JBL Tour Pro 2 review: Welcome to the smart case era

In relation to earbud innovation, nowadays advances sometimes are available decreased measurement, longer battery life and improved audio. Hardly ever does an organization supply one thing actually distinctive. However JBL appears to assume there’s room for enchancment within the charging case. With the Tour Pro 2, JBL has put in a touchscreen show, providing you with entry to settings and instruments with out having to dive into its app. On prime of that, these are a feature-packed set of true wi-fi earbuds, with a ton of choices for sound customization, listening to help and extra. However with every little thing the $250 set provides, JBL may’ve been too bold.

Design

JBL’s product vary options a mixture of “conventional” earbuds, stick buds and sport fashions with an over-the-ear loop. The Tour Professional 2 suits in that center class with a design akin to Apple’s AirPods. These actually have a extra refined look, although, with a mixture of matte and gloss black plastic. The form of the inside a part of the earbud is ovular which, once more, is just like the AirPods Professional.

The curves right here mix with decrease weight to make for a snug match. The Tour Professional 2 are one of many few units of true wi-fi earbuds I can put on for hours at a time with out it turning into a chore. There’s a contact panel on the surface of each buds that may settle for single, double and triple faucets, along with lengthy presses, for quite a lot of on-board controls. Plus, you possibly can reconfigure these to your liking contained in the JBL Headphones app.

The headline characteristic, although, is undoubtedly the case. Most earbuds include a charging case, the characteristic listing principally ends at charging. Some corporations have added wi-fi transmission to be used on planes, however nothing too loopy. The Tour Professional 2 comes with a “good case,” full with a touchscreen on the surface. As you may anticipate, it’s bigger than what we sometimes see, but it surely’s not large by any means. It’s geared up for wi-fi charging and there’s a USB-C port on the button for wired top-ups.

Software program and options

The Tour Professional 2 provides a ton of options for audio setup, comfort and customization. All of that are accessible contained in the JBL Headphones app and a few can be found through the charging case show. Once you pair the earbuds to the app for the primary time, the software program will immediate you to finish just a few steps for preliminary setup. These embody an ear tip match and ear canal assessments for ANC efficiency, voice assistant setup and a fast characteristic tour. The primary part of the app shows battery standing for each earbuds individually and the case proper up prime.

Every part else is located on that most important display, accessible with a easy scroll. Ambient Sound Management is up prime, providing you with the flexibility to decide on between lively noise cancellation, Ambient Conscious (transparency mode), TalkThru for IRL conversations and off. There’s the choice to additional tweak ANC by choosing Adaptive, automated changes or by enabling leakage and/or ear canal compensation. Ambient Conscious permits you to regulate the extent of environmental sound the earbuds decide up with a slider.

Subsequent on the listing is Personi-Fi. That is JBL’s tackle private audio profiles. After finishing a listening to check, the app creates a sound profile that additionally takes into consideration your listening preferences. Personi-Fi considers gender, age and extra to construct its customized preset. Earlier than finishing the method, the audio on the Tour Professional 2 was… effective. After the five-minute bout with tones at numerous volumes and frequencies, my sound profile produced improved bass response from the earbuds and what felt like a barely wider soundstage. Nonetheless, the tailor-made setting did lose some element in issues like softer background vocals, guitar distortion and refined noise.

Sound choices observe Personi-Fi. Right here, JBL offers you a set of audio presets in addition to the flexibility to manually regulate the EQ curve. Any tuning you create might be saved for future use. You even have the choice of enabling Spatial Sound on the Tour Professional 2, JBL’s tackle spatial audio. When you flip it on, the corporate provides three choices primarily based on what you’re listening to: film, music and recreation.

The app offers you the flexibility to alter the gestures for the on-board controls from this menu too. There’s a restrict to the fine-tuning right here as JBL has grouped all of the choices beneath Ambient Sound Management, Quantity Management or Playback & Voice Assistant Management. These are self-explanatory and you may select to place one on the left and a special one on the appropriate. The one constant habits is {that a} lengthy press will summon your voice assistant on all three gesture choices.

Three of essentially the most helpful options on the Tour Professional 2 are VoiceAware, SilentNow and Private Sound Amplification. VoiceAware is an adjustable device that permits you to tweak how a lot of your voice you hear throughout calls. JBL describes SlientNow as a quiet bubble, a characteristic that disconnects Bluetooth and activates ANC. The corporate goes a step additional by permitting you to schedule when the mode will activate, how lengthy it will likely be lively and if you need an alarm when it ends (in case you’re planning to nap). Private Sound Amplification is designed for listening to help, boosting environmental sound by 15 to 20dB and serving to with conversations. When it’s enabled, you possibly can regulate left/proper steadiness and achieve to suit your wants.

The good case

Whereas the primary function of the good case is to provide you quick access to the Tour Professional 2’s options. I’m comfortable to debate the utility of placing every little thing on the charging accent as a substitute of leaving it in an app – software program that takes solely a pair extra faucets to open. However, when you discover all the idea handy, I’m happy to report that the touchscreen works properly. You swipe backward and forward to scroll by the myriad choices out there on the case and that panel is receptive to faucets with out subject. Plus, JBL determined to place battery ranges, a clock and helpful icons on the highest edge, providing you with essential information at a look. What’s extra, whenever you’re on a name, these controls pop-up on case too.

The JBL Headphones app features a part for customizing the good case. Right here, you possibly can regulate the show brightness, choose a screensaver, allow message notifications/previews and select which options might be accessible on the contact display. By default, the case reveals Ambient Sound Management, Spatial Sound, EQ presets, VoiceAware and auto play/pause (whenever you take away the buds out of your ears). That’s along with the lock display wallpaper selector, display brightness, timer, quantity, playback controls, flashlight and Discover My Buds that may’t be eliminated. The one extra characteristic that isn’t enabled by default you can add to the case is SilentNow.

