's treble range, and they're audible when listening to real-life content. The peak in the bass range shouldn't be audible for most users, though. While the L/R drivers are well-matched in amplitude, there's also a slight mismatch between the drivers in frequency response, which could result in holes in the stereo image. Imaging is important for the accurate localization of objects like footsteps in the stereo image. Note that our results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

The passive soundstage performance is disappointing. While the soundstage seems somewhat wide, it's perceived as a bit unnatural and as if coming from inside your head rather than from speakers placed in the room around you. Since they have a closed-back design, their soundstage also seems closed-off.

The JBL Tour One have a good weighted harmonic distortion performance. There are a few peaks, particularly in the bass and treble range. However, the frequencies fall within good limits at moderate and high volumes, resulting in clear and pure audio reproduction.

These are the settings used to test the JBL Tour One, and our results are only valid using these settings.

Note: All of our sound testing except for Noise Isolation was conducted with the ANC off as the headphones weren't providing accurate and consistent results.

The noise isolation performance is mediocre. Even with their ANC on, they still struggle to block out the low rumble of bus and plane engines and reduce less noise from this range than the AKG N700NC M2 Wireless . They do a better job of cutting ambient chatter, though. However, they're able to passively reduce high-pitched noise like the hum of an AC unit better than with their ANC on.

The JBL Tour One's leakage performance is satisfactory. A wide band of their leakage is across the mid to treble range, which sounds a bit thin. That said, if you're listening to audio at a high volume in a moderately loud environment like an office, people shouldn't be able to hear it.

These headphones have an integrated mic.

Note: We experienced difficulties testing the headphones' mic. We normally test the mic at 95dB. However, the mic could only reach 75dB. As our software requires a minimum level of 85dB, we tried connecting it to our Avantree BT 5.0 audio transmitter to see if we could obtain a higher volume, but the mic could only reach 72dB. We also performed a recording on an iPhone, which was low and sounded similar to our original PC recording.

We experienced issues testing the performance of the JBL Tour One's mic, and we couldn't run the tests necessary to measure its performance. We decided to use a subjective comparison to assess its performance. Due to these unique conditions, we have decided not to score this test.

The mic offers a satisfactory recording quality. Recorded speech sounds similar to the Razer BlackShark V2 , and your voice sounds natural and clear. However, it's a bit more bass-heavy than the Razer. You can hear a recording of the mic from our phone here . We also did an average of five passes for the mic's frequency response, and you can see our graph here . However, keep in mind that we process more data than what's represented in this graph.

The mic's noise handling performance is okay. The mic struggles to separate your voice from moderate ambient noise like a busy street. If you need to make an important call, it's best to do so from a quiet environment.

The JBL Tour One have an excellent battery performance. They're advertised to last 25 hours with their ANC on, but we measured over 33 hours. However, battery performance can vary depending on usage, so your real-world experience may vary. That said, they have an adjustable auto-off timer to help conserve battery life when not in use, and you can use them passively with their audio cable in a pinch.

The JBL Headphones app is great. It offers a parametric EQ and presets so that you can adjust their sound to your liking. You can also customize their controls like swapping the function button to trigger voice assistant or changing touch and hold to toggle between ANC, ambient, and off. You can also adjust the auto-off timer, switch voice assistants, and see the headphones' battery life. You can access 'Smart Audio & Video' mode too, which helps lower latency for movies and songs.

The JBL Tour One have great Bluetooth connectivity. They support multi-device pairing so that you can connect them with up to two devices at a time. They have somewhat high latency on PC and iOS. However, their latency on Android is a bit less, which makes them suitable for streaming video. However, some apps and devices compensate for latency differently, so your experience may vary.

The JBL Tour One come with a 1/16" TRS to 1/8" TRS cable. You can't use the USB-A to USB-C cable to receive audio.

These headphones can connect to Bluetooth-enabled PCs. You can also use their 1/16" to 1/8" TRS cable to connect to PCs, but you can only receive audio and won't be able to use their mic.

The JBL Tour One can only receive audio when using their audio cable on PS4 or PS5 cables.

These headphones can connect to Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S consoles when using their TRS cable. However, you can only receive audio and can't use their mic.

We review products independently , but we may earn affiliate commissions from buying links on this page. Terms of use .

JBL Tour One M2

Quality noise cancellation and robust sound for a premium price.

Bottom Line

• Full-bodied bass and bright highs
• Above-average noise cancellation
• Hands-free Alexa and Google Assistant
• Comfortable fit
• Finicky touch controls
• EQ can dramatically change the volume

For $299.99, JBL’s Tour One M2 headphones produce bold, bass-forward sound in a comfortable over-ear design. They also offer above-average active noise cancellation (ANC), along with support for hands-free Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice control. That said, finicky touch controls and unpredictable in-app EQ undercut the otherwise premium experience. Ultimately, we recommend you spend slightly more for the Bose QuietComfort Headphones for even better noise cancellation or the Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2 for stronger Bluetooth codec support.

Comfortable Fit, Sensitive Controls

Available in black or silver, the circumaural (over-ear) Tour One M2 headphones have an eggshell-like finish on the outer earcups and headband. The headband's interior and earpads both feature a faux leather material with memory foam padding beneath. They feel quite comfortable over long listening sessions.

