This helps with the impression of being spoiled. The Tour Range, which is at the high end, has over-ear headphones that are really good for the money. You want them, which are among the top rivals in this market when you look at their qualities. Bose, Sony, and Sennheiser are all excellent options for over-ear, noise-canceling headphones with excellent sound. However, JBL also stays in its own lane, so rather than being a direct rival to companies already established in the ANC space, these are actually a step up for many people considering those features. also you will learn our article on JBL Tour ONE review.
JBL Tour One review: Design
The Tour One Wireless lack any distinctive design features that would make them stand out in a crowded market. Straight on, they resemble so many other things. When viewed from the side, the neutral expression also doesn’t draw much attention. If you’re not looking for anything too noticeable, these will blend in because of their classic gunmetal and black color combination. The earcups have little room for movement once you put them on, in contrast to the faux leather headband, which is soft enough to sink in without feeling like it pinches after a while. That’s great for stability, but maybe not so great if you want a little room for your ears to breathe. It’s possible that JBL did this on purpose to better seal in the bass and prevent leakage that would otherwise muddle it. Whatever the case, the fit might be contentious because, in contrast to the headband, there are few options for adjusting the earcups. There isn’t much you can do if you don’t like the thinner padding or how they sit, even though they do swivel, which helps them conform to the shape of your head and ears. Additionally, they do trap heat, though we didn’t find it oppressive enough to remove them frequently for a break. JBL did make an effort to distribute controls symmetrically. The power switch on the right earpiece also serves as the Bluetooth connecting button. When using the Tour One Wireless in its wired form, a 2.5mm headphone jack and volume controls are located nearby. On the left cup, there is a single button that activates your default voice assistant in addition to the USB-C charging port. Interestingly, the entire exterior of the right earcup, which houses a variety of settings, is touch-sensitive. Simply tap to play or pause, or double tap to skip a track. Unfortunately, one cannot be repeated. Triple tapping didn’t work for us. You may switch between Ambient Aware and Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) by tapping and holding. The JBL Headphones app does provide some ways to alter those controls, such as assigning voice assistants like Siri, Bixby, Google Assistant, or Alexa to the panel in their place. The button on the left earcup could then also use the Ambient Aware mode.
Comfort
Make sure your headphones won’t cause you to have a sore neck if you wear them for extended periods of time. Though they do start to feel a little heavy after four or five hours, the Tour Ones’ light weight is wonderful here. We became much more aware of this while wearing our glasses since they forced our temples into the bony protrusions behind our ears. However, the padding significantly reduces the ultra-light clamping force, allowing these headphones to be worn for the most of the day. However, you should take breaks if you intend to wear them for longer than a few hours. Speaking of clamping force, it fits right into the Goldilocks zone because it isn’t too loose that the headphones fall off when you’re dancing in the living room or too tight that you feel constrained. You could wear these babies for workout in the gym if you wanted to, but getting them sweaty would not be the best thing for their longevity. you can check our article on JBL Tour ONE review. The roomy earcups are also notable. Our ears are a little bit bigger than average, so it’s not always simple to tuck them into headphones. On the other hand, we had no issues with the Tour Ones. These cans are passably comfy, but we wouldn’t say they are the most comfortable we’ve ever worn. However, in our experience, headphones might be difficult to break in and perhaps becoming more comfortable with use.
JBL Tour One review: Connectivity
The auto-pause feature performs admirably. The music stops as soon as you pull the earcups away from your head, and it starts playing again as soon as you snap them back in. If you choose, you may turn off the function in the Headphones app. Bluetooth has great connectivity. We were able to leave our phone at our desk and walk all the way to our garage (roughly 60 feet, one story, and several walls away) while the signal remained strong, despite the fact that it isn’t a class 1 Bluetooth device like the Beats Studio 3 headphones. The Tour One can also connect to two Bluetooth devices at once, but on one occasion this resulted in static noise that was fixed by disconnecting and re-connecting our phone.
