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American audio brand JBL took to the stage at Gamescom on Wednesday to announce the latest entries in its Quantum gaming headset range, five years to the day since launching the series.
The stage was rather smaller than the one Geoff Keighley graced on Opening Night Live the preceding evening. Still, there was a healthy buzz inside JBL’s designated space in Hall 2 of the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany.
Journalists, influencers and content creators from around the globe were in attendance to get a first glimpse of three gaming headsets: the JBL Quantum 950, JBL Quantum 650 and JBL Quantum 250, along with two new pairs of open-ear headphones: the JBL Sense Pro and the JBL Soundgear Clips.
The trio of gaming headsets offer something for people at entry-level, mid-range and premium price points. The flagship Quantum 950 is an all-singing, all-dancing wireless affair complete with active noise cancellation and spatial audio with head tracking. It costs £300, which is a lot more than most casual players will fork out for a headset. However, hardcore gamers will appreciate the included base station, which functions as a lossless 2.4GHz dongle and provides a convenient way of changing RGB lighting and audio settings.
A new modular design, which is shared across the three new models (the Qunatum 950 has a more high-end finish), means users can replace the mic, earcup cushions, and “Airmesh” floating hammock headband. The battery, which lasts up to 25 hours of gaming, can be swapped out too, and there’s a spare in the box – a nice touch on JBL’s part.
I didn’t get to hear the Quantum 950’s carbon-based 50mm dynamic drivers in action, but I did get to try the headset on for size, and it felt very comfortable. Heavy headsets with poor ergonomics are a nightmare for long gaming sessions, but JBL looks to have nailed this aspect of its updated Quantum lineup. The physical controls are all sensibly laid out, easily accessible and pleasing tactile, and the 6mm boom mic can be removed, meaning you can use the Quantum 950 as general headphones on your commute should you wish.
The mid-range Quantum 650 also offers this functionality, and looks like the best choice for most punters. The headset supports spatial audio, but drops the head tracking, noise cancellation and base station that come with the Quantum 950. While I like ANC on gaming headsets, it’s not essential. I’m typically playing in relatively quiet conditions at home and I can live without the base station controls, too, especially when the Quantum 650 costs £130 – a fraction of the price of its stablemate. It also has longer battery life of up to 45 hours, although there’s no spare battery included.
Wired gaming headsets may not be everybody’s cup of tea – they’re certainly not mine – but the Quantum 250 offers an affordable plug-and-play solution that supports spatial audio and uses the same 50mm drivers as the other two entries in the series. Available in four attractive finishes – Black, White, Purple and Teal – for just £50, it’s the cheapest gaming headset with spatial audio that I can think of.
While the new Quantum headsets, which will benefit from an overhaul to JBL’s QuantumENGINE customisation software, were the main attraction for gamers, the brand also dropped a couple of products designed for a more general lifestyle audience.
The JBL Sense Pro are an upgraded version of the JBL Soundgear Sense, complete with high-resolution audio support in the form of LDAC, vastly improved battery life (up to 38 hours compared with 24 hours), and a strikingly different design. They’re priced at £160, promise improved audio performance and more stable streaming in a water-resistant package that enables you to remain tuned into your surroundings as well as what you’re listening to. There’s an appealing selection of colourways available, too, which should help distinguish the Sense Pro from air-conduction options such as the JLab Epic Open Sport.
The second lifestyle headphones revealed by JBL also leave your ear canals obstruction-free. The Soundgear Clips are the “cooler”, more fashion-focused alternative to the Sense Pro, with a jewellery aesthetic to take on the Huawei FreeClip, Bose Ultra Open Earbuds and Shokz OpenDots One, which I’m currently testing.
I didn’t see a huge amount in their specs to make them stand out from the crowd, but the translucent design of the charging case and earbuds, and the Copper, Black, White, Blue and Purple Ghost colourways did catch my eye.
Designs showing off internal components aren’t exactly groundbreaking. Nothing has employed this look for a few years now, and brands like Sony have jumped on the bandwagon – but the technique is nicely executed here. The Soundgear Clips are competitively priced, too, with a £120 price tag that undercuts the three competitors listed above.
Both the Soundgear Clips and Sense Pro will be available to buy from mid-October. The three gaming headsets are due within a similar timeframe, with the entry-level Quantum 250 launching soon, to be followed by the Quantum 650 and, finally, the Quantum 950.
We hope to have the opportunity to test JBL’s latest audio products in due course, so check back to see how they perform.