Behind the grilles, 40mm dynamic drivers deliver a frequency range of 10Hz to 22kHz in active wireless or wired mode or 10Hz to 40kHz in passive wired mode.

The headphones are compatible with Bluetooth 5.3 and work with just the AAC and SBC codecs . For comparison, the Aonic 50 Gen 2 headphones support AptX, AptX Adaptive, AptX HD, and LDAC options for hi-res listening on Android devices. JBL says Google Fast Pair and multipoint connectivity with up to two devices are both available here. Hands-free Alexa and Google Assistant round out the connectivity features.

For controls, there is a capacitive touch panel on the right earcup and a mix of buttons on both sides. Tapping the Action button on the left side once switches between the Noise Canceling and Ambient Aware (transparency) modes. You can add an off option via the app. Double taps of this button toggle the TalkThru feature, a conversation-focused transparency mode that drastically lowers the volume of your music.

Along the edge of the right earcup, an array of buttons handle power/pairing and volume control. The touch panel on the right manages playback (single taps), track navigation (double taps for forward, triple taps for backward), and voice assistant access (long presses). Double taps also answer incoming calls or end ongoing calls, while a tap-and-hold gesture rejects an incoming call or mutes the mic during a call.

The control scheme is intuitive, but the touch surface on the right is far too prone to misfires. I accidentally skipped tracks or paused playback several times when I removed the headphones in testing.

The included USB-A-to-USB-C charging cable connects to a USB-C port at the base of the left earcup, while an included 3.5mm audio cable plugs into a port on the right side. A dual-connection flight adapter is also in the box. The headphones fold down flat to fit inside the included hard-shell zip-up carrying case, which has an internal pocket for all of the accessories.

JBL estimates that the headphones can last roughly 50 hours per charge with ANC off or 30 hours with it active. Your results will further vary based on your typical listening volume levels. The battery takes two hours to fully charge from empty, and 10 minutes of charging should net you about five hours of playback.

JBL Tour One M2 App Experience

The JBL Headphones app (available for Android and iOS) has a seemingly endless list of options on its main page, but that's because it doesn't have a separate settings menu.

At the top, a power button and a battery life readout accompany an image of the headphones. Below that is the Ambient Sound Control section. Here, you can select between ANC, Ambient Aware, and TalkThru modes. You can adjust the level of the Ambient Aware mode directly from the main screen or tap into the ANC section to switch between Adaptive ANC and access a fader for the regular ANC.

Scroll down on the main screen to find the Personi-Fi tile, which builds you a personalized sound signature, and the Equalizer section, which lets you choose between several genre-based presets or create a custom EQ curve with 10 bands between 32Hz and 16kHz. You don't have to use either feature.

Several more tiles are further down, including Spatial Sound (a forgettable implementation with Movie, Music, and Game modes) and Gestures (which lets you see the touch control layout and make minor adjustments).

Beyond this, the tiles cover what you typically expect to see in a settings menu. You can toggle voice prompts and adjust the auto-power-off behavior, for example. The app also helps you set up the hands-free Alexa and Google Assistant integrations. I didn't have any trouble using voice commands to play music, but you can also just use the touch gesture on the earcup instead.

Quality Noise Cancellation

The Tour One M2 headphones performed well in my noise cancellation tests. They noticeably dialed back powerful low-frequency rumble, for instance, though some lows and mids were still audible. When I played a more challenging recording of a busy restaurant, they cut back the lows and mids but didn't diminish the highs as convincingly. Switching between the Adaptive ANC and regular ANC (at the maximum level) modes in the app did little to change the experience. The Bose QuietComfort Headphones are far more effective at mitigating deep low-frequency rumble and deal with the highs appreciably better (though not perfectly).

JBL's Ambient Aware and TalkThru modes both work well to help you monitor your surroundings. The TalkThru mode lowers your music volume to a whisper, whereas the Ambient Aware mode doesn't affect it at all. Some might prefer the former, but the latter was sufficient for me. One additional difference is that the TalkThru mode accentuates conversations.

Full-Bodied Audio

The in-app EQ is somewhat effective for adjusting bass and highs to taste, but raising the bass level noticeably lowers the total output level. Blasting the bass results in a comically low volume level, for example, presumably to prevent distortion. I recommend leaving the EQ alone since the bass depth is already robust without adjustments, though you can tweak the highs without as much consequence. For my tests below, I turned the EQ off.

On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the headphones produce an impressive low-frequency response. The bass depth sounds rich and full at moderate levels. And at top volumes, bass remains robust and distortion-free.

The headphones don't have any trouble reproducing the sub-bass at the 34-second mark of Kendrick Lamar’s “Loyalty.” The deepest note in the progression drops off slightly, but I hear a subwoofer-like rumble throughout. The various vocals sound clear.

The drums on Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, are relatively natural. Callahan’s baritone vocals get enough high-mid presence to sound crisp, while the acoustic strums and higher-register percussion are bright.

On orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary , I hear a bit more low-frequency boosting than is realistic, though bass lovers might enjoy this presentation. The higher-register brass, strings, and vocals are still bright and crisp, but there’s noticeable anchoring in the lows.

The voice mic array works well, and I could understand every word from a test recording on my iPhone without trouble thanks to the crisp, loud signal.

