There is no shortage of fabulous options for top - of - the - line wirelessnoise - cancel headphones . You likely know most of the players : Sony , Bose , Sennheiser , Bowers & Wilkins , and Apple . But do n’t bury about JBL . Its flagship Tour One headphones are now in their third generation ( thus , “ Tour One M3 ” ) , and they ’re overflowing with features like wirelesshi - res audio frequency , lossless audiovia USB , spatial audio , and BluetoothAuracast . Plus , they descend with a first - of - its - kind smart sender . At $ 400 , however , they ’re also the most expensive Tour One model so far ( the first two generations sold for $ 300 at launch ) .
Has JBL gone overboard , or are the Tour One M3 a set of perfectly future - proofedwireless headphones ? allow ’s control them out .
Design
While every major headphone brand has try new things in the pattern section , like hidden hinges or high - end materials , JBL has stayed the course on the Tour One M3 . They ’re mostly unaltered from the first two generations , with an all - credit card , fold - flat / fold - up chassis . If anything , they ’re slimly less tatty than their harbinger as JBL has murder all the polished silvery accents , pass on the M3 as plain as possible . If you want masses to sleep with you ’re rock a set of $ 400 headphones , these are not the can for you .
Still , there ’s virtue to the if - it - ain’t - broke - don’t - fix - it approach . In the case of the M3 , you could take that literally — Sony ’s design of theWH-1000XM5has been causing vexation for some buyers because theearcup swivel is prostrate to breaking . I ’d argue that boring is better than break away .
One major change is the elimination of the 3.5 mm analog input . Ordinarily , that would be cause for concern , but JBL now includes two cables : a double - USB - degree centigrade cable television service for charge up and digital sound , and a 3.5mm - to - USB - coke for analog . So , one port wine , two cables . Also included is a small USB - A - to - USB - degree Celsius adapter — a squeamish soupcon for those of us with Old devices .
The other big change is the let in “ Smart Tx ” sender .
If you ’ve seen JBL ’s flagship wireless earbuds — theTour Pro 3 — it ’s efficaciously the same as their smart charging casing , just without the snotty-nosed - top palpebra and the earbud charging nook .
I ’ll discuss the transmitter ’s pros and cons in a moment .
JBL Tour One M3 specs
Comfort, controls, and connections
The Tour One M3 weighs just 9.7 ounce . That ’s not quite as short as the WH-1000XM5 ( 8.7 ounce ) , but it still translates into a very comfortable set of cans . The density and width of the headband padding keep pressure stage at bay , and the combination of clamping force play and earcup shape make for a very secure fit .
If you ’re intimate with the previous Tour One model , the controls will be at once conversant , save for one small change . The volume control is now on the left earcup instead of group with the power and ANC button ( JBL calls it the Action Button ) on the right wing . The right earcup ’s outer open is touch - sensitive . You get single , bivalent , and triple water tap gestures for playback dominance , plus a farseeing - rap that can spark your phone ’s voice assistant .
Speaking of representative help , JBL , like a numeral of earphone manufacturers , has dropped build - in support for Amazon ’s Alexa and Google Assistant on the Tour One M3 .
I like the power button ’s sliding board - to - activate pattern — it remove the guesswork involved with some mightiness buttons that require a long - public press . However , be sure to activate the M3 ’s Auto Power Off lineament in the JBL Headphones app ; otherwise , it ’s all too promiscuous to forget to switch them off . Helping with the control of your euphony is an efficient motorcar - pause / auto - resume characteristic .
There are only two pocket-size drawbacks . The touch controls are very sensible , and it ’s easy to rap them unexpectedly as you adjust the headphones or take them on and off .
Also , JBL has premise a wad of new features on the M3 , like spatial audio and personal audio gain , and yet there ’s no mode to control them from the headphone ’s onboard mastery . The app bid almost no customization of the touch ascendency or the Action Button .
Perhaps the hope is that if you do n’t want to accomplish for your smartphone , you ’ll use the Smart Tx vector instead .
