Noise cancellation headphones are the buzz but there are only a handful of brands that truly dominate this space. JBL has made its entry, throwing its new offering into the ring. Their new JBL Tour One M2 is priced roughly in the same ballpark figure as the other go-to, premium offerings. JBL is one of the oldest, refined sound solutions brands and this should also translate into next-level noise-cancellation performance, ideal for audiophiles and those want to get away from the noise. Let’s see what makes the JBL Tour One M2 so special, and why it should be on your list of choices when you go headphones shopping.
The JBL Tour M2 are a Hi-Res certified pair of headphones. While noise cancellation is a major highlight of these headphones, the performance is also spot-on, all thanks to to the compliance with standards like these. The noise cancellation feature on the Tour M2 is adaptive, which means that it adjusts its performance depending on where you are. The headphones learn the noise profile around you using four microphones. What this means for the user, is that all the background noise, including the odd, sudden, loud noises and distractions get filtered out. All this happens seamlessly, without having to mess around with knobs and dials and settings on your phone. If you really want to get in there, and tinker, the JBL Headphones app is available for all popular mobile platforms. You can now be on a flight, doze off peacefully, or be in a crowded public space, distant from all the commotion.
There are seven microphones on these headphones, and while some are used for noise cancellation, others are also for calling. Your voice sounds extra-crisp and detailed to others, so it does not matter where you are, in a crowded bus, train, at the beach, or at work. Conference calls feel natural. There is also a nifty feature called VoiceAware, which helps you hear your own voice, and you can tweak how much of your voice you wish to hear. This kind of awareness feature is important especially at work, where you need to be able to hear others talk to you. You won’t need to remove your headphones each time someone comes by to your desk. The JBL Headphones app lets you adjust the boost levels of external voices by 15 to 20dB, so you can have a short chat with someone, without removing your headphones or turning off noise cancellation. Another feature called Smart Talk lets voices pass through when you’re listening to podcasts or music. The headphones can detect the noises outside and figure out which ones of them are voices, and which aren’t.
Coming to the core hardware specifications, the JBL Tour One M2 are an over-the-ears format headphones. They use 40mm drivers to render audio, and these are mighty large, so you get the best possible quality. JBL claims they have been tuned for minimal distortion at high volumes, for precision sound, and void of the artificial sound colouring that you might find in most cheaper headphones and knockoffs. This is where the years and decades of audio tuning and research experience comes to reality as a product. This means, you hear music the way it was mastered by the artist. The JBL Tour One M2 are rated for frequency responses from 10 Hz to 22 kHz. Bluetooth 5.3, the latest version of the standard is supported, and that brings along improvements to range, stability, quality and lowered battery consumption. The Bluetooth standard along with the Fast Pair feature (by Google) and Swift Pair (by Microsoft), let you quickly pair the headphones with your Android and Windows devices in moments, without any pesky Bluetooth pairing procedures. The headphones also work seamlessly with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant so you can ask your device questions using your voice and get instant responses, even when you’re outdoors.
The JBL Tour One M2 are wireless headphones, but they can be also used using a cable plugged into a 3.5mm audio port on say, a laptop or TV if you’d like. The headphones have batteries built-in, and JBL claims that they will last about 30 hours with Active Noise Cancellation turned on, and 50 hours without it. The headphones take around 2 hours to charge fully. The bundled box comes with all the cables, even a travel adapter to use in flights. There is also a carrying case bundled, which is handy when you’re travelling and need to rush. You can drop your headphones into your backpack or suitcase or be on your way.
There are other enhancements that products like the Tour One M2 bring. The JBL Spatial Audio feature gives you the sensation of being in a different space while listening to your favourite music, podcast or TV show. You can feel like you’re surrounded by the acoustics of an auditorium, a home studio, etc. no matter where you are. Another feature called Personi-Fi 2.0 lets you customize the sound signature of the headphones, if you like things a little different. Some of us may prefer a little more bass punch in our movies, or electronica music, while some of us might prefer guitars in genres like rock and metal to sound grittier than say, in a jazz or classic track.
The JBL Tour One M2 packs in more than you thought needed, but at a similar price as its competition. So, if you’re in the market for a pair of premium, quality-focused noise cancellation wireless headphones, with a ton of smart wizardry built-in, look no further than the JBL Tour One M2. Head over to your nearest Reliance Digital store for more information and to buy it off the shelf right away, or you can also order it online here at reliancedigital.in.
