JBL Tour Pro 2 Review

JBL has an interesting new line of Bluetooth products that seem to want to compete with some of the high rollers of wireless audio. So far, their Tour One M2 headphones were pretty impressive as a less expensive over-ear option compared to Sony or Sennheiser’s current flagship models. They’ve had a few budget true wireless earbuds come out, but the Tour Pro 2 is their biggest launch yet. It features an innovation that could be a future staple of truly wireless earbuds, so let’s see if the Tour Pro 2 can make it stick.

What You Get

• 1 x JBL Tour Pro 2 earbuds
• 1 x Charging case
• 1 x USB Type-C charging cable
• 1 x 3 sizes of ear tips
• 1 x Warranty / Warning (W / !)
• 1 x QSG / Safety Sheet (S / i)

Look & Feel

We could talk about the earbuds first, but it’s the charging case that is going to elicit the biggest impression. There’s a touch screen on the charging case that has its own lock screen you can personalize. You can swipe through different playback options, adjust volume, activate ANC, and even sort through EQ presents. There are a ton of features that the Tour Pro 2 offers and the touch screen is just another way of interacting with the earbud’s many features. The earbuds themselves have a nice stemmed design that seems more original in style than their usual output. They’re light and fit great without any problem.

Design & Functionality

10mm dynamic drivers are used here, which is nothing out of the ordinary. You’ll get some adequate volume out of the earbuds, with a little bit of headroom to play with. Like other recent models from JBL, the Tour Pro 2 comes jam-packed with features. ANC is the biggest one of course, and it’s perfectly functional for medium-traffic areas. It’s not the most effective with vents, so you might find trouble with this ANC on airplanes. However, it does enough to be considered effective noise cancelation. Using the earbud’s touch sensors, or the touch screen charging case is simple and easy, with both options being highly responsive. Other cool features like spatial audio mode, EQ, and Personi-Fi all make a return here too.

Bluetooth

The Tour Pro 2 comes with the latest Bluetooth version with 5.3 LE. JBL has always carried stable Bluetooth and that’s exactly the case here as well. Pairing is lightning quick, and there were no instances of desynchronization throughout my testing. The only improvement they’ve yet to make is including higher-quality CODECs.

Battery Life

You should get around 10 hours of playtime from one charge of the Tour Pro 2 earbuds. Adding another 30 hours from the charging case makes for 40 total hours of battery life, which is pretty strong for a pair of Bluetooth earbuds.

Soundstage

I’ve been happy about the level of sound quality that recent JBL products have been delivering. One factor of this improvement is the soundstage, which has become less congested and more spread out between the left and right channels. The Tour 1 M2 and Vibe Buds are good examples of better soundstages for JBL, so the Tour Pro 2 should be in the same vein. While the Tour Pro 2 does a good job of keeping the sound elements fighting for the middle, the width of the tracks is still limited. Its wingspan doesn’t reach very far, only expanding half your shoulder length.

This is still an effective soundstage for true wireless earbuds though, as they communicate fair positioning of sound elements throughout the mix. Spatially there isn’t much depth to be found, but the surface of the sound is enjoyable enough. Nothing feels overshadowed or foggy with the Tour Pro 2, and everything is provided with enough room to identify each performance individually. You get a spatial audio option with the Tour Pro 2, but just like on Tour One M2, it doesn’t give off a good effect. It’s more like a digital filter than 3D audio.

 Low End

JBL knows how to tune a fun bass response that is easy to be gripped by. The bass has a good movement, as you can feel it coming up from a pool of frequency content in the sub-bass. However, the frequencies’ timbre is much more relaxed and lacks the significant energy that JBL provides with a lot of their headphones. You still get a good kick out of the Tour Pro 2, it’s just the power that is a little disappointing. The bass can cut through well though, and with added clarity. However, if you’re looking for a bass that can shake you, you might not find it here, at least not without EQ.

Mids

In the mids, the Tour Pro 2 doesn’t offer anything out of the ordinary for JBL’s standard sound. You won’t hear any egregious recession in the midrange, but it’s not the most detailed or transparent range of frequencies. With that being said, the instruments come through smoothly. There is even some admirable expansion to the low and upper mids that help colorize the sound elements enjoyably. This is more like the fun factor that I’m used to hearing from JBL’s sound profile. Of course, you have more options with EQ and Personi-Fi settings, but the default sound is fine as it is.

Highs

The treble frequencies are surprisingly expressive, at least with my Personi-Fi activated. Otherwise, the timbre is a lot duller, but never to an extraneous amount. EQ can provide some lift, but using Personi-Fi made most of the difference here. For me, it added pop to the highs, adding more sizzle and height to the sound signature. Cymbals have more movement to them, as they dance around your forehead with more air to their timbre. Overall, the response was far more favorable to me, but your results might not be the same.

Summary

JBL’s Bluetooth library is getting pretty strong with these new products being launched. The Tour Pro 2 is the most innovative release from them yet, with its touchscreen charging case that has a few different uses. For now, I see it as a cool novelty rather than a useful feature, although it is a nice inclusion. The sound will have different levels of enjoyment based on which features you choose to use, but in its default mode, there is still enough to enjoy.

The JBL Tour Pro 2 is available at Audio46.