[Review] JBL Quantum 800 Wireless Gaming Headset
JBL launched their Quantum range of gaming headsets and PC speakers in New Zealand at the end of May 2020, and over the past few weeks we have been testing out their Quantum 800 wireless gaming headset.
The JBL Quantum 800 is second in line to the top of the line model of Quantum headsets, the Quantum ONE. And therefore, it is also second in line in cost, coming in at a cool RRP of $399.95.
Unboxing the Quantum 800 Wireless Headset reveals the large headset itself, a USB Type-C charging cable, a 3.5mm audio cable and a thin but long USB wireless dongle.
The JBL Quantum 800 headset is powered by 50mm dynamic drivers. I’ve been playing some online FPS games such as Combat Arms, and the in-game sounds really do pop off nicely at you. And thanks to JBL QuantumSurround, it really does make you feel as if you are right there in the centre of the battle. I could also clearly hear in which room the shooting was coming from thanks to its accurate surround sound, powered by DTS Headphone:X v2.0.
The headset also has active noise cancelling to cancel out all the outside noise, which does make for a more immersive in-game experience.
The Quantum 800 headset is pretty comfortable to wear for long periods at a time, courtesy of the thick memory foam ear cups. In my use case, it was about 4 hours max of wearing the headset in one gaming session (time certainly flies by when you’re having fun!). Nevertheless, my ears still got a bit hot and sweaty at the end of it.
The memory foam ear cups hug to the side of your head pretty well, eliminating any outside noise from creeping in at all.
The headset itself is made out of plastic, and also has a piece of cable extending out from the headband to each ear cup. I assume they were not able to run this cable through the adjustable bands, or perhaps they were even a design feature, but I’d have preferred if they were able to hide the cables completely inside. It just makes for a more sleeker look in my opinion. But I will give it to them for having a braided cable as opposed to just a regular plastic cable sticking out.
While on the topic of looks, there are also RGB lights on the side of each ear cup. While this may look cool from the outside, obviously you won’t see any of this when wearing the headset. In fact, I’d recommend you turn this off so that you can squeeze more juice out of that battery. The battery is supposed to last up to 14 hours with RGB lighting turned off, and can fully charge itself back up (via a USB Type-C to Type-A charging cable) in 2 hours.
As with most gaming headsets, the JBL Quantum 800 also has an adjustable microphone for when rallying the troops or opponents on Combat Arms for example. The beauty of this boom microphone is that if you have the microphone flipped up, it will automatically mute your voice. And if you have the boom mic flipped down, this will enable the microphone for you to speak. Or you can push the mic mute button on the side of the ear cup.
JBL has also made this headset compatible with chat services such as Discord, TeamSpeak, Skype. There are actually sound cards inside the headset, that separate the game and chat audio so you can adjust the balance to your liking directly on the ear cup itself without having to leave your game.
The JBL Quantum 800 headset is compatible with all gaming platforms, such as PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Mobile, VR and even Mac, but is optimised especially for the PC. You can download the QuantumEngine PC software to adjust the equalizer, select your preferred surround sound settings and personalise your headset from changing the RGB lighting effects to modifying the microphone settings.
While I was perfectly happy with connecting the Quantum 800 wireless headset to my PC via Bluetooth, if you do find that you are experiencing a bit of latency, try switching over to the included USB dongle. I gotta say however, the USB dongle is pretty long, so prepare for having a long USB dongle sticking out of your PC.
Overall, the JBL Quantum 800 wireless gaming headset is a pretty decent headset. I can definitely recommend these to the avid (and non-avid) gamers, who prefer a mixture of wireless and wired connectivity options, and some decent surround sound.
For more information, please visit: https://www.jbl.co.nz/gaming/QUANTUM800.html
