At a glance
Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Light, comfortable design
- Versatile smart transmitter
- Good battery life
- Strong sound quality
Cons
- Plastic casing could be sturdier
- No support for aptX
- Auracast is not widely support right now
Our Verdict
It’s not best-in-class in any one area, but the M3 provides a good all-round combination of strong sound quality, impressive battery life and versatile connectivity features. And, with its smart transmitter, it’s one of the first headphones to fully support the new Auracast broadcasting technology.
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Despite the huge success of its AirPods range, Apple has always been a bit slow to adopt new audio technologies. It took years to bring high-res audio to the Apple Music streaming service, and even the wildly expensive AirPods Max wasn’t able to play lossless or high-res audio until an update in March 2025.
Apple’s also lagging behind some of its rivals with support for new Bluetooth features, such as the Auracast broadcasting technology. Auracast allows one device or audio source to transmit Bluetooth audio to multiple sets of headphones, as well as Auracast-compatible hearing aids and cochlear implants.
That broadcasting ability makes Auracast great for public announcement and entertainment systems, as well as being a useful accessibility feature for people with hearing problems. At a recent event promoting its accessibility technologies, Apple staff reportedly said that it is “excited” by the potential of Auracast, although the company has not given any indication of when it will add Auracast to its own products.
One solution to this has recently arrived in the form of JBL’s new Tour One M3, priced at $449.95/£379.99. Available in a variety of colours, the M3 over-ear headphones also include a separate ‘Smart TX’ – a small transmitter that can be connected to a wired audio source such as a laptop computer or an in-flight entertainment system on a plane. It can then transmit wireless audio directly to the M3 using ordinary Bluetooth, or use Auracast to transmit to multiple sets of nearby headphones (as long as those headphones also support Auracast too).
Some regions outside the U.S. do have the option of buying the M3 headphones on their own, without the transmitter – with the U.K. price set at £329.99 – although that doesn’t currently seem to be an option in the U.S. The previous M2 model is also still widely available both from JBL and other online retailers, so make sure you buy the correct model when ordering online.
The design of the M3 headphone is fairly conventional, with large padded earpieces and an adjustable headband, and it only weighs 278g – compared to 386g for the AirPods Max – so it’s light and comfortable enough to wear for hours at a time on a long journey. Admittedly, the lightweight plastic casing doesn’t feel as sturdy as the AirPods Max, but JBL does include a hard-shell carrying case to help keep it safe when you’re travelling.
Battery life is very good too, lasting for 70 hours on a single charge. That’s reduced to 40 hours if you’re using active noise-cancellation, but that should still see you most of the way around the world on a long flight, and the M3 also has a fast-charge feature that can give you another five hours of music with just a quick five minutes of charging time.
Sound Quality
You can use the M3 on its own, listening via Bluetooth or using the USB-C port on the right earpiece to provide a wired connection. The M3 supports Apple’s AAC codec for Bluetooth audio, along with Sony’s LDAC, but it’s a little disappointing that such an expensive headphone doesn’t also support the high-quality aptX codec as well.
Sound quality using AAC on my iPad works fine though, and the M3 does a good job handling the cocktail of sounds on Ricky Martin’s She Bangs, streamed from Apple Music in lossless format. There’s a lively energy to the blaring horns, and a slinky, smooth sound to the bass guitar that gets the hips swaying. It pulls out plenty of detail in the mix too, finding room for the light tinkling piano, and rattling cowbells and maracas.
The only noticeable weakness here is that the treble can sound a little harsh as it pushes higher up the frequency range, and the roof-rattling vibrato of Timi Yuro on her ‘60s classic Hurt can fray around the edges at times. The noise-cancellation leaves a little room for improvement too. The M3 does a good job dealing with the low-frequency drone of an aircraft engine, but a murmur of higher frequencies remains noticeable and the M3 can’t match the highly effective noise-cancellation of more expensive rivals such as the AirPods Max or the Bose Quiet Comfort range. Take a look at our round up of the Best over-ear headphones where we compare the AirPods Max with the competition.
When used in conventional Bluetooth mode, you can use the 10-band EQ in the JBL app to adjust the sound to your personal taste. There’s also an option called Personi-fi that plays a series of tones at different frequencies in order to analyse your hearing and adjust the sound profile to get the best results. And, of course, you also have the option of switching to the Smart TX transmitter as well. As mentioned, the transmitter is designed to work with wired audio sources, such as an entertainment system on a plane or in a gym, so that it can then transmit wireless audio to the M3 via Bluetooth, or broadcast to multiple sets of nearby headphones using Auracast.
The transmitter has a small touch-sensitive LCD screen that allows you to flick through a series of controls for adjusting volume, noise-cancellation and other settings. It has two USB-C ports, with one providing both power and a wired audio connection, while the other is for power only. There are cables for 3.5mm audio and USB-C, with a USB-A adaptor also included, so you can use the transmitter with a wide range of computers, mobile devices and audio equipment. You can even turn the brightness of the screen right up and use it as a small torch, which might come in handy in a darkened cabin on an overnight flight.
Should You Buy The JBL Tour One M3 Smart TX
Frequent fliers and business travellers might prefer headphones that provide more effective noise-cancellation, but the M3 provides good sound quality and impressive battery life at a price that is far lower than high-end rivals such as the AirPods Max. And, of course, its Smart TX transmitter provides useful connectivity features and support for Auracast that few of its rivals can currently match.