Reasonable Performance for the Price

The JBL Tour One M2 headphones deliver bass-forward sound and effective active noise cancellation. We also like the array of quality accessories and the comfortable fit, though we wish the capacitive touch panel wasn't so easy to accidentally trigger and that EQ changes didn't dramatically cut the volume. Those drawbacks may seem small, but they're especially worth noting when you consider the high-end price. If you're willing to spend an additional $50, we more highly recommend the Bose QuietComfort Headphones for top-tier noise cancellation, or the Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2 for higher-res codec options.

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About Tim Gideon

I've been a contributing editor for PCMag since 2011. Before that, I was PCMag's lead audio analyst from 2006 to 2011. Even though I'm a freelancer now, PCMag has been my home for well over a decade, and audio gear reviews are still my primary focus. Prior to my career in reviewing tech, I worked as an audio engineer—my love of recording audio eventually led me to writing about audio gear.

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JBL Tour ONE Wireless Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Headphones, Hi-Res Audio, Perfect Voice Clarity Phone Calls, up to 50H Battery, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa (Black)

About this item.

• JBL PRO SOUND: From rich, punchy bass to thrilling top notes, your music will always sound amazing thanks to the dynamic 40mm dynamic drivers. JBL Tour One headphones are hi-res audio certified, supporting frequencies up to 40kHz, to ensure that your music always sounds the best that it possibly can, wireless.
• TRUE ADAPTIVE NOISE CANCELLING: Struggle to find "your" space. Create your ideal environment with JBL Tour One True Adaptive Noise Cancelling. Immerse yourself in music, block out unwanted noises and focus on your goals. The Noise Cancelling level of these BT headphones adjusts to the change of environment in real time. With Ambient Aware and TalkThru you can hear environmental noises or have quick chats.
• 4 MICROPHONE FOR AMAZING VOICE CLARITY Enhance your voice, eliminate the noise. The JBL Tour One is equipped with 4 mics on the earcups to offer superior call quality. 2 adaptive beamforming mics ensure that the voice reproduction is clear and accurate; acoustic echo cancellation technology suppresses any echoes and cancels noises. Feel the pleasure of a face-to-face conversation, in every meeting or call.
• UP TO 50H OF BATTERY: Your JBL Tour One headphones keep you connected all day long, boasting 25 hours of playback with Noise Cancelling technology engaged and a whopping 50 hours with Bluetooth only.
• AMAZON ALEXA AND GOOGLE ASSISTANT: Activate your preferred Voice Assistant just by using your voice. Set your preferred Voice Assistant through the free My JBL Headphones App, that allows you also to set up you Alarm to fall asleep with music and wake up at a set time, optimize the Bluetooth settings, to get the best audio for music or videos, . ​customize the headphones EQ, and much more.
• Android 6.0 or higher is required for full access to Alexa features when using this device

This product is available as Renewed.

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From the manufacturer.

• JBL has brought music to life in a way people can feel for over 70 years.
• From iconic concerts to thesporting events, our sound has powered the world's musicians, athletes and venues.
• We unleash the power of music so you can live life to the fullest wherever and whenever.
• JBL speaker components deliver powerful sound.

From the brand

For over 75 years, JBL has helped people own their sound with Headphones, speakers and audio gear designed around expression. From the history-making stages of Woodstock to the thrilling sports stadiums, music venues and movie theaters you visit today, JBL amplifies truly unforgettable experiences.

Booming bass, rich detail and the freedom to feel the moment, wherever you are.

Visit the Store

JBL Tour Pro Series

True Adaptive Noise Cancelling Technology That Tunes Out Distractions So You Can Enjoy Your Favorite Audio.

JBL Tune Series

On-Ear & Over-Ear Stereo Headphones With Wireless Bluetooth Technology. Built In Microphones For IOS And Android Devices.

JBL Quantum Series

Hear every detail of the environment around you with the superior sound of JBL Quantum. Take on new challenges. Dare to level up.

JBL Endurance Series

Enjoy JBL Pure Bass Sound While You Work Out. Stay Focused On The Task At Hand With Music That Starts And Stops When You Do.

What's in the box

• 1 x JBL Tour One headphones 1 x Type-C USB charging cable 1 x Carrying case 1 x Audio cable 1 x Flight adaptor 1 x Warranty/Warning (W/!) 1 x product QSG/1x Google Assistant set up guide/1x Amazon Ale

Product information

Warranty & support, looking for specific info, videos for this product.

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Honest review of JBL noice cancelling headphones!

Tarah Brown

Product Description

JBL TOUR ONE Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones: These Bluetooth headphones boast dynamic JBL Pro Sound, a smart, intuitive interface, and sleek design. Tune in or tune out seamlessly with True Adaptive Noise Cancelling and Smart Ambient. Make crystal clear calls, all with the touch of a button. A whopping 50 hours of battery life ensures a full day of sound.

Customer reviews

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers like the appearance and battery life of the headphones. They mention it looks great and has excellent battery life. However, some customers have reported issues with charging and turning on the headphones, saying they don't show a draw. Opinions are mixed on comfort, value, quality, performance, and sound quality.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers are satisfied with the battery life of the headphones. They mention that it looks great and has excellent battery life.

