CES 2025: JBL’s new headphones come with a game-changing touchscreen transmitter
The Tour One M3 were one of several new JBL products launched at CES and offer something a little different to their over-ear competitors
I’m always happy to see brands try something innovative with their headphones. The market is oversaturated, and too often manufacturers play it safe with iterative updates.
When I learned that JBL was launching the JBL Tour One M3 over-ear headphones at CES, my initial reaction was that it was doing just that. I felt like I already knew what the press release would say: promises of improved noise cancellation, superior sound quality, longer battery life and perhaps a refinement of the design that served the JBL Tour One M2 well.
While I wasn’t too far off the mark – the Tour One M3 have upgraded drivers, better battery life and ear cushions filled with a “special foam that improves passive noise cancellation” – they offer something I’ve not come across on a pair of mainstream over-ear headphones.
That something is the JBL Smart Tx, a wireless audio transmitter the brand says will help the Tour One M3 push the boundaries of what high-performance over-ear headphones can achieve. The accessory can be plugged into any USB-C or analogue audio source to unlock more stable and lower latency wireless streaming as well as enhanced call quality.
Wireless transmitters are nothing new, but what sets this one apart is that it lets you access the Tour One M3’s suite of features via an in-built touch screen. This looks a lot like the screen on the front of the charging case of the JBL Tour Pro 3 true wireless earbuds and seems to work in much the same way. You’ll be able to control music playback and tweak EQ settings and the Smart Tx also supports Auracast, so you can broadcast what you’re listening to to any number of compatible devices.
Alas, the headphones do work out pretty pricey. Available in either Black, Mocha or Blue, the JBL Tour One M3 will cost £380 with the Smart Tx transmitter or £330 without it when they go on sale in April. That puts them firmly in premium territory and up against heavy hitters like Bowers & Wilkins, Bose, and Sony. None of those brands have a wireless transmitter-cum-control module up their sleeve, though.
Away from the transmitter, the Tour One M3’s specifications look pretty sold. They operate over Bluetooth 5.3, have a built-in DAC capable of handling 24-bit/96kHz streaming over USB-C, eight microphones looking after adaptive noise cancellation, up to 70 hours of battery life, and the broad range of features and customisation options we’ve come to expect from JBL. Supported features include JBL’s Spatial Sound with Head Tracking, Seamless SmartTalk and JBL Person-Fi 3.0, which creates a bespoke audio profile based on how well you hear certain frequencies.
I was a fan of the Tour One M3’s predecessors, describing the M2 as “some of the most fully-featured over-ear headphones” I’d tested and imploring anyone looking for a quality pair of over-ears to consider them. The M3 are equally well-specified and I’m hoping for meaningful improvements in all the key areas of their performance. That said, without the wireless transmitter, they’re just another iterative update that costs slightly more than the product that came before it. With it, they have the potential to stand out from the crowd.
