Verdict
JBL’s latest flagship wireless over-ears once again offer an enormous number of features married with good comfort, long battery and strong call quality. But the sound is rather dry and reserved and noise cancellation isn’t as strong as its closest rivals. The Smart Tx transmitter is a cool addition though.
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Excellent wireless performance
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Strong call quality
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USB-C audio
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Clear, spacious sound
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Comfortable design
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Dry sound over wireless connection
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Beaten (again) for bass depth and extension
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ANC suffers compared to rivals
Key Features
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Review Price:
£379
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Smart Tx transmitter
Less need for the app with all the controls on the audio transmitter
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LDAC Bluetooth
Higher quality audio over Bluetooth
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Battery life
40 hours with ANC, 70 hours without
Introduction
While JBL is one of the big names in the headphone market, it’s arguable whether they’re on the same level as Sony or Bose.
Rarely do I see a pair of JBL headphones on someone’s head, with the usual suspects being the aforementioned duo, along with Soundcore, Marshall, and Apple. So what is JBL going to do to stand out from the rest?
The JBL Smart Tx takes the novel idea from JBL’s true wireless, a small display you can plug into wired sources and have audio wirelessly transmitted to the headphones, as well as control and monitor the headphones’ performance.
Is that, along with the usual cadre of updates to noise-cancelling, audio and battery life, enough to elevate the Tour One M3 to reference Bluetooth headphones level?
Design
- Foldable
- Lightweight design
- Touch and physical controls
I felt there was a lack of ‘flash’ with the Tour One M2’s appearance, and the Tour One M3 at least tries to bring more colour. They’re still somewhat unremarkable in terms of looks, the M3 version is basically the same silhouette, but they come in blue (this sample), mocha, black and, new for 2026, a deep green finish. At least these choices stand out from the fray.
Where the Tour One M3 ace the design commission is in the comfort levels. There are no problems in terms of the clamping force being too tight or too light, nor are there any comfort issues around the ears or on top of the head. Despite being 278g, they don’t feel that heavy; the feel of the headband and earpads makes them a light touch (in a good way).
There’s no stepless slider; the mechanism to adjust the headphones makes a racket, which doesn’t speak to the premium price. Build quality could be slightly better in places, listening to the headphones rather than the audio and I can hear moments where the frame creaks.
Aside from that, they fold inwards or flat, and can be placed within a fairly compact carry case that has room for several cables in its pouch as well as the Smart Tx audio transmitter.
There’s been a slight change in the placement of the buttons; the volume controls are now on the right earcup, leaving the power switch and noise-cancelling on the left. I do feel they could be easier to locate, as I often find myself brushing the side of the earcups to find them.
Control over playback is through taps and swipes on the right earcup, all of which respond well.
There’s no 3.5mm input as the JBL Tour One M3 has just a sole USB-C input that can be used to charge the headphones, listen to music over USB-C or, if you prefer, use the USB-C to 3.5mm cable for analogue audio.
Features
- LDAC and Auracast Bluetooth
- Smart Tx transmitter
- JBL Headphones app
The question, as far as features go, is which ones the JBL Tour One M3 doesn’t support? As usual for a pair of JBL headphones, they are stacked with features.
Wireless support is Bluetooth 5.3, the same as the Tour One M2, but in addition to SBC and AAC streaming, the Tour One M3 adds LDAC for higher quality audio, as well as Auracast for easily connecting to devices in public areas.
Walking in London and through places with potential for wireless interference, the Tour One M3 has been excellent in its ‘stickiness’.
The Smart Tx transmitter offers the option of routing a wired connection to the headphones via wireless means. Potential avenues could be portable game consoles that use a wired input or long-haul flights that allow you to plug into the in-flight system. And it does work as advertised with surprisingly little latency (though you can’t control playback on it).
It’s a thoughtful addition that ensures the JBL can gobble up any and all audio sources available, but some airplanes offer Bluetooth connection straight to the in-flight entertainment system.
Regardless, another feature is that the Smart Tx transmitter offers another way of fine-tuning the headphones’ performance with access to EQ settings, control over playback, volume, Auracast, Spatial, monitor battery life, swap through noise-cancelling modes and other features found in the JBL Headphones app, making it an alternative to getting your smartphone out every time.
You can also customise the lock image and have it feature a personal photo or something else of value.
It’s practically the app’s features in a small device, and even more impressive is that it’s in real time with no obvious lag. It needs to be powered on and charged, but if it does run out of battery, there’s the fallback of the app.
If you’ve bought the Tour One M3 without the Smart Tx transmitter, you’ll have to make do with the app.
