JBL adds a companion smart transmitter to its flagship Tour One headphones at CES 2025

By Simon Cohen Published January 6, 2025

JBL brought its third-gen JBL Tour One M3 noise-canceling wireless headphones to CES 2025, and it looks like the cans will ship with an unusual accessory when they officially go on sale April 13, 2025, for $400: a so-called smart transmitter that combines a color touchscreen with digital and analog wired audio inputs. The device can wirelessly transmit any incoming audio to the Tour One M3, letting you listen to wired sources like computers or in-flight entertainment systems without using a cable connected directly to the headphones.

It’s effectively the same system that JBL created for its Tour Pro 3 wireless earbuds — all of the smart transmitter features are built into the charging case. With wireless earbuds, the benefit of a transmitter is clear: earbuds can’t connect to wired audio sources on their own. It’s less clear if headphone buyers feel the need for a similar system given that most wireless cans come with analog (and sometimes digital) cables.

The Tour One M3’s smart transmitter can also create Auracast broadcasts, letting you share your wired audio with anyone else who has an Auracast-capable set of headphones or earbuds. On the flip side, the transmitter can also find and connect the Tour One M3 to any available Auracast broadcasts within reception range.

While the transmitter is the big innovation on the M3, JBL says it has improved virtually all of the headphones’ other features too:

JBL has also developed two new wireless headphone models for kids, which will be available in March 2025:

The brand also used CES 2025 to show off updates to its entire range of wireless/wired headphones and wireless earbuds, which will be available in March 2025. The most notable updates are the inclusion of active noise cancellation on the Vibe 2 series (the first time JBL has offered ANC on a set of semi-open earbuds), and the addition of spatial audio on the Tune 2 series.