With Bluetooth 5.3 ( includingLE Audio ) andMultipoint , getting the M3 copulate to multiple devices is fast and light — even easier when using Android , thanks to Google Fast Pair . The wireless connection is stable and potent . When connect to the Smart Tx sender , I was able-bodied to maintain a connexion from anywhere in my family — not something I ’m used to live with Bluetooth cans .
Sound quality
My review of the first - gen Tour One noted with some letdown that they lacked hi - res codecs . The M3 are the precise opposite . There are so many options now , it ’s almost consuming : Regular Bluetooth via the AAC codec , higher - timber Bluetooth via the LC3 codec ( from the transmitter ) , Hawaii - res Bluetooth via Sony ’s LDAC codec ( Android only ) , analog audio , lossless USB audio , and finally , spacial audio ( with and without head tracking ) .
The astounding thing is that they ’re all brilliant . Regular Bluetooth ( say , via an iPhone ) is terrific for commutation or universal use , and as you ramp up on the lineament scale leaf to LDAC and at long last USB Audio , you get more and more more detailed and nuanced performances .
Out of the box , the sound signature is relatively balanced , with perhaps a touch more bass boost than I recall from the first generation . But there are no boundary to how you may fine-tune this . The JBL app supply six EQ presets with wildly different flavours . Vocal drops nearly all of the low and gamey ending while boosting the mids ; Jazz seems to do the opposite . Bass does what you ’d expect , and Extreme Bass is nuts — the lows become punishingly powerful . I found myself sticking with Studio most of the fourth dimension , with its enjoyably neutral vibration . If you wish to take full control , there ’s also a usance equalizer that let you line your favor bend with up to 10 control points along the audible spectrum .
Spatial audio
New to the Tour One M3 is a spacial sound recording mode that shoot any euphony , movie , or other audio source and leave it a virtualized 3D , immersive treatment . you may select to use head tracking ( which locks certain part of the sound in place even as you move your caput side to side ) or not , and there are three extra modifiers ( movie , music , and games ) .
In my experience , this kind of result can be tally or drop , but on the M3 , it ’s a hit . In non - spacial mode , these headphone have a button-down soundstage that site elements fairly close to the ears . In spatial mode , it open up , and does so without a drop in some frequencies that is often a side effect of this processing . I still prefer the version Bose uses on theQuietComfort Ultra Headphones , with its elevated stereoscopic photograph speaker effect , but JBL ’s is a close irregular .
I ’m not saying you should always mind in spatial — it can get a bit wearying — but do n’t ignore it either . It ’s well worth sample it with a variety of genres and message types .
Noise cancellation and transparency
In the pantheon of ANC and transparency , our three principal deities are Apple , Sony , and Bose . They ’re still the good for silence and awareness . Still , JBL is n’t far behind . You wo n’t get quite the same level of still as Bose or Sony , or the same magical sensation of not wear headphones that Apple’sAirPods Maxcan fork up , but the Tour One M3 are no slouch . They do a very unspoiled job in both modes .
Where JBL has made some meaningful improvements is in how these features work . you could now switch between ANC and Aware ( transparentness ) fashion without passing through an off style . JBL ’s Adaptive ANC mode is off by default , which makes me happy as I determine it distract to have the ANC spirit level alteration on its own . And Talk - thru modality now pauses your music when it switches to transparency , instead of just send away the volume down .
Call quality
I do n’t know how JBL does it , but the Tour One M3 proceed to propose the good call quality I ’ve ever receive using wireless earphone . It does n’t matter where you are , how loudly your surroundings , or whether the wind is blow stiff enough for you to feel it — your callers wo n’t have the slim idea that you are n’t sit down alone , somewhere muted .
If your voice tends to miss lucidness , you could turn on a “ smart ” filter to tally more sparkle , and , conversely , there ’s a “ herculean ” mode if your voice lacks raw plangency . Your fuel consumption rate may diverge .
you may keep ANC engaged while on a call or activate VoiceAware mode to hear yourself ( and your surroundings during a call ) , which helps a flock to deoxidize fatigue .
JBL also allow for adjustments you’re able to apply to your callers ’ voices in showcase they ’re too mystifying or too punk ( maybe because they are n’t using the Tour One M3 ) .