Despite what I said about the transmitter being ‘practically the app’, there are features it doesn’t have access to. Through the JBL Headphones app, you can customise the controls, though it’s mainly the case of whether you want to turn the playback controls off (or back on).
Personi-Fi is another feature not on the Smart Tx, and allows you to craft your own personalised audio profile by listening to a series of receding blips for both your left and right ear. This feature is disabled if the headphones are in LDAC mode, however.
The Low Volume Dynamic EQ claims to boost highs and lows when listening at lower volumes. You can alter the balance between the right and left ears, or protect your hearing with a volume limiter.
There’s a similar action for calls to balance the volume of the person who’s calling you so they’re not too low or too loud. You can muck around with the settings and increase the treble or bass, and with VoiceAware, you can control how much of your own voice you can hear during calls.
Smart Talk automatically enables the TalkThru mode when it senses you’re speaking, and you can customise how quickly it resumes audio once you stop talking.
Equaliser features six presets and a more in-depth 10-band EQ if you want to create your own. There’s Spatial Sound support with Head Tracking, though this, along with Low Volume Dynamic EQ, is greyed out if LDAC is enabled.
Smart Audio & Video feature says it provides the best audio quality with music, as well as improving lip-sync performance with video, but turning them on requires the headphones to disconnect and reconnect, which rather slows the process down.
The Tour One M3 also makes a grab for the ‘mindful’ market with a Relax Mode (sounds you can hear for a certain amount of time), and Silent, which turns off the Bluetooth so you don’t receive notifications and turns on the noise cancellation.
There’s no built-in smart assistance, but as you can see, the Tour One M3 is not short on features.
Battery Life
- 40 hours with ANC
- Fast charging support
Headphones last for much longer than they used to, though at the premium end of the market there’s only been a slight uplift. JBL claims 70 hours without ANC and 40 hours with it on. The Tour One M3 comfortably clears the latter.
Playing a Spotify playlist at 50% volume, it took five hours for the headphones to fall 10%, which, if my maths is right, would make it about 50 hours. The Smart Tx transmitter is said to last for 18 hours before it needs a recharge.
If you manage, somehow, to run down the battery, a five-minute charge provides another five hours of music playback.
Noise Cancelling
- Not as good as rivals
- Multiple transparency modes
- Strong call quality
So far, so good for the JBL Tour One M3, but noise cancellation is what separates the class leaders from those who follow in their wake – and the JBL follows in the wake of better ANC headphones.
You’ve got a choice of a couple of noise-cancelling modes. There’s Noise Cancellation, which you can set manually or have in its adaptive mode, where it automatically sets the strength depending on the surrounding noise.
It’s not the strongest performance, either when using the headphones outside or comparing them with other models with a pink noise test.
On a plane, it still lets in plenty of cabin noise, requiring a step up in volume to hear music. On the Elizabeth Line, on trains and the Underground, it lets in more noise than I’d expected, and on one occasion, there was some strange signal distortion when putting the headphones on. I’ve not heard it since.
Using the Tour One M3 outdoors, I don’t feel as if they’re having a great impact on suppressing sounds. Conversations can still be heard for the most part instead of masking them. There are better options from Bose and Sony for commuting.
There are two ‘transparency’ modes: Ambient Aware and TalkTru. The latter pauses music entirely so you can hear another person talk (or yourself).
The Ambient Aware mode doesn’t feel like it’s a big bump in ‘transparency’ over the ANC mode because the ANC lets in a few too many sounds. The Ambient Aware mode is good for catching announcements, and overall, it sounds clear and natural without sounding artificial. There were times when the sound quality seemed slightly degraded with both ANC and transparency modes on.
For calls, the Tour One M3 uses a 4-mic set-up with adaptive beamforming tech powered by AI that JBL says can eliminate echoes and ambient noise… and it’s very good.
The person on the other end mentioned there was no background noise aside from the high-pitched announcements on the DLR coming through. They did mention that my voice sounded slightly different, but still came clearly.
Just to add to the list of features, the Tour One M3 Smart Tx are Zoom Certified, though unlike the Jabra Evolve3 85, noise-cancelling is disabled during calls.
Sound Quality
- Flat, reserved sound
- Lacks bass energy
- Clear and spacious
The JBL Tour One M3 Smart Tx are headphones that I’d describe as very polite. Like the Tour Pro 3, they’re clear and detailed but I’m left wondering where’s the drama? Where’s the excitement?