"...I bought on sale. Battery life is great ...." Read more

"...sense of these headphones is that the sound is clear and the battery life is long ...." Read more

"... Battery life was great . I've had another JBL headphones that broke the same way. It most be a cheap design...." Read more

"It looks great and has excellent battery life . Other than that, the ear cups were too small and hurt my ears...." Read more

Customers are satisfied with the appearance of the headphones. They mention that it looks great and is a great set of headphones.

"Great sound quality as it is well balanced. Great bass. Aesthetics make it look more premium ...." Read more

"To start, the case that comes with these headphones is very nice ! I was excited to use my new tour ones...." Read more

"It looks great and has excellent battery life. Other than that, the ear cups were too small and hurt my ears...." Read more

"Totally Amazing and Totally Awesome product ...." Read more

Customers are mixed about the sound quality of the headphones. Some mention that the sound is amazing, perfect quality noise canceling, and drows out the sound of snoring. They also say that they have had no complaints about voice quality. However, others say that the quality changes almost like it's going through the mic, the noise cancelling is worse than $100 Anker headphones, and there is no trembling or emphasized noise for bass drops.

" Great sound quality as it is well balanced. Great bass. Aesthetics make it look more premium...." Read more

"...Easy to use controls but takes a little practice. Sound detail is great for a closed-back headphone...." Read more

"...I have had no complaints about voice quality .I like that it can connect to multiple devices simultaneously...." Read more

"...You can get a much better headphone with the same price range. The audio is too low and noise cancellation is not the best...." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the quality of the headphones. Some say they are pretty good headphones with premium feel, while others say they feel cheap and have small breaks in the music.

"...asking price (I had a $100 discount), but, these really are pretty good headphones . It effectively cancels out most everyday noises...." Read more

"...The audio is too low and noise cancellation is not the best. It does feel cheap though. Don’t pay the full price for it...." Read more

"...I was excited to use my new tour ones. The headphones feel very premium , nice cushy memory foam ear pads, and a soft crown cushion...." Read more

"The headphones are really good I loved the noice canceling, the ambient aware mode and I've been using them for a month now and I still have 80..." Read more

Customers are mixed about the performance of the headphones. Some mention that they work really well and have no issues, while others say that they only worked a short while, have poor connectivity, and sometimes stop playing. The app never worked and the headphones lasted almost a year before breaking.

"...They also have a very premium feel. The only down part is that the app doesn't work at least on Android, it says that I have two headphones..." Read more

" Everything works perfectly . The only thing that drives me a bit crazy, is when I'm connected to the PC via bluetooth and start up a game...." Read more

"...My hoody grazes against it and the music stops " Read more

"This are awesome no issues and battery life crazy good.." Read more

Customers are mixed about the comfort of the headphones. Some mention it's comfortable and well-priced for such high quality, with nice cushy memory foam ear pads and a soft crown cushion. Others say that it'll crack and make it painful to wear. The ear cups are too small and hurt their ears.

"These are very comfortable . They charge fast and are easy to pair. I like them very much." Read more

"...one of the sides by the ear piece has cracked, which makes it painful to wear , and it's no longer noise-cancelling. Battery life was great...." Read more

"...I put the headphones on, they were very comfortable , I was quite surprised, I am a big guy with a big head...." Read more

"These sound great and are really comfortable . However, whenever I'm listening to music I get these small breaks in the music every few minutes...." Read more

Customers have mixed opinions about the value of the headphones. Some customers find them to be great value and good sounding headphones for the price, while others say they are not worth the price and do not compete with similarly priced products.

"These are good sounding headphones for the price . I like how they come with accessories and a carry case" Read more

"... Not worth the price even on sale." Read more

" Good product for the price " Read more

" Great value " Read more

Customers are dissatisfied with the charging of the headphones. They mention that it doesn't show a draw, the headphones won't charge or cut on, and that the device doesn''t remain charged more than a few days.

"Sound quality and noise reduction is great but it doesn’t not remain charged more than a few days when stored" Read more

"...Wall charger doesn't show a draw so they aren't charging . The he pictogram instructions were no help...." Read more

"They were great while they worked. Now they won't charge or cut on and the warranty has expired. They still look new as I only used them twice." Read more

" Headphones wouldn't turn on , followed online directions to factory reset the device. Now they won't even connect to the JBL Headphone app...." Read more

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JBL Tour One

Wireless over-ear noise cancelling headphones

True Adaptive Noise Cancelling

Struggle to find "your" space? Create your ideal environment with JBL Tour One True Adaptive Noise Cancelling. Immerse yourself in music, block out unwanted noises and focus on your goals. The Noise Cancelling level adjusts to the change of environment in real time, should you decide to go for a walk.

JBL Pro Sound, hi-res certified

From rich, punchy bass to thrilling top notes, your music will always sound amazing thanks to the dynamic 40mm dynamic drivers. JBL Tour One headphones are hi-res audio certified, supporting frequencies up to 40kHz, to ensure that your music always sounds the best that it possibly can.

4-mic Technology for Accurate and clear voice call

Enhance your voice, eliminate the noise. The JBL Tour One is equipped with 4 mics on the earcups to offer superior call quality. 2 adaptive beamforming mics ensure that the voice reproduction is clear and accurate; acoustic echo cancellation technology suppresses any echoes and cancels noises. Feel the pleasure of a face-to-face conversation, in every meeting or call. With VoiceAware you can control the amount of mic input routed back into your earbuds and choose how much to hear of your own voice.

