When I first saw the JBL Tour Pro 2 headphones at JBL’s showcase at CES in Las Vegas I was blown away by the concept – the idea, but without the chance to listen to them I couldn’t pass true judgement. Now, after a few weeks and several flights wearing them – I can tell you straight up, these are outstanding headphones.
You’ll find these at JB Hi-Fi for $329 and direct from JBL and on Amazon shipped from Australia fast. And it’s worth it.
I’ve listened to all kinds of music on these, and in all kinds of places. From a quiet lounge room, to a walk along the street and 30,000 feet in the air between for hours and hours.
Firstly, the straight-up sound quality is exceptional. There’s a real richness to the sound, not just the usual depth of JBL’s signature sound, but a level of clarity I don’t remember hearing. Sure, they are a much higher price point than the Live Pro 2’s I’ve been using, but this was seriously impressive.
Turn on Spacial Sound and you get a warm feeling of sound all around you. It’s not spacial in the Apple AirPods sense, but I think more simply described as surround sound. Really great.
Epic levels of control and configuration in the App make JBL’s headphones class leading – I don’t know too many more that give you this level of control over gestures available on the touch surfaces on each side (making each earbud independent with it’s own controls), as well as EQ settings, fit checks and so much more.
Then there’s the noise cancelling. In terms of in-ear headphones, these are right up the top. Are they AirPods Pro level – perhaps not quite, but did I notice? Not at all. Every time I took them off I was blown away by how loud things were around me! JBL has somehow taken that up a notch, and they are pushing that area hard.
So, as a set of in-ear headphones, true wireless style, these are top notch. And worthy of consideration.
In this price range, perhaps the Sony WF-1000 are a strong contender, though I prefer the fit and style of the JBL’s here. Apple’s Beats Fit Pro also a likely option alongside the JBL Tour Pro 2, but again, style and App capabilities would push me over the edge.
And all of that is without considering these headphones come in a case that has a digital touch-screen on it that has many of the instant controls you will want for.
Put the phone away, grab the case and adjust anything from the track, volume, EQ, noise cancelling, and so much more.
Sitting on a plane, I used this to quickly change to Movie Mode when watching some streaming content I’d downloaded (get on The Diplomat, it’s good!), and also the EQ at times, as well as a quick touch for talk-through when talking to staff about meal-time.
Yep, some of those controls are on your ears. All of them are on your phone.
Sometimes the quickest access is to the case, because that’s always close. Sometimes it’s not.
The screen is about presenting an option, and setting a new benchmark for the charging case.
Easy eight hours battery life with all features on, 40 hours when you use the case to recharge on the go.
I love these so much. I just wish I wasn’t so scared of losing an earbud when sleeping on a plane. For that, I’ve ended up going for “plane noise is white noise” and getting there ok:)