Noise canceling
Although the Tour One performs a respectable job of masking outside noise, its performance can occasionally be erratic. The Tour One appears to struggle to provide a nice, even cancelling effect, in contrast to the Sony XM4 and Bose 700. Our desk has a fan that continuously blows and makes a constant sound. You can actually hear JBL’s ANC hunting around, which can be a little unpleasant because it can’t quite decide which of the fan’s frequencies to block. However, JBL’s ANC blocks it well enough. When you use JBL’s True Adaptive ANC mode, which aims to react to your listening environment in real time, this typically occurs. That function being disabled greatly aided. The Sony XM4 and Bose 700 handled it flawlessly, with the Bose being by far the best of the three. To be fair, our desk fan situation is a bit of an anomaly — we weren’t aware of the problem at all at other times. When you simply want peace and quiet, the Silent Now mode comes in handy. It turns on ANC while keeping Bluetooth communication off, conserving battery for when you need it.
Audio performance
We listen to Genesis’ Invisible Touch while disabling all EQ optimization to promote a neutral listening experience and are able to hear the Tour One’s Tour One’s significant onboard oomph. As the song progresses, the distinct and distinct canon background vocals are delivered alongside Phil Collins’ driving drum beat and vocals with an added dash of passion and intensity. In Land Of Confusion, the vocal is prominent and accompanied by grippy bass and treble key progressions, demonstrating JBL’s claim that the Tour One is adept at handling rock songs. Thick As A Brick by Jethro Tull, a difficult progressive rock song, is the next song we listen to. As seamless a combination as the Blackpool progressive rock band could have hoped for, the flute sounds three-dimensional and the strummed guitar has an emotional quality. But this is where we start to detect some flaws: the Tour One doesn’t seem to know when to slow down. The lyrical guitar passages are more delicately placed in the soundstage so that the surprise power chords, tambourines, and trumpets can crash in with extra edginess and impact. As the track builds, we hear more dynamic detail through the Sony WH-1000XM4. For fans of hip-hop and grime, you might assume that the fervor and vigor with which J Hus delivers Lean & Bop would mean a huge tick for the Tour One, but the JBL headphones also suffer from a coarse upper midrange, which can become tiresome even during brief listening sessions. Overall, the vocals and instruments lack finesse and nuance, which seriously diminishes the quality of the listening experience. It’s not terrible, but when you’re competing against Sony Award winners (and surrounded by a tone of strong competitors at the top of the pay scale), the differences quickly become apparent.
JBL Tour One review: Call performance
For phone calls, JBL has provided the Tour Ones with four microphones: two voice microphones, a voice feedback microphone, and a noise cancelling microphone. It’s challenging for callers to discern that you are speaking through a pair of headphones because these four microphones perform such an amazing job of gathering up sound. However, using the noise cancellation feature during phone calls can be a little awkward because it mutes all sounds outside of the headphones, including your voice. You might experience a slight sense of being compressed because you can’t hear your voice. Some people won’t find this to be a problem.
Battery and charging
According to JBL, the Tour One Wireless can operate for up to 24 hours at its preset volume. We really exceeded that target fairly comfortably, coming in at more like 28 or 30 hours. Additionally, we used the auto-off setting to set them to shut off after 15 minutes when they were left idle. During wired playback, including on gaming consoles using the TRS connector, the battery life is reliable. Only audio gets through, so you lose out on the microphones and can’t interact with other players in multiplayer games.
Price and availability
Although JBL’s Tour One headphones cost $299 ($299), they are significantly less expensive than the Apple AirPods Max (£549). They are more comparable to the Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless, which is currently on sale for about £233/$270/AU$380, the award-winning Sony WH-1000XM4 (currently around £279/$399/AU$395), and the skilled Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 from Bose, which are currently on sale for about $250/$379/AU$395. you will read our article on JBL Tour ONE review.
Conclusion
High-end over-ear headphones with active noise cancellation include the JBL Tour One Wireless (ANC). These headphones have a flexible performance, a secure fit, and a sturdy construction. However, their ANC performs only mediocrely generally, and they frequently provide audio inconsistently. Fortunately, its companion app has a parametric EQ and presets to enable you customise them if you prefer something more neutral than their standard bass-heavy sound profile.
