Customer Reviews

JBL On Tour Portable Speaker System ( Black )

5 star:		(171)
4 star:		(94)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

So far I've used the On Tour with my 8GB Sandisk Sansa - they make a perfect pair (looks too). The speakers are clear sounding, with pleasant bass and clear mid-highs (not tinny). They are used when we're traveling and based in a hotel room, and are a perfect alternative to headphones. Since they are not boom box sized, they're not going to fill a large room with sound, but for a small to mid-sized room they work just fine. I used to pack an old pair of computer speakers - these give me similar performance without the bulk.

I nixed a star because the AC adapter has to be stored separately, and has that thin wire that twists up too easily. Additionally JBL should have included a pouch for the AC adapter, but I'll improvise a solution. Overall highly recommended.

I ordered these speakers as one of the "Deal of the Day" items last week. I've been wanting something like this because I love listening to my ipod while I work around the house, but I can't stand having the headphones on. Try cleaning the tub with the cords dangling everywhere!

So, with the price being right I ordered these speakers, fully expecting a much bigger unit. When the box arrived, I was dismayed at the packaging. It comes packed in that thick plastic that you need a strong pair of scissors and some luck from above to get open. A couple of bleeding knuckles later, and I was able to wrench it free from the packing. (thus my four star rating, rather than five. Any item that causes me to bleed automatically loses a star.)

I wasn't sure if this small little unit would deliver enough sound in my house that has 14' vaulted ceilings and an open floorplan. Boy was I surprised!! This thing sounds amazing! It's light and portable enough to carry from room to room, but I don't think I'll need to! I can just leave it set up in the kitchen and hear it all over the house.

I agree with others who say that it's too bad that you have to unplug the whole thing to close the lid but, like they also said, it's barely worth mentioning......barely.

I'm exceptionally happy with this unit.

I was looking for a set of speakers to hook up to a Sirius Stiletto home dock so that I could listen to Sirius while in my home office. I tried the Klipsch Pro-media speakers and the Bose Companion 2 (Series II) speakers. The Klipsch had no mid-range and the Bose had way to much bass resulting in a horribly muddy sound. These JBLs sound much better than either, and they are truly portable as well. I keep the AC Adapter plugged in my home office, and plug them in while I am working there. And when I head out to the backyard I take these speakers and the Stiletto with me to listen to outside.

Great sound!
Truly Portable!
Very affordable!
Thank you JBL!

I am an ex-musician and an electronics engineer. I have heard a lot of speakers that sound better than these - that go on a bookshelf. These little fellows deliver undistorted, well-imaged sound out of a package that folds small enough to (almost) fit in a pocket. And they look good too.

One major peeve, but not enough to dampen my love: the cables only connect to the system when it is unfolded. The only way to turn the speakers off (reliably - there is an auto shut-off) is to close the little cabinet. Ergo - you have to unplug everything to turn these guys off. That is a small price to pay for a gadget that, while only slightly larger than a programmable calculator, delivers true high fidelity sound.

To give a concrete example: at the volume level these speakers were designed to handle (they are not very loud) they sound better than any boombox or portable I've heard. And these poratables were 10-20 times the size of these speakers.

Surprisingly good sound in a small box. Very compact and great design. I use it with a Sansa E260 that has a pre-set volume control. I've tried a couple other portable speakers (mini-plug input type), but the volume was too soft. However, these speakers can do the job and get loud enough for personal listening.

I read all the reviews on these speakers (including the white ones). The sound quality, considering these are portable speakers, is excellent: clean, clear, and rich mid's and treble. Bass is as expected for small speakers -- there isn't any deep ooomph from drums, but that'd require much larger speakers and power. I've had several other cheap portable speakers and they sounded like clock radio's. I worried that these would also, but they don't -- the sound is high quality.

Negatives: I'd prefer matte rather than shiny black (the piano black thing never made sense to me). But, that's a small issue and the speakers are small, well built and look good.

As others have stated, it'd be preferable to not have to unplug the audio or power cable when closing the system.

Finally, it'd be good to have a car adapter, insead of just the AC home adapter.

I was aware of the above negatives. Otherwise, these are great sounding and well designed small portable speakers and I'd buy again w/out hesitation. They're no longer in production as everything, it seems, now has an ipod dock. I don't want an ipod dock... just an audio jack, so these are a rarity.

I bought these speakers for my iRiver MP3 player. I took this unit on vacation and am so glad I did. The sound was incredible. As good as my home stereo. Granted, you cannot crank the volume on this unit like a home stereo, but it was loud enough that you could hear it poolside from our 4th floor balcony. I also took it to the beach every day. Other reviewers stated that it didn't have much bass. I disagree. I adjusted the EQ settings on my MP3 player and got quality sound, bass and all. The only improvement I would like to see is the carrying bag, which fits the unit perfectly, but could use some additional room to store extra batteries or the MP3player/cord.

I was looking for a speaker system that was small enough to carry in my purse (yes I have a large purse) yet had good sound quality. The small ones I had seen before purchasing this item had a tin sound or it sounded like it was in a well. People in my office were also amazed that the sound quality was as nice coming from such a small item (weighs just over 1 pound). Sound quality while using the batteries was as good as when using the included AC adapter. I am very happy with this item. To turn the item off, you just close the case and the power light switches off. For me, portability was priority with sound quality being second. However, with this JBL On Tour I was able to have both in one item.

Weighs less than a pound.
Measures 7" x 3.5" x 1.4"
Comes with an AC adapter
Requires 4 "AAA"s if not using Ac adapter

Pros:
-Loud enough for it size. Decent sound and base. Certainly louder than my Creative TravelSound 400 Portable Speaker System.
-Love the slide cover design
-Sleek looking.
-Unlike the Creative Travelsound, the speakers have grills to protect it.
-Rubber footing prevents it from sliding off the table.

Cons:
-Battery compartment is somewhat difficult to place and remove batteries. Opening the compartment is also not a piece of cake.
-Awkward placement of the power input and audio jack. You have to unplug both to close the lid.
-one of the toughest bubble product case I have struggled opening. Be careful cutting your fingers.
-batteries not included

Off button? Press the "+" and "-" buttons at the same time.
This appeared at least 3 times on Amazon Goldbox (Around 39$)

Compact and puts out decent sound. The set includes an AC adapter as well as the patch cord and the speakers do work best when you can use AC. The adapter is not bulky like many and is offset 90 degrees so as not to take up a bunch of space on the outlet. I use this unit in a church small group setting, large room with ~20 people around tables, and I don't need full volume. Also, at high volume there is not the distortion you get with other speakers. These are great for "nearby" listening but I would look to other speakers if I wanted to "fill a room" with sound, but then this is what one should expect. The unit comes with a soft, corded bag which can also hold the patch cord but not the adapter. I found a larger bag that came with a SCUBA mask to hold the smaller bag along with the adapter, it would be nice if the bag they provided could hold it all in the first place. I do recommend these if you wish to have portables for personal or "small area" listening.