Ambient Aware & TalkThru

Stay alert to the sounds of the world around you while enjoying your music with Smart Ambient technology. Or have a quick chat with a friend or colleague without having to turn off your tunes with TalkThru. Control these features with a simple touch of a button and fine-tune them via the App.

Boost your productivity

JBL Tour One can help you create an ideal world where you can fully focus on your tasks. In need of a quiet space? Create a silence bubble with SilentNow where NC is activated but music is off. This also helps you saving battery time, as does Auto Off, that switches off your headphones after a period of time set by you. Or get help in waking up with My Alarm, fine-tune the sound output with Smart Audio & Video and automatically pause your headphones when taking them off with Auto-Pause. All these features are controlled via the My JBL Headphones App.

Up to 50 Hours of Music Playback

Your JBL Tour One headphones keep you connected all day long, boasting 25 hours of playback with Noise Cancelling technology engaged and a whopping 50 hours with Bluetooth only.

Hands-free Voice Control

Activate Hey Google (*) or Alexa (**) with just a simple tap or hotword for easy access to your digital world as accurate voice call technology ensures your commands are crystal clear. Voice prompts are available in multiple languages. (*) Only supported on Android (**) Android 6.0 or higher is required for full access to Alexa features when using this device.

Make the most out of your headphones with the free JBL App

My JBL Headphones App personalizes the soundtrack of your life: set up custom EQ, switch on your Adaptive Noise Cancelling or adjust your Ambient Sound Control settings. Download the App for free on your App store.

Personalize How You Listen

With the JBL Headphones App

Specs & Downloads

Item# JBLTOURONEBLK

Product Description

Control your environment, power your productivity., general specifications, audio specifications, control and connection specifications, what's in the box.

• 1 x JBL Tour One headphones
• 1 x Type-C USB charging cable
• 1 x Audio Cable
• 1 x Flight Adaptor
• 1 x Carrying case
• 1 x Quick Start Guide
• 1 x Google Assistant set up guide
• 1 x Amazon Alexa set up guide
• 1 x Warranty / Warning (W / !)
• 1 x Safety Sheet (S / i)

Documents & Downloads

The latest owner's manuals, quick start guides, and documents.

Declaration of Conformity

Quick start guide (multilingual), jbl headphones app, jbl global warranty card, spec sheet (english).

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JBL Tour One review: Noise cancellation with natural sounds

At rs 24,999, the jbl tour one is clearly priced for the very discerning audio users, offering a natural sound profile, versatile features and dependable noise cancellation..

These days it might be a bit awkward for a product to have ‘Tour’ in its name, but interestingly the JBL Tour One came for review just a few days before I set out on my second trip in the past two years. Yes, as the name suggests, the JBL Tour One is clearly a headphone meant for those on the move who love their music and solitude.

The JBL Tour One has a classic design for noise-cancelling headphones with soft earcups that completely wrap around your ears, a headband that is adjustable and arms that can be folded to stow away the set in its case. The headphones have a button on the left to adjust the noise cancelling to Ambient Aware and normal modes. These buttons can all be customised using the My JBL app. There is a voice assistant too and you can use the native one on your device or Alexa. I stuck to using Siri and it worked well.

The earcups are comfortable and don’t warm up when you wear them for long hours, even in the sultry Kerala weather. The entire unit is not very heavy and you don’t feel tired after a long session with the headphones.

I wore the JBL Tour One on a flight to Kerala and the active noise cancellation was very effective on the early morning flight. I was asleep within a few minutes. There is a great feature for people like me who wear noise-cancelling headphones on long flights. The smart alarm on the app lets you select a duration to play music before switching off the audio so that you can sleep, and it will wake you up after the nap. Great for those who frequently board long haul flights.

But there was no such luck for me on the Indigo flight as 40 minutes into my nap, the crew had turned up with breakfast. Interestingly, I could start a conversation by just soft tapping on the earcups and not really taking off the headphones thanks to the Talk Through mode. Very impressive given this is JBL’s first noise-cancelling model.

Given that these were JBL headphones, my expectations were very high when it came to the audio capabilities. And I was not disappointed. The JBL Tour One has a very natural, neutral audio profile that reproduces the music as it was recorded with no unnecessary bass or tweaks. Listening to Garrett Kato’s ‘Drugstore Houses’ you enjoy his soft vocals as the background music is just there to accentuate the vocal and not drown it out.

With more complex compositions such as Joshua Radin’s ‘Better Life’ I could not help but notice the balance these headphones offer, putting the guitar and his vocals on the same plain. This is rich and layered, giving all the channels the right amount of breathing space to come to their own.

Then when you switch to ‘Paathira Kalam’ from Kurup, the headphones show that it can step up when needed and that too with ease. It has the right amount of bass, mixing the highs and lows to take your listening experience to a whole new level.

The app offers some preset equalisers and the ability to save your own preferences. However, it is very basic so as not to complicate life for users. The battery life lasts a full week when charged up and can recharge to over 50 per cent in about 15 minutes. However, the JBL Tour One stays connected to the phone even when you fold them and the first day I lost some juice on both the phone and headphones without releasing this. You can set a timeout option on the app and I chose 15 minutes to save battery as much as possible.

