It’s refreshing to see a company experimenting with something different in the sea of wireless earbud homogeneity. JBL’s Tour Pro 2 breaks new ground for premium earbuds by pairing them with a touchscreen-equipped charging case. While they’re not cheap and have some bugs and half-baked aspects, JBL did a great job on its first time out.
JBL Tour Pro 2
JBL’s Tour Pro 2 earbuds come with the first case equipped with a built-in touchscreen, which offers access to player controls and settings without reaching for a smartphone. The buds are also excellent, thanks to top-notch ANC, long battery life, great audio, and many useful features. There’s so much packed into these buds that it’s easy to see why they carry one of the higher price tags.
Price and availability
There are only two colors, Black and Champagne, and no configuration or packaging variations. you’re able to get the earbuds and case for $249.95, available through JBL’s website and authorized retailers.
Hardware and design
The earbuds are average in size and shape, and the design looks premium with a mix of glossy and matte finishes. The JBL logo is printed on each bud but fairly subtle. I was happy with the fit and comfort. It takes about an hour before fatigue sets in, slightly longer than usual for my ears. The buds do work themselves slightly loose after a while, but haven’t fallen out of my ears, even with heavy activity.
Popping buds from the case with just a thumb is precarious because they tend to fly out, but they can be lifted out with a two-finger pinch. Returning them to the case is a bigger challenge because the stems must slide into narrow slots, but there’s very little groove to guide them in. It takes some focus each time. Oh, and the magnet holding the buds in place is strong enough that it takes a very hard shake to knock them loose.
The highlight of the Tour Pro 2 is a touchscreen covering half of the case, which, combined with an above-average battery, means the case is a bit chunkier than usual. However, it’s still fairly normal in size and shape, and the edges are gently rounded, so it still easily slides into most pockets. And let me allay some fears now; there’s a small lip just above the display that lifts it enough to avoid direct contact with flat surfaces. That should cut down on scuffs and scratches.
Smart Case
The touchscreen experience reminds me of a Fitbit, but with more functionality. There are about a dozen screens to swipe through with different controls or settings, and they all look pretty modern. It’s usually very responsive, though some settings are a little laggy.
Controls range from the obvious playback and volume buttons to more advanced settings for things like switching ANC and EQ profiles. In fact, most of the settings available in the app can be toggled or modified from the case. There’s even a tiny picker for the lockscreen wallpaper. While the app is necessary for setting up the buds, installing firmware, and creating EQ curves, everything you’ll need for day-to-day use can be done through the touchscreen.
There are a few extra functions available, including a Find My feature for sounding a loud tone through either bud or SilentNow for disconnecting Bluetooth while running ANC for a notification-free time period. There’s even a Flashlight mode that turns the screen white. It’s too dim to fill a room, but bright enough to spot nearby obstacles. It has come in handy more times than I expected.
I’m sure many people will see the case as a gimmick, and I can’t blame them. It’s certainly not a necessity, and I’m not sure most people will get enough from it to justify the premium price tag. However, I appreciate that it’s a purpose-built set of controls, and they’re generally a little more convenient than reaching for the phone and opening an app just to change sound profiles.
While my impressions are generally positive, there are plenty of ways to fine-tune the experience. At a minimum, I’d like to remove any screen from the carousel, and the lockscreen should also show some information like the clock and battery levels.
Audio and ANC
Audio quality is technically very good with a wide dynamic range, but it might not deliver the experience most people have become accustomed to. Out of the box, JBL tuned these to produce a fairly flat studio sound, which leans very neutral. If you’ve been listening to bass-heavy cans from companies like Beats, or budget earbuds tuned the same way to cover up weak mids, the Tour Pro 2 buds may leave your ears confused.
This is where JBL’s Personi-Fi feature comes in, and it’s crucial to adding back a lot of the vibrance. The app performs a series of hearing tests to build a custom sound profile for the listener. I’m not convinced the test is more than technological theater, but it unlocks an enriched sound profile that targets the Harman curve.
There is also an impressively flexible equalizer worth spending some time to tune. It includes five presets, most of which are nearly useless. Custom curves can also be created, and trust me, you’ll be happier creating some of your own.
Low-end frequencies come through with excellent clarity, making every beat and drum hit feel tight. There’s no muddiness or distortion, and bass notes stand out nicely, just not with a ton of strength. Even a bass-heavy EQ curve produces barely any tangible rumble or shake, which may be a deal-breaker for bass lovers.
The mids are something of a wild card. Before activating Personi-Fi, they sound a little loose and underpowered. It’s not bad, but vocals and some instruments feel muted and lacking emphasis. With Personi-Fi active, the mids gain more depth and character. Combined with a well-tuned EQ curve, the sound is pretty remarkable. The lower-mids can get muddy and conflict with the bass tones, but a carefully tuned EQ curve can keep this in check and bring out a ton of great flavor.