The Smart Tx transmitter
Slightly pocket-sized and sluttish than an Apple AirPods Pro charging pillowcase ( just 1.1 ounces ) , the M3 ’s smart transmitter is easy small enough to slide into your pocket . The interrogation is , will you ?
As the name intimate , it can take a wired source of audio ( parallel or digital ) and communicate it wirelessly to the M3 . The obvious scenarios are seatback amusement for planes , or gym - base cardio equipment not yet equip with Bluetooth . But it could also give your older home hi - fi system of rules or goggle box a wireless association to your can buoy .
By nonpayment , that transmission is a unconstipated Bluetooth tie between the transmitter and the M3 , but you may turn it into a shared transmission by enable Auracast . Once you do that , anyone with an Auracast - enabled set of earpiece or earbuds can listen in ( unless you prepare a 4 - digit word ) , so be mindful of the contentedness you ’re broadcast .
However , the sender also gives you entree to a immense figure of headphone controls , include the spatial audio options I mentioned earlier . It ’s like having a removed control for your cans . The touch screen is modest and can be a morsel finicky to use , but for the most part , it works well .
Once again , the theory seems to be that some people will prefer to start the sender rather than their phone — even though most of the clip , people ’s speech sound are their audio germ . Other than the airplane and gym scenarios — or mayhap if folk do n’t keep their phones handy when using earphone with a computer or laptop — there ’s only one position where I can see this being good : tune up into Auracast broadcast .
The sender can glance over for and unite the M3 to nearby Auracast broadcasts . The JBL Headphones app can do this , too , but the transmitter is arguably more convenient . It ’s deserving note that while Auracast is still in its infancy , the Tour One M3 are ( as of this revue ) the only flagship wireless headphones that support this newfangled use of Bluetooth engineering .
Oh , one more thing : You ’ll need to think to charge it . JBL says it will function for up to 18 hours on a mission , but perhaps that ’s under continuous function in transmit mode . When just connect via Bluetooth , it should last much longer than that .
On a set of wireless earbuds ( like the Tour Pro 3 ) , cause a charging sheath as a pumped-up audio vector is sheer genius — all wireless earbuds should have this feature . I ’m just not convert the same can be say for wireless headphones when the headphones in doubtfulness come with analog and digital cable length .
Battery life
Just how much battery life do you need for wireless headphones ? My service line is about 24 - 30 hours , as that ’s as long as I can see an medium someone stuck without the ability to reload . The Tour One M3 handily exceed that with a claimed 70 - hour playtime . That assumes you ’re not using ANC . Turn it on and the figure drops to 40 hours — still excellent .
The only room you will screen the limit is if you turn on both ANC and LDAC . JBL does n’t volunteer a number for that jazz group , but in my experience , LDAC can reduce battery life between 20 - 30 % , so let ’s say that brings it down to 30 hours — utterly satisfactory .
More importantly , you ’d be intemperately pressed to find more battery life from the M3 ’s unmediated competitor . Of the top model , onlySennheiser ’s Momentum 4 Wirelesscan boast better performance , at 60 hours with ANC on .
JBL does n’t give a fast - charging time for the M3 , instead saying only that a full armorial bearing from empty takes two hours . But do the maths and that comes out to 35 minutes of playtime for every one minute of charging sentence . Seems fast enough to me .
Extras
I ’ve focused on the feature that I think most of you care about , but it just would n’t be a staring review article if I did n’t list ( and offer a few nimble thoughts on ) some of the many spear carrier on the M3 :
Conclusion
There ’s no question in my mind that the JBL Tour One M3 are among the good wireless headphones you may corrupt right now . Their combination of sound character , quilt , and features feels like JBL is daring us to find a fault , and the world is , there are n’t any .
Still , with the exception of call quality , the M3 sit just behind Sony , Bose , and Apple when it come in to performance in key areas like sound quality , ANC , and transparentness .
Then there ’s the question of the Smart Tx sender . It ’s undeniably cool , but is it necessary ? Do you see yourself actually using it ?
If the solvent is yes , then the Tour One M3 easily excuse their $ 400 asking monetary value . If the answer is no or maybe , you may want to weigh your options .
