JBL has recently introduced the JBL Tour Pro 2 wireless earbuds. These earbuds have many exciting features such as the best sound quality, noise-cancellation features, and many more. In this JBL Tour Pro 2 review, we will take a closer look at its features which makes the JBL Tour Pro 2 stand out from other wireless earbuds in the market.
JBL Tour Pro 2 Design and Comfort
The JBL Tour Pro 2 earbuds have a modern and elegant design that makes them look and feel good. These earbuds have three different sizes, so you can choose a perfect fit design for your ears. These earbuds are somehow similar to Apple’s AirPods. But these JBL Tour Pro 2 earbuds have a refined look. These earbuds are very comfortable.
A touch panel can be seen on the outside of the two buds. A single, double, and triple tap, in addition to the long presses these buds can accept. The lightweight and perfect design keeps these buds in your ears secure during heavy workouts. You can easily control your calls and music using the touch panel on these buds.
Pros
- A smart case that works well
- Lots of features
- Comfortable to wear
Cons
- Smart case utility is debatable
- ANC can be problematic
- Some features work better than others
- Sound leakage at high volumes
The charging case is very easy to carry around due to its impressive and compact design. The case supports wireless charging and also has a USB-C port for charging the earbuds. You can easily see the remaining battery life using the battery indicator on the case. The most highlighted feature of these earbuds is that they have a smart case with a touchscreen on its side.
JBL Tour Pro 2 Software and features:
JBL Tour Pro 2 comes with lots of features for audio setup, convenience, and customization. You can access these features using the JBL headphone app. Some features can be accessed using the charging case display. When you try to pair the buds with the app for the first time, you will have to complete some steps to finish the setup. Those steps include a quick feature tour, ear tip fit tests, and ANC performance tests. You can see the battery status for both earbuds and case on the main section of the app.
Everything can be accessed on the main screen easily with a simple scroll. The Ambient Sound Control lets you choose between active noise cancellation, Ambient Aware (transparency mode), and TalkThru for IRL conversations. You can further tweak ANC by enabling leakage and/or ear canal compensation, or opting for adaptive, automatic adjustments. You can adjust the level of environmental sound the earbuds pick up with Ambient Aware.
JBL has provided all the options under the Ambient Sound Control, Volume Control, or Playback & Voice Assistant Control. These are self-explanatory, and you can place one on the left and another on the right. On all three gesture options, a long press will summon your voice assistant.
JBL Tour Pro 2 has three most useful features are VoiceAware, SilentNow, and Personal Sound Amplification. VoiceAware allows you to tweak your own voice during calls. You can control how much of your voice you hear during calls with VoiceAware. SilentNow disconnects the Bluetooth and turns on ANC. You can schedule when the mode will turn on and off. Personal Sound Amplification boosts environmental sounds by 15 to 20dB and makes conversations easier.
Smart Case
The JBL Tour Pro 2 provides a smart case that has some additional features. The smart case has a built-in battery. The main purpose of providing this smart case is that you can easily access some features instead of using the JBL app. You can swipe from side to side to access the included features in the case. The case shows the battery level, a clock, and some other features.
You can customize the case for your convenience. It allows you to adjust the display brightness, select a screensaver, enable notification previews, and choose which touchscreen features are available. The case comes with Ambient Sound Control, Spatial Sound, EQ presets, VoiceAware, and auto play/pause options on case by default. Some additional features like a lock screen wallpaper selector, screen brightness, timer, volume, playback controls, flashlight and Find My Buds. SilentNow is the only additional feature that isn’t enabled by default.
Sound Quality and Noise Cancelation
Tuning on the Tour Pro 2 is pretty average by default. While there is a good deal of bass and a smidge of punch in the treble, the soundstage feels compressed. For instance, the vocals and guitars in that Boygenius song lose some texture. Another example is that there is a lack of space in the sound profile on Nickel Creek’s Celebrants. You can lose the sense of virtual room on the JBL Tour Pro 2 earbuds. The audio customization options in JBL’s app are not able to do many improvements. On the other hand, some feature makes the sound worse. JBL Pro 2 does well in many circumstances depending on the performance of ANC.
They are very useful for blocking environmental noises. You can listen to the sound easily without any blockage of sound. These buds are not good with human voices, especially when the human is close to you. Another problem is sound leakage. The person near me can easily hear what I am listening to. There are mixed reviews for the Tour Pro 2 when it comes to calls.
The TalkThru option in Ambient Sound Control cannot be activated here, which is confusing. If you enable ambient sound mode, a considerable amount of your chatter will be picked up. VoiceAware is a separate feature that only works during calls. You can adjust how much of your speech is sent back through the earbuds. Although it works well, it doesn’t sound as natural as AirPods Pro.
Despite being designed for in-person conversations, TalkThru doesn’t pipe in as much of your voice as Ambient Aware does. Even if you could use it for calls, it’s not a great choice. At the end of the day, it just feels like different features do the same thing. In spite of JBL’s claim that the device will provide “perfect calls” via six onboard microphones, the quality of calls is just okay here.
Battery Life
JBL offers up to eight hours of battery life on a single charge with ANC turned on. It also offers another three total charges in the case. If you will turn the noise cancelation feature off you can experience an additional two hours of battery time on both the buds and per charge in the case. When the battery on both earbuds is left at 25 percent you see a low battery notification. After the notification, you can use earbuds for 30 minutes or less. You can experience up to 10 hours of battery life with ANC turned off. If you ever experience a faster-than-expected drain, using the 15-minute quick-charge tool, you can use the device for up to four hours.
JBL Tour Pro 2 Review | Final Verdicts
JBL provides every possible feature in the earbuds. The main focused feature is the touch-screen-enabled accessory. But this feature is not enough to buy these buds. Sure, I can say that you can easily access settings using the smart case but this will only work if you have the smart case with you. Otherwise, you have to use the JBL app to access the settings. Tour Pro 2 comes with handy tools like VoiceAware, SilentNow, and Personal Sound Amplification. But overall they are an average set of earbuds. JBL does not have the power to compete with its rivals. Everything is well-made, well-designed, and easy to use. But there’s something missing that makes them the best choice to buy. Overall, they’re an average set of earbuds with decent sound, decent ANC, and so many features you might not use all of them.
