Mention premium Bluetooth ANC headphones and most people will ask you to fork out something in the region of Rs 25,000 - Rs 30,000 and invest in the likes of the excellent Sony WH-1000XM5 (review) or the Bose Quiet Comfort series. However, you can get a pair of headphones that more than match these at a much lower price. We are talking of the JBL Tour One M2. These were launched in early April 2023 at an official price of Rs 34,999, but are now available at about half that price for Rs 17,999 (). And at that price, we have no problem declaring them potential Sony and Bose premium ANC headphone killers. A premium design and comfortable to wear The JBL Tour One M2 come with a very premium design. They are made of very high-quality plastic and have a slightly glossy finish on the outside. They might seem a little heavy at 270 grams, but their earcups and headbands come with memory foam cushions, which are extremely comfortable (close to the Bose Quiet Comfort level, which is the gold standard for us). We have worn ours for hours (pun unintended) without ever feeling too burdened. The earcups also come with controls that are easy to use - there is a slider to switch the headphones on and off, and also an ANC button and also volume buttons. They also have very responsive touch controls on the earcups. They connect via Bluetooth 5.3, and support Google FastPair, and also come with multi-point connectivity, so you can actually pair them to two devices (way, a notebook and a phone) and switch smoothly between them. The headphones can fold up very conveniently (the earcups can also fold inwards, which many new headphones do not - we are looking at you, Sony and Shure!) into a form factor that you can actually carry in the palm of your hand. There is a very good hard carrying case that comes with them, but they are tough enough to be simply draped around your neck or chucked into a backpack. Ours have survived and still look very good. A word of caution, though - like most high-end ANC headphones these do not come with dust and water resistance, so resist the temptation to use them in the gym. Rich sound, with brilliant bass Mind you, the temptation to use them everywhere will be very high. Simple because the JBL Tour One M2 sound magnificent, and comes with the famous Hi-Res certified JBL Pro Sound. They come with 40 mm drivers and have a slightly bass-forward audio signature (which you can adjust using the EQ that comes with the excellent companion app) that does not compromise on details, giving you an incredibly rich audio experience. Also on board is JBL's own take on spatial sound (a feature that many premium headphones do not have), which gives you a feeling of sitting in a room, surrounded by sound. While it is not quite (the more than three times as expensive) AirPods Max level, it is significantly better than most of the competition, making these headphones very good not just for music, but also for watching films and shows and tuning in to podcasts. Rather than go crazy over supporting multiple codecs, these stick to the two basic ones: SBC and AAC, and handle them brilliantly. No, there is no LDAC support here, but we did not miss it. In terms of pure audio quality, we would say that these have a clear edge over the Sony WH-1000 XM5, and those preferring rich bass that is not overwhelming might even prefer these to the Bose Quiet Comfort. Great call quality, very good ANC, super battery life…these have them all The JBL Tour One M2 also score heavily in the smart department. They come with adaptive noise cancellation (ANC), which adjusts depending on your conditions, and also have a very good transparency mode, letting you hear external sounds. They also have a smart talk feature which pauses the audio when you start talking (a mixed blessing if you are the type that likes to murmur while writing, like we do). The ANC on them is very good and quite close to what you get on the Sony WH-1000 XM5 (which remains the gold standard for us in ANC) - good enough to drown out a fair amount of sound in a cafe or on the Metro. We actually sometimes used them just with ANC turned on, and no audio, simply to get some peace in noisy areas. One of our favourite features was the way in which they handled calls - people were talking to never realised we were using headphones. Round that off with 50-hour battery life (30 hours with ANC), and you can see why we think the JBL Tour One M2 are a staggeringly good option for anyone looking for a pair of premium ANC headphones. They have the looks, the sound, the ANC, smart features and very good battery life. And now they have a terrific price tag too.