Sound high quality and noise cancellation

The default tuning on the Tour Professional 2 is fairly common. There’s some first rate readability and element, however the soundstage feels compressed regardless of a great quantity of bass and a smidge of punch within the treble. General, issues converge on the midrange, leaving the additional oomph on the desk with tracks like Higher Lovers’ “30 Below 13” and boygenius’ “$20.” Personi-fi helps open issues up a bit, however as I discussed, it comes at the price of misplaced element. You lose a number of the texture of the vocals and guitars in that boygenius tune, for instance.

One other prime instance of the shortage of house within the sound profile is on Nickel Creek’s Celebrants. That album was recorded in a means that sounds such as you’re within the room getting a non-public efficiency. Guitar, fiddle, mandolin and bass encompass you with vocals sprinkled round to finish the vibe. On the Tour Professional 2, you lose the sense of the digital room, so the songs simply change into music in your earbuds as a substitute of capturing the ambiance and vitality of the monitoring session. Personi-fi makes no noticeable distinction right here.

Whereas there are a selection of audio customization choices in JBL’s app, they don’t do a lot to enhance issues. In reality, some make the sound worse. Spatial Sound’s effectiveness can fluctuate relying on the style. Generally there’s a noticeable enchancment within the immersive nature of the audio. However with some content material, like that Nickel Creek album, it looks like positioning is simply moved up barely, prefer it’s attempting to simulate up-firing drivers in a soundbar. In these circumstances, the sound is simply relocated, not improved. I discovered it greatest to depart Spatial Pontificate.

By way of ANC efficiency, the Tour Professional 2 does a stable job in most circumstances. They’re excellent at blocking the fixed roar of a dishwasher, garments dryer or white noise machine – issues that conspire for the each day droning at my home. Nonetheless, the earbuds wrestle with human voices, particularly if the particular person is shut by. Hearken to something comparatively quiet and also you’re positive to listen to the chatty particular person behind you.

One observe on noise isolation that’s price declaring. Regardless of the ear tip match check figuring out that every one was properly with the Tour Professional 2, there was a whole lot of sound leakage so the individuals round me might clearly hear what I used to be listening to. My spouse was the primary to note, and whereas she says it occurs often whereas I’m testing, it has by no means been this unhealthy. Certain sufficient, when she popped within the earbuds, I might clearly hear the tunes at volumes above 60 p.c or so. It’s one thing to contemplate when you prefer to blast heavy steel within the workplace.

For calls, the Tour Professional 2 is a blended bag. Confusingly, the TalkThru choice within the Ambient Sound Management menu can’t be activated right here. You may allow ambient sound mode, however that doesn’t decide up a substantial quantity of your chatter. As a substitute, there’s that separate VoiceAware characteristic and it solely works throughout calls. Once more, it’s adjustable, so you possibly can choose the quantity of your speech you need despatched again by the earbuds. It really works okay, but it surely’s nowhere close to as pure sounding as what you get on the AirPods Professional. Whereas TalkThru is supposed for in-person conversations, it doesn’t pipe in far more of your voice than the transparency mode Ambient Conscious. So, even when you might use it for calls, it’s not an excellent choice for them. Ultimately, it simply looks like totally different options right here do variations of the identical factor. General, name high quality is simply okay right here, regardless of JBL’s promise of “excellent calls” through six on-board mics.

Battery life

JBL says you possibly can anticipate as much as eight hours on a cost with ANC on, plus one other three full costs within the case. Flip noise cancellation off and you would muster two extra hours on each the buds and per cost within the case. Throughout assessments consisting of “regular” use – a mixture of ANC, transparency mode, calls and leaving the buds to energy off routinely – I acquired seven hours earlier than having to dock the Tour Professional 2 within the case.

Oddly, I began getting low battery notifications when the case was nonetheless exhibiting 25 p.c left on each earbuds. Energy plummeted rapidly from there and after lower than half-hour the pair was lifeless. I point out this to level out that the battery estimates on the case don’t appear to be fully correct, particularly whenever you hit 25 p.c. For those who unexpectedly encounter a faster-than-expected drain, there’s a 15-minute quick-charge device that will provide you with as much as 4 hours of use.

The competitors

In relation to premium true wi-fi earbuds, Sony’s WF-1000XM4 are one of the best you should purchase proper now. The corporate consists of simply as many options as JBL, if no more. You gained’t discover a good case, however you’ll discover helpful instruments like Converse-to-Chat automated pausing whenever you begin speaking and the flexibility to routinely change sound settings primarily based on location or exercise. Plus, the M4s supply higher sound high quality and simpler noise cancellation on prime of all of the conveniences. They’re beginning to get some age on them as they debuted in mid-2021, however meaning you’re at present aware about a reduction: they’re at present going for $200.

Wrap-up

JBL threw each characteristic it might on the Tour Pro 2. And that’s with out even contemplating the good case. That touch-screen-enabled accent is the primary draw however I’m not offered on the idea simply but. Certain, there’s one thing to be mentioned for straightforward entry to settings, however that solely works when you depart the case sitting out in your desk. In any other case, you possibly can in all probability get your cellphone out simply as rapidly. JBL isn’t the one firm placing a show on a charging case, so who is aware of, possibly it can change into commonplace. Tour Professional 2 do supply helpful instruments like VoiceAware, SilentNow and Private Sound Amplification. However total they’re a median set of earbuds with okay sound, first rate ANC and so many options you won’t use a few of them greater than as soon as.