JBL Tour One M3 noise cancelling headphones review – quality, comfort and versatility

The JBL Tour One M3 headphones deliver amazing sound, excellent noise cancellation along with a new feature that allows users stay wireless even when viewing an in-flight entertainment system.

Tech Guide tested this feature on our recent trips to Tokyo and New York.

Usually we download the content we want to watch on our long flights from our streaming services onto an iPad and connect the JBL Tour One M3 headphones wirelessly via Bluetooth.

But what happens when you want to watch a movie or TV show on the in-flight system?

You either need to use the supplied headphones – if there is one – to connect to the system or you need to drag out a cable and hope it fits.

Or you can use the JBL Tour One M3 headphones which comes with a small Smart Tx transmitter which has its own small touchscreen display.

Simple connect the USB-C to 3.5mm cable that comes with the headphones and connect the transmitter to the headphone jack for the in-flight system.

Now you can connect the headphones wirelessly to the transmitter so you can hear the audio from the in-flight system wirelessly through the JBL Tour One M3 headphones.

We made use of this feature on both of our recent trips to watch movies and TV shows on the aircraft system.

The JBL Tour One M3 have soft earcups and headband and they offer a comfortable fit that can be work for hours.

We wore them for hours at a time on our flights and there was no issue with comfort – we actually forgot we were even wearing them for a while.

Now of course on top of that the JBL Tour One M3 offers brilliant audio through the onboard 40mm Mica Dome drivers.

Audio at all levels was crisp and clear but with full-bodied bass that resulted in a superb balanced sound.

But if you want even better quality then break out the USB-C cable that come with headphones and connect to your phone, tablet or computer to enjoy the lush lossless quality that is now offered with music streaming services including Apple Music.

The headphones also have True Adaptive Noise Cancelling 2.0 which uses 8-mics to scan your surroundings for real time adjustments, blocking all unwanted background noise.

This was particularly useful on flights with the noise cancellation able to block out the drone of the engines and allow you to enjoy what you’re watching and listening to.

The level of noise cancellation is not the best we’ve heard but it’s not far behind.

The JBL Tour One M3 headphones also offer Spatial Sound with head tracking so you can enjoy a fully immersive listening experience.

This allows you to enjoy your music like you’re at a concert with the music coming from a virtual stage in front of you.

When you move your head, the music is still coming from that direction and makes you feel like the music you’re listening to is being played in the room.

Call quality through the headphones was also above average – that’s thanks to the four mics with adaptive beamforming technology that focuses on your voice.

Another strength of the JBL Tour One M3 is the amazing battery life which is up 70 hours.

And a quick five minute charge can give you five hours of listening time.

We were able to fly to Tokyo and back (10 hours each way) and to New York and back (20 hours each way) – that’s a total of 60 hours of flying – and we still had 10 hours battery left.

The JBL Tour One M3 is available in black, mocha and blue and is priced at $549.

VERDICT

The JBL Tour One M3 offers remarkable quality, comfort and versatility to suit any listening situation. If you’re looking for your next high-end noise-cancelling headphones the JBL Tour One M3 should be at the top of your list.