And don’t think the JBL Tour One is not versatile enough to handle work from home. In fact, it has one of the best mic systems in a headphone of this range. This means you will be heard loud and clear on your Zoom calls. And you will end up hearing more than you should.

At Rs 24,999, the JBL Tour One is clearly priced for the very discerning audio users. There are many options in this price range, and the JBL Tour One gives all of them some serious competition with its natural sound profile, versatile features and dependable noise cancellation. JBL is making itself heard in the noise cancellation space.

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Review: The JBL Live Beam 3 are the new all-rounder earbuds to beat

I'm surprised these innovative buds with a screen cost under £200.

JBL Live Beam 3: Charging case

Jbl live beam 3: sound and noise-cancelling, jbl live beam 3: controls and app features, jbl live beam 3: battery life, jbl live beam 3: verdict, jbl live beam 3: other products to consider.

You might know that JBL has already had one stab at the futuristic idea of a charging case with a built-in screen with last year's Tour Pro 2 . But that originally cost over £200 and is a bit bigger and bulkier than this new version. Like all of us at Digital Spy , I'm interested in new tech that feels a little space-age, so I was always going to be keen to try the next display-toting buds.

Launching in mid-June, JBL's new Live 3 earphones (offered in the Buds, Beam and Flex designs) are back with the smart charging case, but now in a slightly more compact and pocket-friendly design, and a much more pocket-friendly £179.99 price tag. It's an innovative idea, but is it useful? I've been using them for just over a week to find out.

JBL Live Beam 3

JBL Live Beam 3 specs

Jbl live beam 3: design and comfort.

The first bit of good news here is that these buds are tiny. Once out of the case, these 5g buds aren't going to weigh you down. They essentially have the familiar AirPod-lookalike stem style, and I can confirm that they're comfortable enough to keep in for hours. I'm usually one for the default medium-sized tips that come pre-attached for the best fit, which I confirmed with the handy fit test available through the app. Luckily, these come with four sizes of tips, so I'm confident you'll find one that fits you.

Beyond the mini buds themselves is, well, the case. We'll go into a bit more depth on that below, but it's worth knowing that it's pocketable and just a bit bigger than most rival models. That's not surprising given the screen, but it's still worth knowing if you're used to the 46g weight of a pair of little 2nd-gen AirPods in their case. Altogether, the JBL Live Beam 3 weighs 81g in the case – I've seen and tried marginally heavier options but this is far from the lightest out there.

That screen had better be useful then, right? It will depend on how you use earbuds, but I find this fits quite well into my routine. I'm a fan of anything that keeps me from having to dig out my phone and have to sift through the dozens of audio apps living on my device. This is, quite frankly, a lot easier.

Since my first setup of the buds, where I sorted out the personalised hearing test, the equaliser settings, the touch controls and the low-volume adaptive EQ (a welcome setting that keeps the music sounding good without you needing to turn it up), I haven't needed to continually dive back into the settings to refine and tweak anything.

I can access my custom equaliser from the case, where I can also switch to "TalkThru" mode (a conversational transparency setting that can't be programmed to touch input), turn the volume up and down, control playback and access the "Find My Buds" option to find the one that'll inevitably get lost between the sofa cushions.

If you're reading all this and still think it sounds like a gimmick, it's not for you. But I find it genuinely useful to change these settings from the case. I connected these to multiple devices (thank you, Bluetooth multipoint) and it's satisfying to tweak the controls without needing to dig my phone out or fuss about touch gestures, especially if that's not the device playing music at that moment.

In-ear headphones are getting really good. It's possible to get incredibly impressive sound quality for under £100, especially now that contenders like the Nothing Ear (a) exist. While there are buds that I like more for sound quality than the new JBL Live Beam 3, these deliver a well-rounded, smooth and entertaining sound.

By default, the signature is a bit bassy with a priority on the highs and lead instruments and vocalists, but not in an unpleasant way. It'll work great for pop, electronic, podcasts and soundtracks. I've had the Dune and Challengers soundtracks on repeat while also listening to Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, Noah Kahan and Beyoncé.

These buds bring a lot of punch and dynamism to music, and I don't think you'll be disappointed. For me, the best feature here is how good they sound at low volume – I can keep them at 50% and still feel like I'm hearing all the main details with that low-volume adaptive EQ.

What about noise-cancelling? They're not up there with the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds or the other best noise-cancelling headphones but they do a great job and do so reliably. I found them able to silence the loud rumbles of the London Underground when they hit about 85db, but unexpected noises above 90db started to be quite noticeable to me. That's not bad – noise at cruising altitude within a plane cabin is around 85db, so these will be a reliable companion on a trip.

Transparency is good too. You get two modes for awareness, a simple ambient awareness mode that's programmed to a tap of the left bud by default, and a separate "TalkThru" mode you can access in the app or from the case.

Both work well – the ambient mode is good for keeping you aware of your surroundings without boosting any external sounds too much. Meanwhile, I found myself able to have a conversation with the barista at the local cafe while in TalkThru. Keeping these modes separate works, and more rivals should try this approach.