Likewise, highs have plenty of interesting character and range. They’re a little restrained at the top, which limits the shrill tones from excessive treble. Nevertheless, they stand on their own and still play nicely with the mids. All told, these might be the best earbuds I’ve ever listened to, but they’re finicky and require more work to perfect than I think most people will put into them, and I still feel like I’m not done.
The soundstage is fairly expressive to the sides and angles, but frontal projection is a bit lacking. I also don’t get a sense of spaciousness, and instruments sound like they’re just over my shoulder. Spatial Audio doesn’t add much to the depth, especially for music, though I wasn’t impressed with it on movies either. If anything, it sounds like a basic filter to add echo.
ANC performance is sometimes really good; other times, it’s exceptional. No other earbuds or headphones I’ve listened to have been so effective at eliminating ambient noise. They effectively mute my obnoxiously loud desk fan, including the sound of wind buffeting the buds. It even makes a fairly loud CostCo sound like a library. Nearby voices and other distinctive sounds cut through, just as I would want them to, but the din of casual conversation and machines drop to a faint whisper.
The algorithm can still be inconsistent, sometimes only turning down the noise rather than eliminating it. Even when it’s not as aggressive, the ANC still beats anything I’ve ever tried. I haven’t had the opportunity to use the latest earbuds from Sony or Bose, but JBL may be on track to take on the champions soon.
Codec support is a little disappointing, particularly for the price. There’s no support for any aptX variants or LDAC. As you would expect, SBC and AAC are supported, the latter of which will appease most listeners. LC3 is also purportedly supported and will someday be a great alternative to aptX, but it doesn’t seem to work on my Pixel 7 Pro, which doesn’t support it. JBL also plans to add LC3+ in a future firmware update.
Call quality is comparable to most of the Bluetooth earbuds I’ve tried, but noise reduction can be overly aggressive and chop up speech in some instances.
Battery and charging
JBL rates earbud battery life at eight hours with ANC and ten hours without. While I never ran the buds down entirely, this seems to be fairly accurate.
The case is supposed to provide up to three full charges to the buds. That would probably be true if not for the touchscreen, which also sips power while it’s active. In my experience, it’s actually too thirsty, so it would only carry about two and a half chargs, at most. That’s still really good given the lifespanThat’sch bud. Wireless charging is also supported.
App and features
Google Fast Pair is supported for that first connection and works great. However, there’s no way to initiate pairing from the touchscreen or button, which makes it more difficult for devices without Fast Pair, like my laptop. The only way to enter pairing mode is by making sure the currently paired device is out of range or has Bluetooth turned off.
At least this effort reveals that multipoint support is present. JBL doesn’t advertise multipoint as a feature on the Pro 2, probably because it’s not quite fully baked. Core features are fine, like getting notifications from the phone while listening to my laptop or having one source take over for another. However, it can take several seconds for sources to switch, and the playback controls may stick to one source after switching to a different one. It can even switch sources after pausing, so tapping to resume seconds later may activate the other source. Hopefully, a firmware update can sort this out someday; it’s such a valuable feature.
The case takes a lot of control over the earbuds, but there are still things that can only be done from within the JBL Headphones app. For example, it’s necessary for the Personi-Fi setup, creating custom EQ curves, and configuring touch actions for each earbud — mostly setup steps.
Initial setup and Personi-Fi training take about 10-15 minutes. After that, there’s not much reason to open the app unless you install firmware updates and configure the EQ. This is thanks to the case, which can easily switch ANC and Spatial Audio modes, EQ profiles, and more.
It’s a modern-looking app with a clean design, and the few bugs I’ve spotted are mostly innocuous. My only complaint is that it takes a painfully long time, about six seconds after selecting the paired buds, to load their settings screen. That’s too long to watch a frozen screen with no animations to show it’s working.
Competition
At this time, thePoly Voyager 60+is the only other pair of earbuds with a smart case, but the two products have little in common. The Voyager 60+ is aimed at enterprise customers, focusing on video calling and working at a desk. JBL designed the Tour Pro 2 to be prettier and more portable. Both products still boast great audio quality and ANC, and each has its individual advantages to justify the high asking price of $250 and $330 for the Tour Pro 2 and Voyager 60+, respectively.
If the case doesn’t warrant an extra $100, other upper-tier earbuds are available for around $150 that offer similar features and audio quality, like theOnePlus Buds Pro 2. Alternatively, if the price isn’t an obstacle, but the case still doesn’t interest you, it may be worth spending a little more to pick up theSony WF-1000XM5earbuds.
Should you buy them?
JBL has done a remarkable job building the first smart case for true wireless earbuds. It’s a clever extension to the listening experience and offers handy features in a way that’s pleasant to use. There is still a lot to work out, but The Tour Pro 2 is an incredible template to build upon.
ANC is among the best in the game, and audio quality can be very good, although it might require more work than casual listeners want to put in. The same goes for multipoint support, which still needs some TLC. I’m mostly impressed with the Tour Pro 2 and would recommend them to anybody comfortable with the price who can deal with the quirks, but a part of me eagerly looks forward to JBL’s next attempt.
