JBL Quantum 800 Wireless Headset

Tuning out the world. It’s something I often do when playing games. Theme music plays, press the start button, begin a journey into a new place that isn’t your own existence. This blissful form of escapism is possible with other forms of media but none resonate with me like gaming. Not only can you play games–see the movements of your fingers translated into movements on the screen–you can hear them, be swept up by music or voice acting and sound effects.

For me, sound has become the second most important thing in a game next to gameplay. Think of the iconic soundtracks that have been released for your favorite series. Think of Dr. Wily’s Castle from Mega Man 2 and how a composer with limited equipment could create a powerhouse that holds up by today’s standards. What about the punch of gunfire as bullets whizz past your character or into the head of an online opponent?

The synergy of audio and visual has introduced an industry of manufacturers hoping to capitalize on a game’s sound through two small cups that rest on players’ ears. Who would have thought headphones would become one of the crucial pieces of gear a player could have outside of a screen and a controller?

My journey with gaming headsets began about 10 years when I bought the official PlayStation-branded Wireless Stereo Headset for my PlayStation 3. What a jewel that thing was. Simulated surround sound, Bluetooth connectivity, and a microphone for chat? Life couldn’t have gotten any better. Sure, I’d heard games through expensive surround setups but there was a certain intimacy being able to hear all those smaller sound details occupy your ear in such a full way. Since then, I’ve bought, listened through, or reviewed dozens of headsets of varying quality. The weirdest was probably a headset that aimed to improve deep bass by using a rumble feature in the ear cups. I’ve played games using high-end stereo headphones meant for music, plopped on several devices on my head at E3, and been treated to gaming mainstays Turtle Beach and Astro at review events.

The JBL Quantum 800 Wireless Headset is, without a doubt, one of the best gaming headsets I’ve had the pleasure to listen through. It checks so many of the boxes a player should look out for when making this important purchase. Most importantly, it nails a rich spectrum of sound that a listener may come to expect from a variety of uses. Over the past few weeks I’ve put the JBL Quantum 800 through a number of listening tests. Story-driven games, competitive shooters, Spotify sessions, movies, and chat-based meetings have all been conducted using the headset and trying out its varying features. If it’s not evident, I’ve come out quite pleased.

Background

Over time, it’s become apparent that the one of the gold standards for gaming headsets is the Astro A40 with its optional MixAmp. For several years this has been one of the most common headsets I’ve seen used at demo stations and during preview and review events. Prominently featured at Call of Duty events, the tech crew always manage to tune the Astro A40 to extract some of the best sound that can be heard out of the highly produced shooter. Explosions thunder and the sound of gunshots ring and vibrate in your ears without any odd tech. Since Turtle Beach released its Elite Pro line of headsets that also come with amps that can fine-tune sound, I’ve used them for my personal gaming sessions.

Combined, these two brands have occupied the biggest mind share of players looking for premium sound. As wonderful as Astro and Turtle Beach’s premium headsets are, the entry price might be a bit much and the complexity of achieving the best possible sound also relies on internet forums or a lot of tinkering with physical or virtual equalizers. The sound was always great but if I had a bit more know-how, it could be greater.

JBL is not a brand that I can say I’m personally experienced with. In my life it’s more than likely I’ve listened to music through a pair of JBL headphones or a Bluetooth speaker and recognize it’s a quality brand. Like Sennheiser or Blue–brands that have a footing in audio but not necessarily gaming audio–JBL is bringing its experience in audio tech to gaming with the Quantum line of devices. With the Quantum 100, 200, 300, 400, 600, 800, PC speakers called the Quantum Duo, and its flagship headset the Quantum One, JBL is attempting to nudge itself into every feasible price a player might be looking to enter into with a sound device.

Sound Quality

The Quantum 800 is the lineup’s almost top-of-the-line device. The headset, unlike the flagship Quantum One, does not feature head-tracking surround sound, is wireless (but can also be used wired), and has slightly different visual flairs. Though I cannot speak to the Quantum One’s biggest feature, the Quantum 800’s sound right out of the box is phenomenal. For a large portion of my time, the headset was connected wirelessly to my PlayStation 4 Pro. Players connect a wireless dongle to an available USB port, push a button on the dongle, and adjust the PS4’s settings so it will recognize the headset.

The first game I played was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. I made sure the volume was dialed all the way up and jumped into a match. Immediately the flood of guns and explosions ripped through my ears, drowning out everything around me. But it wasn’t too much. Though I was playing in Shipment, the busiest, most chaotic map in the game, I could still recognize where shots were coming from all around me. It was wild. Then I went into Warzone to see how the more subtle sounds like stealthy footsteps and distant noises would work. All incredible. I could better place when an intruder was invading my space and whether or not I could get a jump on an exit strategy. Of course, better sound won’t immediately make you a better player. It will, however, make you more aware of enemy placement in games where that is an important factor.

