JBL’s Tour Pro 3 earbuds have an insane amount of tech

JBL has outdone themselves with the new Tour Pro 3 wireless earbuds, which could easily be dubbed the JBL Tour de Force. Building upon the already feature-rich second-gen Tour Pro, the Tour Pro 3 take things to a whole new level. However, this upgrade comes with a price increase, as they will be priced at $300 when they hit the market on September 22.

Visually, the third-gen model remains similar to its predecessor, available in black or “latte” color options. While the earbuds retain their original shape, the case has been slightly reduced in size and now features a 30% larger screen. Additionally, the case can serve as a retransmitter for both analog and digital audio when connected to devices like computers, smartphones, or in-flight entertainment systems using the included cables.

JBL joins the ranks of Bowers & Wilkins, LG, and Jabra in offering this unique feature on wireless earbuds.

Interestingly, when using the Tour Pro 3 with the case for wired listening, JBL claims that they do not utilize Bluetooth at all. Instead, the company asserts that the direct connection between the case and earbuds offers greater stability and lower latency than Bluetooth, making it ideal for gaming, calls, movies, and music.

Similar to the previous model, the case allows for direct control over various functions such as playback, ANC, and spatial audio.

The earbuds now boast dust and water resistance with an IP55 rating. Inside, a new dual-driver acoustic platform is utilized, pairing an 11mm dynamic driver for low frequencies with a balanced armature driver for higher frequencies, each equipped with its own DAC. OnePlus has also introduced a similar setup for its Buds Pro 3.

Previously, I had criticized JBL for offering hi-res capability on the Tour Pro 2 without including any hi-res codecs. This has since been addressed, as the Tour Pro 3 now support Sony’s hi-res audio LDAC Bluetooth codec, which is standard on Android phones running version 8.0 or higher (not compatible with iPhones).

Additionally, I had suggested an upgrade to the spatial audio feature on the Tour Pro 2 with head-tracking, similar to Apple’s AirPods Pro 2, and this enhancement has been integrated into the Tour Pro 3.

Improving upon my previous calling experience with the Tour Pro 2, JBL has introduced a new “JBL Crystal AI” call algorithm for the Tour Pro 3, promising enhanced clarity even in noisy environments.

Lastly, the Tour Pro 3 mark JBL’s first full Auracast wireless earbuds. Users can utilize the JBL Headphones app to discover and tune into available Auracast broadcasts, with the charging case also capable of transmitting using Auracast — a convenient way to share content with others.