JBL Tour One M2 – Hardware Review
On our platform, we usually review gaming headsets, but over the years we have also tried out quite a few wireless headphones and earbuds. As we love the best audio possible when watching movies, binge-watching our series, or listening to a superb soundtrack, it’s not always ideal to run around wearing a bulky gaming headset. Luckily JBL had us covered on that front, as they sent over the Tour One M2 for us to try out. We can easily say that we were not disappointed at all.
Design
Even though we tend to call a lot of premium headsets ‘classy’, the Tour One M2 might just one-up many other brands. The headphones look fairly monotonous because of the solid black finish, and there aren’t any noticeable bells and whistles. This is what makes it the perfect headset for any type of occasion, be it to zone out during your daily commute or for fancy Instagram snapshots. We absolutely adored the sleek design, with a few tiny glossy black finishing touches. Even the JBL brand name has a very subtle placement on the ear cups’ exterior.
The buttons and the on/off switch are neatly incorporated into the design, and from a distance, you won’t even notice they are there. That being said, the buttons are still clearly marked for the user’s comfort.
Comfort
The Tour One M2 is a very comfortable, lightweight device. You’ll be treated to ample padding in the headband as well as the interior of the ear cups. The device is an over-ear headset, meaning your ears will not get squished. Thanks to the overall light weight of the headset, you’ll barely notice it, while it remains snugly in place. The overall grip strength isn’t too bad, ensuring you don’t get a headache after prolonged usage. All buttons on the device are also readily available on the exterior of the Tour One M2, allowing you to control the settings at will. You’ll find the volume buttons, as well as the power switch, and the noise-canceling button. The right ear cup also has a built-in touchpad on its exterior. This allows you to pause media, skip tracks, pick up calls, and so on. You’ll see fingerprints easily, so it will require some upkeep to keep things clean.
With the device comes a sturdy hard case that allows you to safeguard the Tour One M2 when not in use. The foldable design of the headset also makes it more compact to store. The case also has a small pouch inside to store your charging cable or other small accessories. The device can also be used in wired mode with a 3.5mm jack.
Overview
If you already have the JBL app on your phone, no setup is required, as the app will immediately pick up the Tour One M2 when you turn it on. After you’re paired, you’re good to go, and you can start tweaking the settings to your liking. The app offers different settings to mess around with different audio profiles and adjust them accordingly. Charging the device happens with the included USB-C cable, and when you run out of juice, a quick charge of a few minutes can keep you going for a few more hours. The total battery lifespan is around 30 hours with noise-canceling activated and roughly 50 hours without. These times are fairly accurate, so you can easily watch your favorite shows or listen to podcasts and music without worrying about charging your device after every session.
Unsurprisingly, the sound quality is absolutely amazing. We truly enjoyed listening to our favorite podcasts, blasting our favorite tunes at a (responsibly) high volume, and even playing our most loved games. When fine-tuning the audio with the app, you’ll get the most out of the headset. Don’t get us wrong, the standard settings are perfectly fine when using the Tour One M2, but you’ll still notice a world of difference when you start tweaking the settings. The app itself is easy to work with, and if you have multiple JBL headphones or wireless earbuds, the app can save the settings for all of your devices. There are fairly standard features to be found here, and many of said features can also be activated with the right button press of the corresponding device, but it’s nice to have everything readily available in the app. There are a few more advanced features to be found here as well, so we suggest messing around with the settings until you find those you truly like.
While we actually don’t call that much with regular day-to-day headphones, we did put the Tour One M2 to the test. We could understand our caller clearly, and they also received crisp audio on their end. The headset has four built-in microphones to ensure great audio feedback. This combined with the noise-cancelling functionalities make this device the perfect asset for entertainment but also for work and simply zoning out. In the past, you had to make do with the quality of the ear cups and how soundproof they were. Now, with the Tour One M2, you can disengage from your surroundings at will, but you can also remain extremely aware when you allow the sound to seep through. As always, we do advise that when you’re outside to stay aware of your surroundings, and not turn the noise-canceling on.
Conclusion
JBL’s Tour One M2 is an absolute premium quality pair of headphones for a midrange price. The audio quality is superb, the noise-canceling allowed us to zone out, the built-in microphones provide crisp audio feedback, and the overall comfort level is quite amazing. On top of that, the battery life is more than adequate, and we did appreciate the hard case that comes with the device as it allowed us to keep our prized hardware safe. All in all, if you’re looking for a great day-to-day pair of headphones, we suggest checking this one out.
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