JBL ’s raw Tour Pro 3wireless earbudsshould really be called the JBL Tour de Force . The company’ssecond - gen Tour Prowere already the most feature - studded earbuds we ’ve ever visualize , arrant with a touchscreen on the charging case , and yet the Tour Pro 3 go further . Much further . The Mary Leontyne Price has gone up too — they ’ll cost $ 300 when they become available for leverage on September 22 .
At a glance , the third - gen looks the same as before , whether you get them in black or “ caffe latte . ” Physically , the cast of the earbuds is unaltered . However , the casing is a little smaller , while extend a 30 % larger screen . It can also act as a retransmitter of both analog and digital audio when you employ the included cable’s length to plug it into computers , smartphones , or in - flight tail end - back entertainment systems .
That puts JBL in good troupe : so far , onlyBowers & Wilkins , LG , andJabrahave offered this feature on their wireless earbuds .
inquisitively , when the Tour Pro 3 are connected to their case for hear to pumped sources , JBL says it does n’t employ Bluetooth at all . Instead , it ’s a proprietary 2.4GHz connection with the LC3 + codec providing the sound recording . “ The verbatim connection between causa and earbuds is more unchanging , and down in the mouth latent period , than Bluetooth , making it the perfect fellow traveller for gaming , outcry , movies , and music , ” grant to the society .
Calls may be importantly good when done via the case or else of Bluetooth : that 2.4GHz connection love a enceinte bitrate than Bluetooth , leaving more bandwidth for two - way audio recording . JBL note that the Tour Pro 3 are soar - evidence when used with the event .
As before , the case touchscreen can be used to directly control many functions like playback , ANC , and spatial sound .
The earbuds now have both rubble and water resistance with anIP55 military rank . at heart is a unexampled dual - driver acoustic platform . An 11 mm dynamic driver for low frequence has been pair with a balanced armature driver for higher frequency , and each is mated to its own digital - to - analog converter ( DAC ) . OnePlus latterly announce a similar structure for itsBuds Pro 3 .
I had criticized JBL for making the Tour Pro 2 howdy - Ra up to ( in terms of frequency response ) yet failing to include any hi - res codecs . That has been correct : In add-on to the guinea pig - based LC3 + codec ( which is hi - res capable ) , the Tour Pro 3 reenforcement Sony’shi - res audioLDACBluetooth codec , which is standard on any phone with Android version 8.0 or eminent ( though not on iPhones ) .
I had also indicate that Tour Pro 2 ’s spatial audio recording feature article be upgraded with pass - tracking like Apple offered on theAirPods Pro 2 , and that has also made its room into the Tour Pro 3 .
My vocation experience with the Tour Pro 2 also proved to be a weakly fleck , and apparently JBL has made step to sort out that too : The Tour Pro 3 apply a novel “ JBL Crystal AI ” call algorithm , which it claim will raise clarity even in noisy environments .
Finally , the Tour Pro 3 are JBL ’s first fullAuracastwireless earbuds . you’re able to employ the JBL Headphones app to recover and melodic phrase into usable Auracast programme , and the agitate case can also transmit using Auracast — a nifty path to partake in a movie or strain with others . In fact , when using the case to transmit in Auracast , you ’re create a public broadcast , so anyone within Bluetooth range could conceivably listen in . Something to keep in mind , depending on what you ’re sharing .