Ignoring the case, you may want to control the buds with the touch controls on each earphone. These are reliable and responsive, but I'm not a big fan of the limitations when it comes to customisation. You have to pick a scheme determined by JBL, rather than having complete freedom to set them up just how you want.

That means it's not possible to have noise-cancelling, playback and volume mapped to the on-bud control system all at the same time, you'll have to pick and choose when setting them up in the app. It's a small but notable frustration.

Speaking of the app, it's absolutely stuffed full of so many extras that we haven't tried them all and may not even be able to mention every single one here. You can tweak everything about the call quality, sound equaliser, access relaxation sounds with a sleep timer, use the "Find My Buds' feature and much more.

One of my most appreciated features is the "Personi-Fi" hearing test, it's easy to do and feels like it makes the audio reproduction just a little more full and rich by tailoring it to the unique profile of your ears.

One of the best benefits of the JBL Live Beam 3 compared to others is that you’ll always know the battery life. There's no more interpreting dots on the case or remembering what different lights mean, each time you tap on the screen you’ll see the exact percentage of battery left in each bud and in the case. Even if you didn't use all the other features of the little charging box, this one is quietly game-changing. I never felt like I didn't know how much battery was left in these buds.

Is it enough battery life? From my perspective, it's more than good enough. You're getting a competitive 10 hours of playtime on a single charge with ANC off, which will reduce when either noise-cancelling or the ambient awareness mode is switched on. At the moment, I don't have those numbers from JBL, but I've asked for them and will update this review when they're available.

Notably, it doesn’t feel like the case battery drains any faster than it does on rivals, even with the display, and the case should deliver an extra 36 hours of life for your buds. Given that you'll probably always be putting them back in for a recharge, this shouldn’t be much of an issue. When it comes to recharging, you can charge them via a USB-C cable (where a fast charge of 10 minutes delivers four hours of playtime with ANC off) or pop them on a wireless charging pad too.

I think these are brilliant buds with an innovative case, and I'm surprised they cost just £179.99, a bit lower than the $199.95 price tag first announced at CES 2024. They challenge rivals that are much more expensive and are stuffed full of extra features in the companion app and from the case. Of course, that case isn't quite as compact as some, but it's also far from the biggest one I've seen in my time testing earphones.

The sound is high-quality and customisable, the battery life is solid, the ANC and transparency modes are all effective and they've got wireless charging and a good water-resistance rating. Some may see the case as a little bit of a gimmick, but I found myself using it often. Overall, it makes the buds feel just a bit more futuristic, more useful and more personal.

While the JBL Beam 3 is an excellent all-rounder pair; there are a couple of other options worth considering, especially if you don't think you're going to use the screen on the case.

The Soundcore Liberty 4NC is cheaper and cancels a lot more noise with its adaptive ANC, while the new Nothing Ear and Nothing Ear (a) are both more affordable, come in more compact charging cases and deliver terrific sound quality.

If you want buds that are a bit more premium, it might be worth going for Apple's AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) which boasts a rich sound, high-quality ANC and loads of Apple integrations.

The best noise-cancelling earbuds we've tested at the time of writing are the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds , and these are a brilliant option for flights, commutes and the office.

After a slightly more premium option with JBL's smart charging case? While we found the Tour Pro 2 case marginally more responsive to our taps, they're otherwise the same so we'd recommend going for these newer buds as they've got a slightly more compact case and just as many features.

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JBL Tour One M2

Quality noise cancellation and robust sound for a premium price.

Bottom Line

• Full-bodied bass and bright highs
• Above-average noise cancellation
• Hands-free Alexa and Google Assistant
• Comfortable fit
• Finicky touch controls
• EQ can dramatically change the volume

For $299.99, JBL’s Tour One M2 headphones produce bold, bass-forward sound in a comfortable over-ear design. They also offer above-average active noise cancellation (ANC), along with support for hands-free Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice control. That said, finicky touch controls and unpredictable in-app EQ undercut the otherwise premium experience. Ultimately, we recommend you spend slightly more for the Bose QuietComfort Headphones for even better noise cancellation or the Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2 for stronger Bluetooth codec support.

Comfortable Fit, Sensitive Controls

Available in black or silver, the circumaural (over-ear) Tour One M2 headphones have an eggshell-like finish on the outer earcups and headband. The headband's interior and earpads both feature a faux leather material with memory foam padding beneath. They feel quite comfortable over long listening sessions.

Behind the grilles, 40mm dynamic drivers deliver a frequency range of 10Hz to 22kHz in active wireless or wired mode or 10Hz to 40kHz in passive wired mode.

The headphones are compatible with Bluetooth 5.3 and work with just the AAC and SBC codecs . For comparison, the Aonic 50 Gen 2 headphones support AptX, AptX Adaptive, AptX HD, and LDAC options for hi-res listening on Android devices. JBL says Google Fast Pair and multipoint connectivity with up to two devices are both available here. Hands-free Alexa and Google Assistant round out the connectivity features.

For controls, there is a capacitive touch panel on the right earcup and a mix of buttons on both sides. Tapping the Action button on the left side once switches between the Noise Canceling and Ambient Aware (transparency) modes. You can add an off option via the app. Double taps of this button toggle the TalkThru feature, a conversation-focused transparency mode that drastically lowers the volume of your music.

