When the JBL Tour One M3 released last year, we rated them as generally strong, albeit flawed flagship headphones. While we appreciated their solid ANC and handy Smart Tx transmitter, their audio output left us feeling conflicted. See, their soundstaging and dynamism impressed, although we felt that bass could be a tad overstated, and the highs could do with some refining.
But it seems that JBL has listened to critics and users alike, and in turn, has launched a major update to its flagship cans, including a reimagined sound curve.
So, how has JBL changed the sound of the Tour One M3? What were the motivations behind the change? And just how good do they sound now? I put these questions to Mikael Herje, the global director of JBL’s headphones business, and also gave the upgraded headphones a go myself — here’s everything I learned.
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A new sound using old tricks
The Tour One M3’s new sound is strongly inspired by the Harman Curve — a target frequency response created by researchers at JBL’s parent company in 2012. However, it was also assessed by JBL’s in-house Golden-Ears-certified experts, who have to pass a challenging test to prove their audiophile credentials. On top of this, independent panels compared the Tour One M3’s new sound against its previous one, to ensure that the update was indeed an upgrade.
These three pillars formed the results we’re hearing now on the Tour One M3, which, according to Mikael Herje, is “a refinement to get it [the M3] to that next level”.
But what has specifically changed to enhance the sound? Well, according to JBL, bass is now “more controlled and natural”, there’s been a “⁓2dB refinement” in the low-mid range, and there’s also a 3-5dB boost in the 4-8kHz segment, higher in the frequency range.
“In the JBL tuning, we're always a bit heavy on the bass, and that’s worked really well from the entry to the higher end products for years,” said Herje. However, he stressed that listening expectations have changed, and the company had discovered that “the more experienced the listeners are, the less bass heavy they want the sound — they want it more balanced”.
At first, the focus was on refining the M3’s bass output, but in doing this, Herje noted that “we also saw that there're other elements we can increase and work on as well to to get to a more refined sound curve for the premium headphone”.
This change, he stressed, is limited to the range-topping products only — those being the Tour One M3 over-ear headphones and the JBL Tour Pro 3 earbuds. “We're not doing it in the other ones because they are working really well for their audience — it's punchy, it's lively, you get immersed."
It’s a different story for the Tour line, though. Herje told me that the decision to refine the sound of JBL’s premium headphones fits within a broader effort to make strides in the higher-end part of the market. “We’re really stepping up our game with premium headphones,” he said. "This is the third iteration, and we still have a 10-year plan ahead of us to really take that space.”
Why now?
Something that interested me about this new sound direction was JBL’s decision to implement it on an existing pair of headphones. We’ve seen a few competitors go in a new direction, sonically speaking, as of late — but typically through a new product.
For instance, Sony decided to go for more of a ‘studio’ sound on its latest flagships, the Sony WH-1000XM6, and consulted leading mastering engineers to get a more balanced end product than the XM5 and XM4 models.
Rolling out on an existing model felt like a fitting approach for Herje, however. “What we wanted to do is show our consumers that buy these [the Tour One M3] that we’re not only putting it in new stuff — but also giving products a longer life cycle, and giving consumers more from them,” he said.
Although JBL’s updated sound is coming to the existing M3 via an over the air update, it’s also coming to a new product — well, of sorts.
That’s because JBL has released the Tour One M3 in a brand new colorway — a green and copper variant that I’ve been using. In my view, it’s a gorgeous-looking model, with deep, classy green casing, neat copper accents, and a luxurious vibe.
So… are they any good?
It’s clear that the sonic refinements on the M3 are part of JBL’s wider push to gain ground in the premium headphones market. But just how good do they sound after the update? And can the M3 compete with some of the best headphones around? Here’s what I think after listening for a fair few hours.
First of all, I think these changes make for a promising first step. As Herje mentioned, JBL’s more bass-heavy tuning makes a lot of sense for the more budget-friendly options, but I was instantly struck by the more balanced sound when using the M3 — which feels more fitting for more premium cans.
Bass is still fairly plentiful, and in Here to Catch You by Chris Stussy and S.A.M., I was treated to an agile low-end output that sounded brilliantly controlled throughout, and never impeded spacey synths or energetic percussion. The low-end doesn’t sound so prominent using the new sound signature, and fans of genres like House or Drum and Bass may want to ramp things up a little, but this is easy to do with JBL’s companion app equalizer.
Mids sound well-defined on the M3 after this update — helping more stripped back tracks sound especially enjoyable. In Jet Fuel by Mac Miller, the rapper’s lines sounded well separated from backing vocals, smooth bass, and relaxed percussion, making for a satisfyingly nuanced listening experience. In America’s A Horse With No Name, I also enjoyed the clarity of acoustic guitars and vocals, and the subtlety of drums in the backdrop.
The M3 also got a pretty significant boost in the 4-8kHz range, but treble didn’t come across as abrasive or harsh to my ears. In Timeless by Shinchiro Yotoka, I was met with expressive yet clean high-pitched drums, which sounded articulate and precise, even at higher volumes.
Are you going to get the brilliant instrument separation, expansiveness, and openness of the top-tier premium headphones on the M3? Not quite. Ultimately, these lack the top-class sonic talents of models like the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3. However, both of these models cost more than $100 / £100 than their JBL counterpart.
This update helps the M3 to offer more detail, and the slightly tempered bass is a great fit for acoustic tracks in particular. Sure, there are rivals that can offer a more intricate, layered listening experience, but for headphones that are regularly available for less than $300 / £250, I’d argue that JBL’s cans perform admirably.
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