JBL has been one of the leading brands when it comes to headphones for many years. Now it is entering the more expensive segment with the JBL Tour One M2. But are these headphones really value for money?
JBL, of course, has a whole line of different headphones. Still, these are mostly cheaper models. Now the brand wants to show its muscle with the Tour One M2. But can it compete with Sony, Sennheiser and maybe even the future Beats Studio Pro?
This is the JBL Tour One M2 headphones
Let’s start with the look of the headphones: the JBL Tour One M2 comes in silver and black. The gadget comes with a hard case, so you can take it anywhere protected.
Still, the design of the headphones could have been a little more exciting. It’s a fairly premium headphone in practice, but you can’t tell that from the outside. Then again, other things like sound, wearing comfort and sound quality are a bit more important.
When you pick up the JBL Tour One M2, you notice that it feels quite light. The material is flexible, but robust enough not to break easily. On the top is a soft cushion that should provide optimal comfort.
The pads close well around my ears, are very comfortable and provide fine insulation from the outside world. Even after hours of listening, I have no irritation around my ears. I even forget I have them on.
Comfortable, by the way, does not only focus on wearing comfort. The battery life also makes for a pleasant experience. With active noise cancellation turned on, the battery lasts about thirty hours on a full charge. This therefore makes the headphones extremely suitable for a long drive in the car or a flight to your vacation destination.
Noise cancellation of the JBL Tour One M2
The noise cancellation works very well, but is not at the level of, say, Apple or Sony. Nine times out of ten you can barely hear anything unless you are in a really crowded environment. While listening to music you won’t notice too much of it, but with phone calls it can be a little more noticeable.
If you still want to hear people, the JBL Tour One M2 has the special TalkThru feature for that. To me, it’s actually a feature that’s not necessary on headphones. It looks pretty weird when you’re talking to someone with your headphones on anyway. Then just take them off.
Controlling the headphones is done partly with buttons and partly by tapping on them. In addition, the device also supports Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant, so you can also just use voice control.
What is active noise reduction?
Active noise cancellation, also known as active noise cancellation (ANC), is a technology that reduces or eliminates ambient noise. It uses microphones to pick up ambient noise and then generate counter-phase audio, which attenuates or eliminates the interfering noise.
When using the JBL Tour One M2 with multiple devices, it can sometimes be difficult to switch from one device to another. Personally, I had to turn the Bluetooth button on and off several times to pair it with the right device.
Very good sound quality of the headphones
But with headphones, of course, the audio quality is the most important thing. These headphones are a true all-rounder. Whatever music you play, it sounds great. Whether it’s the Andrea Borelli soundtrack, Armin van Buuren or AC/DC, with the spacious audio you really are in the middle of the concert hall and hear music the way it’s meant to be heard.
The focus of the makers of the JBL Tour One M2 is more on the purity of the sound than the bass. However, the headphones can be adjusted to your preference via the dedicated app. For example, you can design your own equalizer or choose from a number of preset options.
I personally like the choice not to opt for harsh bass. It gives a natural sound with clean tones, which feels really nice. Especially the higher tones come out really well.
Conclusion
Are you looking for comfortable headphones where naturally clean sound is important to you? Then these headphones are the ones to have in this price range. The noise cancellation ensures that even in a more crowded environment, such as a train, you can enjoy your music just fine, although you can still hear some in rush hour traffic. Any audio sounds like music to your ears.
The JBL Tour One M2 is available in black and silver and the suggested retail price is 297 euros.