JBL always has plenty of products launching around CES time and we’ve got another brand new series of wireless noise-cancelling headphones to bring you, on top of the recent additions to its Live range.
The new Tour series has, in JBL’s own words, been “designed for business professionals” and consists of two models, the JBL Tour One and JBL Tour Pro+. The former are wireless, noise-cancelling headphones, while the latter take the form of true wireless earbuds, both of which can access virtual voice assistants from Amazon and Google.
The Tour One use 40mm drivers and feature JBL’s True Adaptive Noise Cancelling technology, which monitors your environment in real-time and alters the level of noie-cancelling automatically. You’ve also got Adaptive Ambient Aware and TalkThru features plus a four-mic array for taking phone calls.
Battery life is 25 hours with Bluetooth and noise-cancelling switched on and around 50 hours using just Bluetooth. Thanks to Speed Charging, a quick 10 minute stint at the power socket (the headphones charge via USB-C) should be enough for two hours of playback.
One particularly interesting feature is JBL’s new Smart Audio Mode, which allows you to optimise the Bluetooth connection for normal listening, switch up the quality in “music mode” or switch to the low latency “video mode” to get your picture and sound in perfect sync ( although we’re not sure why you can’t watch videos and listen in the best quality). You can flick between the different settings using a dedicated Smart Switch on the headphones.
The JBL Tour Pro+ wireless earbuds also feature Adaptive Noise Cancelling and use 6.8mm drivers. They boast around six hours battery life per charge with Bluetooth and noise-cancelling both switched on, and around eight hours using just Bluetooth. A Speed Charge of ten minutes should be good for one hour of playback.
These AirPods rivals are also IPX4 sweatproof and include a fit customization feature which can be accessed through the JBL Headphones app to help ensure you get the best fit possible.
Keen to get your hands on a pair? You’ve got quite a wait, as the JBL Tour series only launches in May 2021, with the JBL Tour One set to cost £279.99 (€299, $299, about AU$369) and the JBL Tour Pro+ priced at £179.99 (€199, $199, about AU$249).
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