JBL Tour Pro 3 Review – Outstanding headphones with a party trick for travellers

At $399 you’re right to expect a lot from the latest JBL in-ear headphones – but don’t worry, you won’t be disappointed. The JBL Tour Pro 3 tick every box and then some boxes that hadn’t been provided.

I’ve been using these for a week, and was impressed all the way, but then I unlocked the party trick to end all party tricks – in-flight entertainment.

And no, I’m not talking about pairing my JBL Tour Pro 3 headphones with my tablet to watch content I’d downloaded – I’m talking about using them for the actual in-flight entertainment provided on the plane.

In the box when you buy them you get the usual charging cables, USB-C to USB-C, as well as USB-A to USB-C, but then there’s this USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable. Strange.

But listening to my downloaded Spotify songs via Bluetooth, I connected that cable to the in-flight system, pressed play on the latest Deadpool movie and boom – I was hearing the movie! Noise cancelling still active, volume controlled by the in-flight system.

This is a game-changer!

Yes, there are some (not many) planes that will pair to bluetooth, and other people might have the AirFly product which is a dongle for this occasion. But here is the charging case for your headphones which converts into a transmitter of audio from a 3.5mm input. Remarkable – but also very simple as an idea.

It worked a treat, and I could just play music on my phone when I unplugged it.

A longer watch session like a whole movie fed from 3.5mm and I needed to dock my earbuds and remove them again to initiate the Bluetooth connection to my phone.

Ok, great party trick – but at $399 these cost more than the Apple AirPods Pro 2!

For an all-in Apple Fanboy it will be hard to convince you – the simplicity of switching from phone to iPad etc is awesome on AirPods, but you know with these it was just a click of the Bluetooth settings to pair up on the next device. Not exactly a deal breaker.

Particularly when you throw in everything these do.

They look great – they seem huge and bulbous when you take them out of the case but actually they fit snug in your ear and are not poking out.

They sound amazing – classic JBL sound but with the addition of a vast array of equaliser options to suit you.

And there’s their “Personi-Fi” this system checks your ears, runs some tests (takes a few minutes) and then personalises the EQ and sound output to your ears – sounds amazing frankly!

Next add in the Smartcase which means your phone can be in your pocket or bag and you can still see and select music controls that aren’t all on the earbuds themselves. Swipe through the many screens and it’s endless.

You even get notifications from your phone on the Smart Case screen.

That’s not enough? How about the most comprehensive Audio product app on the market.

The JBL Headphones app gives you almost endless controls over your device – it’s probably one of the key selling points for JBL products – but it often gets glossed over.

Use it, you’ll love it.

Oh, and then there’s noise cancelling.

I switched between AirPods Pro 2 and JBL Tour Pro 3 several times trying to decide which was better. I don’t think you could separate them – it’s a photo finish at least.

These pack so much into one product it’s remarkable. And worth it.

High quality product, design, app, sound and noise cancelling. JBL Tour Pro 3 are worth every cent.

Web: JB HiFi, JBL