Today we’re introducing you to headphones that are special in more ways than one. The JBL Tour Pro 2 are JBL’s current flagship in-ear headphones. What is particularly striking is the color display on the front of the case. But does this really offer added value and how do the headphones perform otherwise? We have thoroughly tested the JBL Tour Pro 2 for you and in this test report you will find out everything you need to know.
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Chic design
The JBL Tour Pro 2 are very stylish, the case is made of matt, slightly rubberized plastic and feels very nice. The display on the front, a high-gloss edge around the opening with “Tour” engraved, completes the case and makes an elegant impression. The headphones themselves continue this design language. High quality, stylish and still very comfortable, the headphones fit perfectly in our ears, and thanks to the shape you can even sleep reasonably well on the headphones, which is only very rarely possible.
It is charged via USB-C or wirelessly, one charge is enough for 8 hours of music with ANC switched on, without it you can even get up to 10 hours, a fantastic value that has been confirmed in practice at medium volume. Up to 40 hours of music are possible with the case.
Of course, active noise cancellation is also installed here, as well as a passthrough function and an adaptive mode. All three are not really world class, unfortunately you get more from other manufacturers in this price range, but the ANC in particular isn’t bad either.
The headphones work with Bluetooth version 5.3 and are also splash-proof according to IPX5.
In addition to a USB-C cable, there are a total of three sizes of silicone attachments included in the scope of delivery. That’s not a lot, but it’s enough for most ears.
Six microphones are installed for ANC, transparency mode and for making calls.
Of course, the 1.45-inch display, which is embedded on the front of the case, is particularly eye-catching.
The display in the case
The big question that you have to ask yourself with the JBL Tour Pro 2 is who needs a display like that? So let’s take a look at what it offers you.
The display works like your smartphone with touch and reacts the same way. It has a lock screen and then pages you can scroll through.
First, you can display the music control buttons so you can start or pause the music and skip forward or back. On the next page comes the volume, then the ANC setting, EQ (with standard profiles and a custom profile from the JBL app), a timer, 3D audio, display brightness, lock screen wallpaper selection, call recognition, auto play/pause , setting for notifications, a way to find the individual headphones, and a flashlight (white screen).
So far, a few more details: The menu can be roughly divided into settings for the headphones, settings for the case and additional functions.
The control options are quite nice, but can usually also be controlled on the headphones themselves or via the smartphone.
The display can show you notifications from your smartphone, this works with Android and iPhone, but you won’t see anything more here than with a smart watch.
Basically, you notice: JBL probably thinks so, that you have the case on the table in front of you while you listen to music. Here the case can be a nice gimmick, otherwise the smartphone is often no further than the case.
This is what the JBL Tour Pro 2 sound like
Of course, the sound is particularly important with headphones, and it should be said again that sound is very subjective, so here is our feeling:
Unfortunately, we are very disappointed with the sound of the JBL Tour Pro 2. In the past, we have always been able to recommend JBL headphones relatively well, as they usually offer very good value for money. But the performance is not right here, and the price is even less so. Let’s get specific.
As already described, the headphones fit very well in our ears. In terms of sound, the headphones offer an almost over-full bass in the bass range, but it is therefore nice and powerful. Unfortunately, we are not at all satisfied with the sound in the mids and highs. The highs quickly appear sharp and frayed. Details in the mids and highs are almost completely lost, which quickly makes the sound unpleasant at slightly higher volumes.
It’s possible to hide a bit using the EQ, but that’s not the purpose of the exercise.
In other words: We are so disappointed with the sound that we bought a second pair to rule out a fault with our copy. Unfortunately, the behavior has been confirmed.
And that’s very, very strange, JBL has been making excellent headphones for years, but for 140 euros you get far better headphones with the JBL Live Pro 2 TWS , from the same manufacturer.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, we were very disappointed with the JBL Tour Pro 2. The case is a nice idea, but you pay dearly for it. It hardly offers any real added value and yet results in a high price. Even if you deduct a hypothetical 100 euros for the case from the retail price, you still get headphones that disappointingly sound worse than the in-house competition. It’s a shame, but we have to strongly advise you against buying it.