Every game I’ve wrote about the past several weeks has been played using the Quantum 800. The badass 80s synth soundtrack of Huntdown came to detailed life. Trackmania‘s revving engines and bouncy music had me tapping my feet. Fury Unleashed‘s comic insanity bounced around every corner of my ear while the delicate rain and thunder of Kingdom Two Crowns rang like peaceful ambiance. I heard Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice‘s incredible dual audio in new ways, making me see how well Ninja Theory brought players into that realm of mental anguish. And let me tell you, this is the way to experience Doom Eternal‘s hellishly violent bloodbath of guns and death metal.

Using Hi-Res certified 50mm drivers, the sound delivery on the Quantum 800 roars in the best ways. This headset can get loud, almost excessively so. But I’m a player and a listener who appreciates being able to nearly deafen myself, especially when I want to tune out the world. Word of warning: when it comes to the more technical aspects of gaming hardware, I’m at a loss for what to say. I could tell you that the headset has a frequency response of 20Hz-40kHz but I have no idea what that means. Want to know about those kinds of specifications? Look up the Quantum 800 on JBL’s website or read a review from a site that caters to your thirst for technical information. I just know how this headset sounds when its cups are placed around my ears.

Several headsets in the Quantum line feature JBL QuantumSURROUND, a signature audio format meant to further amplify the depth of sound that comes from a virtual 7.1 surround sound environment the game creates and the headset replicates. While JBL says QuantumSURROUND is only available on PC, it would be a disservice to say that there is a significant drop in quality going from PC to console. The ability to fine-tune PC sound definitely shows with the Quantum 800, especially when playing audio tests. But launch into a game on any platform and try and tell if one sounds worse, I dare you. I played The Division 2 on both my PC and PS4 and was equally impressed by the coverage. If anything, it just made me more excited for what audio capabilities we may see on the next generation of consoles.

Headset Features

Rounding out the audio delivery on the Quantum 800 is its ability to toggle Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) on and off. Though I’ve used several headsets in my time, I can’t remember putting any on that had ANC as a feature. There are countless pieces of hardware that claim to cancel out noise in one way or another. Many do this through fairly thick ear cup padding that admirably blocks out outside noise. Despite not knowing the tech behind ANC–especially in very expensive headsets–the Quantum 800 executes the feature how I expected it would function. By touching a button at the top backside of the left ear, players can toggle ANC on or off. With the feature turned on, the sound coming out of the headset felt trapped inside the cups and around my ears while a significant amount of outside noise was almost blocked out entirely. Toggling ANC off, game sound became somewhat quieter, allowing outside noise to come in a bit better. However, holding down the ANC button engages the Talkthru features which drops the sound to a minimum, letting players to potentially take calls easier and hear their own voice.

One afternoon, someone was mowing their lawn two doors down from me. I play my console and PC sitting at a desk right next to a window and while using the headset’s ANC feature barely noticed the constant roar of the mower. Out of curiosity, I toggled the ANC on and off while also having my window up and down to see how it compared. With ANC off, the mower felt closer but not excessively loud, especially when I was actively playing a game. With ANC on, the mower sounded like it was a block away with no other game sound active and a barely audible hum when I was playing something. I asked my girlfriend to speak with me while I had ANC turned on, talking at different volumes from about 12 feet away. Unless I was directly looking at her, I wouldn’t be able to actually hear her unless she raised her voice far above a conversational level, but certainly not at a shout. I even gave her the headset and tested out this experiment, along with trying to see how close we could get to the ear cups before any game audio bled through.

Now I understand why people buy headphones with Active Noise Cancelling and aren’t afraid to spend a pretty penny on it, especially if they are frequent commuters. The Quantum 800 truly has the ability to block out interference from the outside world and when you are wanting to put most of your focus into a game, that’s a godsend. An argument can be made for the fact that the headset can cancel out noise a bit too well, I suppose. There’s likely a good amount of players who don’t want to miss out on certain things happening around them. It can feel a bit off knowing someone else is nearby and you won’t have the ability to hear them casually talking to you.

Players might also not enjoy the lack of mic monitoring, especially when having the headset at higher volumes tends to throw off how loud you think you might be speaking. When dealing with party chat on PS4, I’ve had a wide range of experiences when dealing with headset microphones. My Turtle Beach Elite Pro 2 for some reason has a tendency to let chat and game volume to bleed through the ear cups and the microphone is able to pick it up, causing people in party chat to basically hear their own echo. It’s distracting on all sides and regardless of mic placement, a problem I could never seem to solve.

For the Quantum 800, I again tried a few experiments with my girlfriend and in PlayStation party chat. One of us used the Quantum 800 with game audio at varying levels and ANC on while the other used a different headset. Only when the headset volume was at its maximum could there be the slightest bit of echo from either voice chat or the game. Better yet, the microphone doesn’t seem to pick up a great deal of noise that isn’t directed right at it.

When used wirelessly, players can push a button on the bottom of the headset’s back left or flip the microphone up the mute themselves. Connected by the 3.5mm jack, a switch can be flipped to mute while a dial raises volume. When doing volume tests on my PS4 and PC, I felt like the microphone maybe wasn’t sensitive enough because my normal speaking voice was barely registering. However, when I was in a party, I was told my voice came in quite clear and at a good volume. My one complaint with the microphone is that it does point downward at quite far of an angle when it is completely unfolded. My head is rounder and not that long so I tended to angle the microphone up when speaking, careful not to push it up too far and mute myself.