The tuning of the sound was updated in April 2026 for an even sharper profile, but listening to them before, I already thought they sounded clean, sharp and bright. I can’t tell if there’s much of a difference with the new update.
I find the bass on the reserved side, so those with a penchant for big, energised bass should look more towards the Sony WH-1000XM6. A track such as Illit’s Magnetic doesn’t sound like it has much bass at all with lows that lack much power, depth and energy. Even nudging the volume up a few levels produces a wider soundstage and more energetic tone – but the bass still feels lightweight by comparison.
Some with audiophile tastes may prefer that the Tour One M3 reins in the bass, but I find it’s a little too flat and does not truly describe the track I’m listening to. Anything with bass, from Drum & Bass to R&B and Hip Hop, Dance and Electronic doesn’t feel well served by these JBL headphones.
But up above the bass and the Tour One M3 sounds good, if a little lacking in excitement. The soundstage is wide, vocals are clear and crisp, taking on a neutral tone whether it’s Amy Winehouse’s voice in Back to Black or Frank Sinatra’s in Fly Me to the Moon. They sound like themselves, though they’re also not the most emotive either.
Instruments within the soundstage are given a natural-enough tone, though I wouldn’t say that the JBL (at least over a wireless connection) sound the most detailed despite the sharper tuning. Vocals can be forward in their placement within the soundstage, but instruments behind them can sound a little distant and less defined.
There’s some dynamism in travelling from quiet to loud, but more often than not these headphones sound flat. They’re consistent in how they handle music genres, but there are times when I’d like it if they let themselves off the leash and sound more energetic. But that’s not the tone or approach these headphones are after. If it’s an audiophile sound that you’re after, the Sennheiser HDB 630 are a better option.
Highs are for the most part clear and detailed, as well as sharp and bright (enough), though not to the point where they become fatigued. It’s all well-judged and controlled at the top end of the frequency range, though with some tracks (GoGo Penguin’s Erased by Sunlight), it does feel like the headphones could be brighter.
I hadn’t given the USB-C audio a try before the update, so I have less of an idea as to whether there’s been any change, but with a built-in DAC, a wired connection unleashes more of these headphones’ potential. They’re crisp and clean-sounding, with bass that offers more punch, and a better grasp of energy and dynamism present over a wireless connection.
The sound is more insightful over a wired connection than the Bose QC Ultra Headphones Gen 2, clearer than the Sony WH-1000XM6 (which support analogue audio), and the JBL sounds more articulate than the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S3 (even if it lacks that headphones’ bass weight).
Of all the ‘wireless’ headphones in the same price range that I’ve listened to over a wired connection, the Tour One M3 are the pair that sound the most accomplished.
Should you buy it?
You want wireless headphones for wired use
Wireless headphones were meant to free everyone from the constraints of wired audio, but the Tour One M3 sound at their best when plugged in through a USB-C connection.
You want the best sound performance
Just like before, the JBL is up against a tough set of rivals – and it can’t beat them for sound or noise cancellation.
Final Thoughts
I find these headphones a weird mix of being very competent but also lacklustre in some areas.
The JBL Tour One M3 Smart Tx get a lot of things right: comfort, the audio transmitter, wireless performance, call quality, USB-C audio and battery life. But the noise cancelling isn’t as strong as others, the sound quality (even with LDAC) feels reserved with a curtailed bass performance. The sound is quite dry and reserved.
They’re ultimately solid, but the Tour One M3 feel as if they’re lacking in a few areas to really challenge the likes of Sony and Bose for headphone supremacy.
How We Test
The JBL Tour One M3 Smart Tx were tested for a month, used on public transport, airplanes, and in public places.
A battery drain was carried to test how long they lasted, and a pink noise test was used to compare them against other similarly priced models.
- Tested for a month
- Tested with real world use
- Battery drain carried out
- Call quality tested
FAQs
The Smart Tx version comes with an audio transmitter that allows the user to plug in wireless sources and have audio wirelessly transmitted to the headphones. Other than that, there’s no difference between the headphones.
Full Specs
| JBL Tour One M3 Smart Tx Review | |
|---|---|
| UK RRP | £379 |
| Manufacturer | JBL |
| IP rating | No |
| Battery Hours | 40 |
| Fast Charging | Yes |
| Weight | 278 G |
| Release Date | 2025 |
| Audio Resolution | SBC, AAC, LDAC, LC3 |
| Driver (s) | 40mm |
| Noise Cancellation? | Yes |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.3, Auracast |
| Colours | Blue, Dark Green, Mocha, Black |
| Frequency Range | 10 40000 – Hz |
| Headphone Type | Over-ear |
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
