Expert's Rating
Pros
- Top-notch sound
- Flawless ANC
- Convenient controls
- Practical charging box with touch display
- App is easy to operate
- AUX and USB connection
Cons
- Sound with weakness in the mids
- Hi-Res certified audio with LDAC is Android-only
Our Verdict
The JBL Tour Pro 3 is more than just a competitor to the Apple AirPods Pro. They are a counter design that scores with a comparably great sound, but with other features such as the touch display on the charging box and the USB audio connection.
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Price When Reviewed
$299.95
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The JBL Tour Pro 3 earphones are equipped with two drivers per earphone. The balanced armature driver ensures clear reproduction of high frequencies, while the 10.2 millimeter speaker driver is responsible for dynamics and bass. The Tour Pro 3 supports the wireless Hi-Res certified audio with LDAC, but that’s an Android-only feature that’s unavailable to Apple device users.
The Tour Pro 3 has a total of six microphones, which are controlled by the JBL Crystal AI algorithm. Two external microphones on each earbud capture and transmit the voice, while an internal microphone isolates noise. The windproof design prevents distortion in windy conditions. The call equalizer allows you to adjust your sound precisely, and the sound level optimizer reduces loud sounds and amplifies quiet ones. The JBL Tour Pro 3 is also Zoom-certified. The result is good intelligibility, but the naturalness suffers from the circuitry.
The True Adaptive Noise Cancelling 2.0 of the JBL Tour Pro 3 earphones analyzes the environment and adjusts the sound in real time. The JBL Headphones app can be used to regulate how much or how little ambient noise should be let in. An additional set of foam ear pads improves passive isolation. In practice, the ANC impresses with effective noise cancellation that has a minimal impact on the sound. JBL’s extensive experience is evident here.
The algorithms can do more than just ANC and ensure a clean sound. If desired, the Tour Pro 3 can recognize that the wearer is speaking and switch the music to pause and activate transparency mode. This allows you to hold a conversation without removing the earphones. This is unusual at first, but the more you use it, the better you get at using this function.
The app also allows you to customize the sound and offers various settings. For example, the adaptive noise cancelling can be adjusted to the shape of your ears. Or the settings for ambient noise control can be optimised. You can also perform a best fit and find the earphones using a loud tone. The gesture control settings for the touch surface are of course also included. All in all, the setting options are among the most extensive on the market.
The JBL Spatial 360 Sound feature transforms stereo sound into a 360-degree experience with head tracking, whereby the sound changes depending on the movement of the head. This is also impressive, although I prefer to switch it off because I find it unusual.
Up to 44 hours of music playback are possible. With ANC deactivated, 11 hours of playback plus three additional full charges with the charging case are realized, while with ANC activated, 8 hours plus three additional full charges with the charging case are available. A 10-minute quick charge also enables three additional hours of music playback. The charging case can also be charged wirelessly, which will please users of 3-in-1 charging stations in particular.
Smart charging case
The Smart Charging Case has a large touch display that displays the status and controls for Tour Pro 3. The case has an audio adapter, and sound from any AUX or USB-C source can be transmitted wirelessly to the earphones via the supplied jack and USB cables. We have successfully tested this on a Mac.
The only impractical thing is that you have to leave the lid of the charging box open. Alternatively, the Auracast button on the display of the charging box can be activated to share content with other Auracast devices in the vicinity. This is done by connecting the device to the Tour Pro 3 Smart Charging Case.
Why a display on the charging box? The screen makes sense in several ways. On the one hand, it is practical to be able to check the charge status of the Tour Pro 3 and the charging box, control the music or set ANC. And all this without having to pick up the iPhone. A lot of these controls could be accessed directly via the large touch surfaces on the earbuds, but visual confirmation makes it easier to use.
Smart sound
Listening to the Live Spirits album by Depeche Mode, the live atmosphere comes across very well. Dave’s voice is powerful and clear to hear, the bass literally cheers the audience on. This fits perfectly with the rocking album, even if the tuning is not neutral, but very powerful despite the equaliser being deactivated.
I switch to the album Songs for a Nervous Planet by Tears for Fears. If you’re used to the sound of cheaper earphones, you’re in for a revelation. The music is so much more open and fresh with the JBL Tour Pro 3, which suits pop, rock and electronic music where a clean and powerful bass is required.
Acoustic jazz by Norah Jones brings the Tour Pro 3 back down to earth for small true wireless in-ear headphones. Instruments are nicely separated, but a weakness in detail resolution cannot be ignored when using Bluetooth with AAC. For jazz and classical music, the diaphragm area for a full sound is missing, and Apple lacks a high-res codec such as LDAC.
In the end, the Tour Pro 3 impress in their class with a very good sound and the potential to tune the sound to your own preferences using a good equaliser. That’s not enough to knock the Apple AirPods Pro off their throne, but they are a real alternative.
Should you buy the JBL Tour Pro 3?
The JBL Tour Pro 3 is more than just a competitor to the Apple AirPods Pro. The audio dongle feature is quite useful, as is the accompanying app. Best of all, the sound is powerful and a lot of fun, depending on the music genre.