Certified for Discord, the Quantum 800 has the ability to let players adjust both game and chat audio. Using a dial below the ANC button, players can adjust how loud one or the other is. On PS4, this option is great to use in addition to the tools players are given to enhance game or audio chat in their party settings. On PC, I mainly used the chat feature of the Quantum 800 during Zoom and Discord calls when game audio was not an issue. Still, it’s one of my favorite features of any headset and I’m thrilled that the Quantum 800 incorporates it so effectively. Being able to adjust these levels on the fly with a dial means that you won’t have to pause your game or take crucial seconds to change anything to better hear the party or the game. When finding the right balance between the voices of my team and the sound of the game, I never felt like one took priority over the other. During easygoing multiplayer-focused sessions, I never found the game too loud when worrying about what others were saying. And if I needed to concentrate on subtle noises in Warzone, I just drowned out the sound of the party with a small turn of the dial.

Bluetooth connectivity means that the Quantum 800 can also be used in conjunction with other devices, including a phone. While I would never buy the headset just for use with a smartphone, I could see the benefits of taking a long call or watching media during any kind of commute. Though the subtleties of sound during movie or television come across on the Quantum 800, I enjoy it more for its ability to bring music to life.

Build Quality

Aesthetically speaking, the sleek blacks and greys that compromise the build of the Quantum 800 are in line with most standard gaming headsets. It’s a wonderful headset to not only look at but have on your head. One of my favorite subtle touches is the way two cords connect the ear cups to the headband. The black and orange thread of the cord matches the colors of the “L” and “R” inside the ear cups and the threads used for the charging cable and 3.5mm cord.

Without feeling too bulky or heavy, the headset rests on the head comfortably. Its lighter form also benefits from the memory foam ear cushions wrapped in leather and a breathable headband. As the summer heat comes in, I’ll admit to being a bit sweaty while wearing the headset but never felt like the material was causing any excess moisture around the ears and head. Thankfully, the cups can rotate to give your head a bit of room to breathe or leave an ear opening for hearing other things going on in your world. Really, I think my only gripe with the headset’s design–and it’s minor–is the length and placement of the microphone and that at first, the buttons and dials on the headset can be a bit odd to work with. Most of the primary functions are on the left cup, meaning they are grouped together and your thumb or finger may touch multiple dials before getting used to their layout. I was pleased that the power button was on the opposite side and liked that it could lock in place to turn off and stay off, or be slid toward the face at any time to turn it on.

It will take a few hours of use to become comfortable with the numerous buttons on the Quantum 800, mostly because a few of them have two uses. The ANC button also engages Talkthru when it is held down and the mute button can also turn off the headset’s LED lights.

Oh yeah, did I mention this headset has an LED feature? Referred to as JBL Quantum Lighting, the Quantum 800’s JBL logo and the ring around it will light up in a wide array of colors. Obviously this is not a feature that may matter to a large group of players because they won’t be staring at their headset while wearing it. That being said, I really loved this feature just because of how customizable it can be.

By downloading the JBL QuantumENGINE software for PC, players will get a control deck for their headset that features several exciting options that enhance the Quantum 800 experience. On PC, players will be able to adjust the QuantumSURROUND feature, going so far as to input their head diameter and body height. An equalizer with several presets results in very precise tuning and works best when players create multiple profiles that can be changed on the fly. Just like the sound can be adjusted, the headset’s lighting can be changed. Five presets are given and players are allowed to change the lighting of the logo or the ring to any color they wish and adjust the rate at which the colors change. This allows for a number of flashy patterns to be created by any player willing to take the time with it. It might seem excessive but honestly, it’s just really cool. I imagine there will be players who would love to sync up the Quantum 800’s lights with those of their gaming rig for an absurd visual. Lastly, the JBL QuantumENGINE software tells players what volume the headset is at, how much battery life is left in it, the chat and game mix levels, and whether or not the microphone is muted. As a word of caution, however, setting up 7.1 functionality on PC can be somewhat of a pain because that’s just how Windows is sometimes. But being more focused on console gaming, this was less of an issue for me.

When it comes to battery life, the Quantum 800 can reach up to 14 hours. However, that total applies to listening to music without the lighting. Though I never timed the headset’s battery life, I got in at least a solid 8 hours of gaming before I stopped for the day and charged it. Using a USB-C connection the headset can charge to from empty to full in 2 hours. Though it sucks that you can’t use the headset while it’s charging, it will shut off automatically after a few minutes if no sound is detected.

Overall

The JBL Quantum 800 Wireless Headset is a beast. Crisp and clear sound can become a bombastic bass fest when games get especially crazy. There are few headsets I’ve used that can deliver this type of quality wirelessly and without the use of an additional amplifier. At a retail price of $199.99, it’s a definite value when put up next to similar headsets that can cost $50 or $100 more. Packed with a number of useful features–especially Active Noise Cancelling–the Quantum 800 becomes more than just a quality gaming headset. This is a versatile piece of hardware that will not only help players become fully immersed in their games in new ways but add stunning depth to anything reaching the ears.