JBL Tour One M3 review

Much like Eleanor Rigby covered by Palaye Royale, JBL’s Tour One Mk3 offers a different, if not essential, take on a familiar tune. The brand isn’t trying to reinvent its over-ear headphones here but it has found a way to inject some bonus functionality in the form of the Smart TX transmitter - without losing what made the JBL Tour One M2 so good in the first place.

The question is: should you buy the headphones ‘au naturel’ or opt for a set with the Smart TX transmitter included? Intrigued? I certainly was...

JBL Tour One M3: Design

The JBL Tour One Mk3 look reassuringly familiar: matte black ear cups accented by a glossy JBL logo, a well-padded headband, and supple vegan PU leather ear cushions. Build is solid, and the overall look understated, yet premium. Thanks to a helpful headband hinge, they also fold neatly for travel.

Up close, the left-hand ear cup offers a volume rocker, while the right has power / pairing, an active noise cancelling button, touch sensitive gesture control, and a USB-C charging port.

The ANC button steps you between full Noise Cancelling and Ambient Aware mode, while gesture control covers Play & Pause music, or Voice Assistant activation. Bluetooth is version 5.3, so nice and fresh.

The JBL Tour One Mk3 come in three finishes: Black, Blue and Mocha, and comfort is high. They're light at 278g, and sit snugly without clamping too tightly, ideal for extended listening sessions.

Just to be clear, at launch, the JBL Tour One Mk3 with the Smart TX Transmitter costs an extra $50/£50. That's s a hefty premium for such a diminutive extra, but I reckon you’ll appreciate the upgrade when you travel, or want to stream from a local device.

JBL Tour One M3: Features

Think of the Smart TX transmitter as a small remote interface: part control, part wireless audio transmitter. It can connect to any aux output, digital or analogue, like those on aeroplanes or (heaven forfend) gym treadmills, and send the audio to your headphones wirelessly (adaptors included in the box).

Bowers & Wilkins offer something very similar with the Smartcase that comes with its Pi8 earbuds.

In addition to audio re-transmission, the Smart TX touchscreen lets you adjust ambient sound control, EQ settings, JBL Spatial 360 mode, voice awareness, and more. You can even personalise it with custom wallpapers. Yes, it’s another device to charge (about 18 hours of use), but for travellers and tinkerers, it’s still quite useful.

Active noise cancellation is pleasingly efficient. True Adaptive Noise Cancellation 2.0, driven by eight microphones, monitors external sound and compensates dynamically. It does this rather well, throwing a sonic blanket over external hubbub when out and about.You can also step from full ANC to TalkThru, and Ambient Aware modes.

Call quality is high, thanks to a four microphone arrangement that uses adaptive beamforming technology, able to intelligently focus on your voice while minimising background noise.

For added immersion, there’s JBL Spatial Audio with head tracking. Such post processing could well prove divisive. I find with it music sounds less boxed-in.

Cradle Of Filth’s Demagoguery is more engulfing and malevolent with Spatial Sound engaged (a good thing), than without, but listen to speech or audiobooks and you get an unwanted echo.

With head tracking active, concert footage or game sequences feel eerily lifelike, as instruments and effects are fixed in space even as you move. I kinda like it, but then again I kinda don’t.

Battery life is as near-as-dammit class-leading; up to 40 hours with ANC on, and a staggering 70 hours with it off. A five-minute charge yields five hours of use, which is handy for quick boosts.

Included in the box are USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to 3.5mm cables, a USB-A adapter, airplane adapter, and a rather nice carrying case.

JBL Tour One M3: Sound

Previous Tour One headphones have always delivered where it counts and there’s no change here.

Under the hood lurk 40mm Mica Dome drivers, capable of handling 24-bit/96kHz high-res wireless audio. LDAC codec support, making its Tour One debut, means a higher data rate compared to standard Bluetooth is also available, for superior resolution. Add the built-in DAC, via USB-C or 3.5mm wired connection, and you have a headphone able to compete at a reassuringly high level.

Tuning is full-bodied yet precise. There’s no sense of bloat or exaggeration - JBL strikes a comfortable balance between energy and accuracy. Two thumbs up.

Motorhead from The Manticore Tapes, sounds as raucous and raw as it should, and instrumentation is crystal clear. Of the various sound profiles available, I found Studio the best balanced. Bass and Extreme Bass overcook things, but some may still enjoy the added weight.

On Coda by Novelists, these headphones show their finesse, convincingly capturing scratchy textures, and gloriously dense riffs; silky vocals and screamed vocals are handled with equal finesse.

When it comes to dynamic headroom there’s plenty. Vocals are on point, piano tonality is pitch perfect. Overall musicality is astonishing for the asking price.

The alternatives

Sony WH-1000XM6
The latest addition to Sony’s 1000x over-ears are a formidable proposition. Noise cancelling is excellent and new 30mm dynamic drivers boast Sony’s proprietary LCP (Liquid Crystal Polymer) diaphragms, for greater detail and precision. However they command a significantly higher price.

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3
If you are prepared to pay more, also consider these over-ears from Bowers & Wilkins. Audio performance is outstanding, thanks to beautifully re-engineered drive units and dedicated amplification. Noise cancelling, using an 8-microphone array, is comparable to the JBLs.