JBL updated its line of Bluetooth headphones in March 2023 and brought a new premium model to Brazil, the JBL Tour One M2. The accessory stands out for its sound quality and the large amount of embedded resources, which can be managed by the brand’s application.
Its proposal is to reach an audience that wants the best in sound quality and advanced features, such as active noise cancellation and ambient sound mode. But does it do well against the competition?
I tested the JBL Tour One M2 a lot over the last few weeks, I used it daily and now I bring my opinion on the most expensive headphones from JBL in Brazil today. In case you’re interested, I’ve also included some credible links to purchase from him or his main competitors.
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Elegant and extremely comfortable design
As soon as you take the JBL Tour One M2 off, you already know that this is a premium headset. With an over-the-ear design, that is, it covers the entire ear, it has an elegant finish that stands out among the competition.
Its foams are very comfortable, and this allows you to wear the garment for hours without feeling any discomfort in your ears. What caught my attention is that, in addition to the soft foam around the shell — which is already common — it also has this well “upholstered” finish on the inside, in the region that covers the drivers.
All this offers a lot of comfort in use and, despite the more elaborate finish, the JBL Tour One M2 still gives the impression of being very light during use.
Its shells have an adjustable bow size, so that the phone fits well on the head and are retractable, to facilitate transportation. By the way, it is worth noting that the kit includes a case to store the headset. This way, it can be stored with more peace of mind inside purses and backpacks, without risk of scratching it.
Despite being a wireless headset, there is still a P2 connector to connect a cable — which comes in the kit — and listen to music without turning on Bluetooth.
Sound quality worthy of a premium headphone
The JBL Tour One M2 offers high sound quality thanks to its 40mm drivers. The maximum volume is quite high, and the bass present in it is very striking.
In fact, all frequencies are very accentuated in this headphone and you can hear them separately in each song. This allows you to identify each instrument and beat more easily. During the instrumental part of “Hallowed be thy Name”, by Iron Maiden, for example, you can hear every component of the drums quite clearly, in addition, of course, to the guitars and bass.
It’s common, when we use more advanced headphones, to notice some new instruments or beats in songs that we’ve heard many times before. With the JBL Tour One M2 it was no different and, in “Separate Ways”from Journey, for example, I could notice it a few times during the song — which gave me a lot of satisfaction when listening to it.
In pop songs, the performance is also quite satisfactory. In Lady Gaga’s “Joanne”, every detail of the guitar, even the slides by the strings, they stand out very well. This conveys a much greater sense of immersion when using the JBL Tour One M2.
EQ features
Inside the JBL Headphone app is an equalizer so you can customize the headphone sound to your preferences. The most interesting thing, however, is that it already offers an option to customize the frequencies according to the user’s hearing.
Dubbed “Personi-Fi”, this feature tests how the user hears each beat played through the headphones and then equalizes the audio accordingly. In the print below, you can see the test report I did to activate the feature.
Noise cancellation and ambient sound
The JBL Tour One M2’s active noise cancellation (ANC) was one of the few things that let me down a bit during use. Not that the feature doesn’t work, on the contrary, it offers good insulation and manages to reduce noise well.
However, it wasn’t as much as I expected for a headset in this category. I compared it with a first-generation Galaxy Buds Pro, and the ANC performance of Samsung’s headphones was much better. An over-ear headphone at the level of the JBL Tour One M2 should have equal or better isolation than an over-ear headphone released in early 2021.
As for ambient sound, it has two features: Aware Ambient, which is a “standard” ambient sound, as it already exists in other models, and TalkThru, which increases the external volume much more and allows the user to talk better without take off the headphones. With it, the music volume is lowered considerably, while the external one is well amplified.
The headset also has an option to automatically activate TalkThru when it detects that the user has started talking. But I kept that function turned off, because whenever I sang along, TalkThru was activated. It ended up not being very useful for me.
Battery for several days of use and full application for use
The JBL Tour One M2 has a battery that, according to the brand, can reach 50 hours of duration with ANC off and 30 hours with the feature on. With me, the phone proved to be as competent in this regard as expected.
I used the accessory with volume set to halfway and noise canceling turned off. During ten hours of playback, the consumption was approximately 10 to 20%. With that, it’s safe to expect it to arrive at the promised 50 hours. The total charging time is two hours.
As for connectivity, it has Bluetooth 5.3 – which is already expected in a premium headset released in 2023. In addition, it has a very complete application that allows you to control all available functions and even adjust the sound equalization.
I only have one reservation in this regard: despite being a flagship headset that has such a robust application, it still does not allow you to accurately monitor the battery level. That way, it’s hard to see how much he actually consumed, since the app only shows the spending every 10%. This is common in simple headphones, but I expected a headphone in the Tour One M2 category not to be like this.
strong competition
As main direct competitors, the JBL Tour One M2 has nothing less than the Sony WH-1000XM5 — which is considered by many to be the best headphones with ANC — and the Edifier WH950NB, which is a little more affordable with very good sound quality. .
To start, let’s go to the most important: the price. Naturally, the Sony is the most expensive of the three: it can only be found here by import and costs around R$2,500 on Amazon. The JBL, in turn, is found between R$ 1,800 and R$ 2,000. Edifier, on the other hand, is more inviting and costs between R$1,000 and R$1,500.
Among the three, it is indisputable that the Sony is, by far, the best in the main aspects: it has the best noise cancellation, the best ambient sound mode and, without a doubt, the best sound quality. Basically, it justifies its high price.
The dispute is fiercer between the Edifier and JBL models. These two are more balanced. I’ve tested both, and as far as sound quality goes, I think they’re basically on par.
Edifier gets the upper hand with noise cancellation, which is more efficient and better isolates external noise. On the other hand, JBL has an application with more functions and features than its rival. The Personi-Fi mode, for example, is very interesting for those who want a personalized equalization.
JBL Tour One M2: an excellent premium headphone
The JBL Tour One M2 is certainly one of the best headphones available on the market. It has great sound quality, with an excellent balance of frequencies, strong bass and advanced audio customization features.
Its noise cancellation leaves a little to be desired, and it lags behind its competitors in this regard, but it makes up for it with the extra functions available in the app.
The price is still a little salty, mainly for being a launch. If we consider that the Edifier WH950NB offers similar sound quality, I believe this is a better option. When the price of the JBL Tour One M2 drops around R$400, in the future it may be a better option.