Along the edge of the right earcup, an array of buttons handle power/pairing and volume control. The touch panel on the right manages playback (single taps), track navigation (double taps for forward, triple taps for backward), and voice assistant access (long presses). Double taps also answer incoming calls or end ongoing calls, while a tap-and-hold gesture rejects an incoming call or mutes the mic during a call.

The control scheme is intuitive, but the touch surface on the right is far too prone to misfires. I accidentally skipped tracks or paused playback several times when I removed the headphones in testing.

The included USB-A-to-USB-C charging cable connects to a USB-C port at the base of the left earcup, while an included 3.5mm audio cable plugs into a port on the right side. A dual-connection flight adapter is also in the box. The headphones fold down flat to fit inside the included hard-shell zip-up carrying case, which has an internal pocket for all of the accessories.

JBL estimates that the headphones can last roughly 50 hours per charge with ANC off or 30 hours with it active. Your results will further vary based on your typical listening volume levels. The battery takes two hours to fully charge from empty, and 10 minutes of charging should net you about five hours of playback.

JBL Tour One M2 App Experience

The JBL Headphones app (available for Android and iOS) has a seemingly endless list of options on its main page, but that's because it doesn't have a separate settings menu.

At the top, a power button and a battery life readout accompany an image of the headphones. Below that is the Ambient Sound Control section. Here, you can select between ANC, Ambient Aware, and TalkThru modes. You can adjust the level of the Ambient Aware mode directly from the main screen or tap into the ANC section to switch between Adaptive ANC and access a fader for the regular ANC.

Scroll down on the main screen to find the Personi-Fi tile, which builds you a personalized sound signature, and the Equalizer section, which lets you choose between several genre-based presets or create a custom EQ curve with 10 bands between 32Hz and 16kHz. You don't have to use either feature.

Several more tiles are further down, including Spatial Sound (a forgettable implementation with Movie, Music, and Game modes) and Gestures (which lets you see the touch control layout and make minor adjustments).

Beyond this, the tiles cover what you typically expect to see in a settings menu. You can toggle voice prompts and adjust the auto-power-off behavior, for example. The app also helps you set up the hands-free Alexa and Google Assistant integrations. I didn't have any trouble using voice commands to play music, but you can also just use the touch gesture on the earcup instead.

Quality Noise Cancellation

The Tour One M2 headphones performed well in my noise cancellation tests. They noticeably dialed back powerful low-frequency rumble, for instance, though some lows and mids were still audible. When I played a more challenging recording of a busy restaurant, they cut back the lows and mids but didn't diminish the highs as convincingly. Switching between the Adaptive ANC and regular ANC (at the maximum level) modes in the app did little to change the experience. The Bose QuietComfort Headphones are far more effective at mitigating deep low-frequency rumble and deal with the highs appreciably better (though not perfectly).

JBL's Ambient Aware and TalkThru modes both work well to help you monitor your surroundings. The TalkThru mode lowers your music volume to a whisper, whereas the Ambient Aware mode doesn't affect it at all. Some might prefer the former, but the latter was sufficient for me. One additional difference is that the TalkThru mode accentuates conversations.

Full-Bodied Audio

The in-app EQ is somewhat effective for adjusting bass and highs to taste, but raising the bass level noticeably lowers the total output level. Blasting the bass results in a comically low volume level, for example, presumably to prevent distortion. I recommend leaving the EQ alone since the bass depth is already robust without adjustments, though you can tweak the highs without as much consequence. For my tests below, I turned the EQ off.

On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the headphones produce an impressive low-frequency response. The bass depth sounds rich and full at moderate levels. And at top volumes, bass remains robust and distortion-free.

The headphones don't have any trouble reproducing the sub-bass at the 34-second mark of Kendrick Lamar’s “Loyalty.” The deepest note in the progression drops off slightly, but I hear a subwoofer-like rumble throughout. The various vocals sound clear.

The drums on Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, are relatively natural. Callahan’s baritone vocals get enough high-mid presence to sound crisp, while the acoustic strums and higher-register percussion are bright.

On orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary , I hear a bit more low-frequency boosting than is realistic, though bass lovers might enjoy this presentation. The higher-register brass, strings, and vocals are still bright and crisp, but there’s noticeable anchoring in the lows.

The voice mic array works well, and I could understand every word from a test recording on my iPhone without trouble thanks to the crisp, loud signal.

Reasonable Performance for the Price

The JBL Tour One M2 headphones deliver bass-forward sound and effective active noise cancellation. We also like the array of quality accessories and the comfortable fit, though we wish the capacitive touch panel wasn't so easy to accidentally trigger and that EQ changes didn't dramatically cut the volume. Those drawbacks may seem small, but they're especially worth noting when you consider the high-end price. If you're willing to spend an additional $50, we more highly recommend the Bose QuietComfort Headphones for top-tier noise cancellation, or the Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2 for higher-res codec options.

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About Tim Gideon

I've been a contributing editor for PCMag since 2011. Before that, I was PCMag's lead audio analyst from 2006 to 2011. Even though I'm a freelancer now, PCMag has been my home for well over a decade, and audio gear reviews are still my primary focus. Prior to my career in reviewing tech, I worked as an audio engineer—my love of recording audio eventually led me to writing about audio gear.

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