For $299.99, JBL’s Tour One M2 headphones produce bold, bass-forward sound in a comfortable over-ear design. They also offer above-average active noise cancellation (ANC), along with support for hands-free Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice control. That said, finicky touch controls and unpredictable in-app EQ undercut the otherwise premium experience. Ultimately, we recommend you spend slightly more for the Bose QuietComfort Headphones for even better noise cancellation or the Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2 for stronger Bluetooth codec support.

Comfortable Fit, Sensitive Controls

Available in black or silver, the circumaural (over-ear) Tour One M2 headphones have an eggshell-like finish on the outer earcups and headband. The headband's interior and earpads both feature a faux leather material with memory foam padding beneath. They feel quite comfortable over long listening sessions.

Behind the grilles, 40mm dynamic drivers deliver a frequency range of 10Hz to 22kHz in active wireless or wired mode or 10Hz to 40kHz in passive wired mode.

(Credit: Tim Gideon)

The headphones are compatible with Bluetooth 5.3 and work with just the AAC and SBC codecs. For comparison, the Aonic 50 Gen 2 headphones support AptX, AptX Adaptive, AptX HD, and LDAC options for hi-res listening on Android devices. JBL says Google Fast Pair and multipoint connectivity with up to two devices are both available here. Hands-free Alexa and Google Assistant round out the connectivity features.

For controls, there is a capacitive touch panel on the right earcup and a mix of buttons on both sides. Tapping the Action button on the left side once switches between the Noise Canceling and Ambient Aware (transparency) modes. You can add an off option via the app. Double taps of this button toggle the TalkThru feature, a conversation-focused transparency mode that drastically lowers the volume of your music.

Along the edge of the right earcup, an array of buttons handle power/pairing and volume control. The touch panel on the right manages playback (single taps), track navigation (double taps for forward, triple taps for backward), and voice assistant access (long presses). Double taps also answer incoming calls or end ongoing calls, while a tap-and-hold gesture rejects an incoming call or mutes the mic during a call.

The control scheme is intuitive, but the touch surface on the right is far too prone to misfires. I accidentally skipped tracks or paused playback several times when I removed the headphones in testing.

The included USB-A-to-USB-C charging cable connects to a USB-C port at the base of the left earcup, while an included 3.5mm audio cable plugs into a port on the right side. A dual-connection flight adapter is also in the box. The headphones fold down flat to fit inside the included hard-shell zip-up carrying case, which has an internal pocket for all of the accessories.

(Credit: Tim Gideon)

JBL estimates that the headphones can last roughly 50 hours per charge with ANC off or 30 hours with it active. Your results will further vary based on your typical listening volume levels. The battery takes two hours to fully charge from empty, and 10 minutes of charging should net you about five hours of playback.

JBL Tour One M2 App Experience

The JBL Headphones app (available for Android and iOS) has a seemingly endless list of options on its main page, but that's because it doesn't have a separate settings menu.

At the top, a power button and a battery life readout accompany an image of the headphones. Below that is the Ambient Sound Control section. Here, you can select between ANC, Ambient Aware, and TalkThru modes. You can adjust the level of the Ambient Aware mode directly from the main screen or tap into the ANC section to switch between Adaptive ANC and access a fader for the regular ANC.

(Credit: JBL)

Scroll down on the main screen to find the Personi-Fi tile, which builds you a personalized sound signature, and the Equalizer section, which lets you choose between several genre-based presets or create a custom EQ curve with 10 bands between 32Hz and 16kHz. You don't have to use either feature.

Several more tiles are further down, including Spatial Sound (a forgettable implementation with Movie, Music, and Game modes) and Gestures (which lets you see the touch control layout and make minor adjustments).

Beyond this, the tiles cover what you typically expect to see in a settings menu. You can toggle voice prompts and adjust the auto-power-off behavior, for example. The app also helps you set up the hands-free Alexa and Google Assistant integrations. I didn't have any trouble using voice commands to play music, but you can also just use the touch gesture on the earcup instead.

Quality Noise Cancellation

The Tour One M2 headphones performed well in my noise cancellation tests. They noticeably dialed back powerful low-frequency rumble, for instance, though some lows and mids were still audible. When I played a more challenging recording of a busy restaurant, they cut back the lows and mids but didn't diminish the highs as convincingly. Switching between the Adaptive ANC and regular ANC (at the maximum level) modes in the app did little to change the experience. The Bose QuietComfort Headphones are far more effective at mitigating deep low-frequency rumble and deal with the highs appreciably better (though not perfectly).

(Credit: Tim Gideon)

JBL's Ambient Aware and TalkThru modes both work well to help you monitor your surroundings. The TalkThru mode lowers your music volume to a whisper, whereas the Ambient Aware mode doesn't affect it at all. Some might prefer the former, but the latter was sufficient for me. One additional difference is that the TalkThru mode accentuates conversations.

Full-Bodied Audio

The in-app EQ is somewhat effective for adjusting bass and highs to taste, but raising the bass level noticeably lowers the total output level. Blasting the bass results in a comically low volume level, for example, presumably to prevent distortion. I recommend leaving the EQ alone since the bass depth is already robust without adjustments, though you can tweak the highs without as much consequence. For my tests below, I turned the EQ off.

On tracks with intense sub-bass content, like The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” the headphones produce an impressive low-frequency response. The bass depth sounds rich and full at moderate levels. And at top volumes, bass remains robust and distortion-free.

The headphones don't have any trouble reproducing the sub-bass at the 34-second mark of Kendrick Lamar’s “Loyalty.” The deepest note in the progression drops off slightly, but I hear a subwoofer-like rumble throughout. The various vocals sound clear.

(Credit: Tim Gideon)

The drums on Bill Callahan’s “Drover,” a track with far less deep bass in the mix, are relatively natural. Callahan’s baritone vocals get enough high-mid presence to sound crisp, while the acoustic strums and higher-register percussion are bright.

On orchestral tracks, like the opening scene from John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary, I hear a bit more low-frequency boosting than is realistic, though bass lovers might enjoy this presentation. The higher-register brass, strings, and vocals are still bright and crisp, but there’s noticeable anchoring in the lows.

The voice mic array works well, and I could understand every word from a test recording on my iPhone without trouble thanks to the crisp, loud signal.

Reasonable Performance for the Price

The JBL Tour One M2 headphones deliver bass-forward sound and effective active noise cancellation. We also like the array of quality accessories and the comfortable fit, though we wish the capacitive touch panel wasn't so easy to accidentally trigger and that EQ changes didn't dramatically cut the volume. Those drawbacks may seem small, but they're especially worth noting when you consider the high-end price. If you're willing to spend an additional $50, we more highly recommend the Bose QuietComfort Headphones for top-tier noise cancellation, or the Shure Aonic 50 Gen 2 for higher-res codec options.