Twenty years ago, I travelled a lot for business and found my first set of over-ear noise-cancelling headphones to be a game-changer for long-haul flights. I wore out two pairs of over-ear headphones before I found my first set of in-ear noise-cancelling headphones, which were also game changers.
This love of in-ear headphones evolved through around six different pairs as they transitioned to wireless models with a range of extra features. This journey has now taken me back to a set of over-ear headphones to the JBL Tour One M3 Smart TX, which has surprised me.
Table of contents
- Features
- Specifications and price
- Using the JBL Tour One M3 Smart TX
- Who is the JBL Tour One M3 Smart TX for?
JBL Tour One M3 Smart TX features
The JBL Tour One headphones are premium wireless over-ear headphones with a leather headband, noise-cancelling technology, and Hi-Res Audio, featuring a JBL Smart TX audio transmitter.
In the box, you will find a sturdy carry case with a heavy-duty carabiner, allowing you to hook the case onto a bag. The case measuring 22 x 19 x 6 cm is large but small when considering it contains a set of over-ear headphones. Being able to hook the case means you are not taking up a lot of space in your bag.
You will also find a USB-C to USB-C charging cable and an analogue 3.5mm jack to USB-C cable, allowing you to plug into an audio socket. This cable can connect directly to the headphones or to the included Smart TX transmitter, which provides a 10m wireless connection to your headphones. If you need a USB-A connection, an adapter is also included in the box.
The headphones feature a USB-C port for charging and cable connection, as well as a three-way switch for on, off, and pairing modes. An action button for playback and call control, which is not a physical button but rather a tap on the side of the right headphone. If you hit the right spot, you will hear a tone.
The JBL Smart TX is a 5.5 x 3 x 1.5 cm box with a 1.5-inch screen. Think of it as a mini remote control for your headphones, as well as a connection box for digital audio via USB or analog audio via a 3.5mm jack. While connected in this way, JBL quotes its battery life as 18 hours. Another way to control your headphones is through the JBL smartphone app.
The Tour One headphones will take up to two hours to charge and once charged, provide up to 40 hours of use with the noise-cancelling on and 70 hours with it switched off. If you find yourself with a flat battery, a five-minute quick charge will provide around five hours of listening time.
The JBLs have a few tricks up their sleeve to enhance audio quality. First, the headphones support Hi-Res audio, which will keep even the fussiest audiophiles happy. Personal sound amplification allows you to conduct a hearing test and personalise the audio playback to match your hearing capabilities.
There’s also equaliser customisation, which allows you to emphasise deep to high sounds in 12 increments, as well as changing the left-to-right mix. If you want an all-around spatial effect for your audio, making sound come from all directions and allowing a voice to move as you move your head, then this is also an option.
Auracast is supported, allowing a single source device — such as a smartphone, TV or public address system — to transmit audio to an unlimited number of nearby receivers. This is great for sharing media with friends or for hearing announcements at airports and train stations through your headphones, if the venue supports it.
Courtesy of ‘Fast Pair’, Google Android users will enjoy a faster connection with their headphones and the ability to seamlessly transition from watching a video on their tablet to taking a call on their smartphone.
JBL Tour One M3 Smart TX specifications and price
| Audio | 40mm driver Hi-Res audio with LDAC 10 Hz – 40 kHz frequency range |
| Weight | 278 grams |
| Connectivity | USB-C 3.5mm headphone jack Bluetooth 5.3 Auracast JBL Smart TX transmitter |
| Price (RRP) | $449 |
| Website | JBL Australia |
| Warranty | 1 year |
Using the JBL Tour One M3 Smart TX
I mentioned that I had moved away from over-ear headphones to in-ear headphones primarily due to comfort, and secondly, because over-ear headphones can be hot on your head, especially in summer. The initial setup was great, as PCs and smartphones automatically detect the JBLs in pairing mode and prompt you to connect.
Regarding comfort, I love the JBLs. I took them on an overseas trip and was recently on a domestic trip where I used them every day to listen to media and make calls. I am very happy to wear these all day, and the audio quality is excellent, especially for taking phone calls or video calls. As for summer, I still don’t think over-ears will be my headphones of choice, but for winter, these are my new go-to.
When I wrote this, I was heading to Brisbane on my seventh flight, accompanied by these headphones, as well as a few train rides, mowing the grass, and using them to watch a different program while a TV is playing.
The noise cancellation is excellent, and it’s certainly the best I have tested; you feel like you are in your own little world. JBL’s noise-cancelling uses eight microphones to counteract ambient noise. They work so well in places that I kept missing the announcements.
A previous complaint of mine is that when I wear headphones, people talk to me, and I have to pause what I am listening to, take the headphones off, and then have a delayed conversation. The smart talk feature is amazing. I start talking, and the audio is automatically paused. The other party’s voice is amplified, allowing me to have a clearer conversation with the headphones still on. You can adjust the number of seconds (5, 15, or 20 seconds) that the headphones wait with no talking before they switch back to the original audio playback.
Something JBL should consider in a future software update is reducing wind noise in ambient mode, especially when a person is on a phone call. This is a common issue across many brands, but some have solved it with software. Keeping this in mind, wind noise was the only sound that was heard when I used the headphones for calls, and people commented on how clear and quiet the calls were.
Using the control buttons, the on/off switch seems a little fragile to me, but only time will tell. These buttons all work extremely well, with my only annoyance being the virtual tap on the side of the headphones, which is used to pause and advance an audio track. After pausing a podcast and taking the headphones off, I’d accidentally start the podcast back up while handling the headphones.
Connecting other devices is possible via a direct Bluetooth connection to the headphones or through the Smart TX. Unless you want to use the Smart TX for connection, I cannot see myself using it very much. A limitation I see is that the number of supported connected devices is two.
Suppose you have a smartphone and a PC, which are your two. If you want to connect a third device, you must disconnect one of your first two, and the Bluetooth pairing must be repeated — a very simple task using the three-way switch — but still an inconvenience.
A neat little feature is ‘Relax Sound’, which creates some ambient noise to listen to when you are trying to sleep, or in my case, writing this review. You can choose multiples of waves, insects at night, campfire, bird songs or flowing water. These sounds have a timer of up to 60 minutes.
On a recent one-week trip, I charged them before I left and used them mostly in noise cancellation mode (which uses more power) on the plane. I took calls, listened to eight hours of podcasts, and flew home without charging them. I am very happy with that.
Who is the JBL Tour One M3 Smart TX for?
If you are a frequent traveller looking for a premium set of noise-cancelling headphones, then the JBLs should be on your shopping list. These over-ear headphones are comfortable, great for taking calls, and also allow for in-person conversations without needing to remove them. Just remember, the other person (my wife, especially) may not believe that you can hear them, since you are still wearing the headphones.
There are always compromises with any set of headphones, and for these, it’s the over-ear headphones that require more space. This aside, I have no plan to use anything else till at least the warmer weather comes along.
The post JBL Tour One M3 Smart TX review: Comfy cone of silence appeared first on GadgetGuy.
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