JBL Quantum 800 Wireless Headphones Review

The JBL Quantum 800 look like gaming headphones. They have customizable RGB lighting, which is nice if you like to match your team's colors for gaming tournaments. However, as they're mostly made from plastic, they don't look particularly sleek. The high gloss plastic around the ear cups especially catches the eye, and it's easy to see fingerprints all over it. If you're looking to wear these out in more casual spaces, they still noticeably look like gaming headphones. If you're interested in a pair of JBL gaming headphones but want a detachable boom microphone, check out the JBL Quantum ONE, though it should be noted that the ONE are wired-only.

The JBL Quantum 800 Wireless are fairly comfortable. They don't really clamp too tightly but they feel really loose overall, and they can move around your head. They're also fairly heavy so you may feel fatigue if you wear them for long hours at a time.

The JBL Quantum 800 have okay controls that are found along both ear cups. There are a couple of multifunction buttons that control different features depending on how long you hold down them down. For example, the ANC and talk-through button are the same button. The mic mute button is also the same as RGB lighting. Both of these multifunction buttons only turn on/off these features. There's also a Bluetooth pairing button so you can easily pair them to your phone or laptop. On the downside, both the channel mixing and volume wheels are pretty close together, and it's easy to accidentally change their settings if you're reaching for something else.

Update 09/23/2021: We have tested these headphones for breathability.

These headphones have sub-par breathability. They have an over-ear design, which covers your entire ear, and traps in heat. You can feel a difference in temperature if you're wearing them during long listening sessions. You may also sweat more than usual if you're wearing them during moderate physical exercise.

Like most over-ear gaming headphones, the JBL Quantum 800 aren't very portable. Their ear cups can swivel to lay flat, which is nice if you want to put them in your backpack, but they don't have a case to protect them. The microphone isn't retractable or removable either, so it can snag on something if you're trying to store them.

The JBL Quantum 800 don't have a carrying case.

The JBL Quantum 800 have an acceptable build quality. They're mostly made up of plastic, which causes several issues with its design. Parts of the headband squeak when in use and its headband mechanism can loosen to its maximum setting, which can make these headphones feel like they're drooping off of your head. That being said, they still feel like they can withstand a few accidental drops or bumps, which is nice. If you're looking for better-built JBL headphones with an over-ear design, try the JBL Live 660NC Wireless.

The JBL Quantum 800's stability is just adequate. They're not meant for intense physical activity and they won't stay on your head if you're moving a lot. That being said, they shouldn't move around too much with light head shakes.

• JBL Quantum 800 headphones
• Wireless USB dongle
• USB-C charging cable
• 1/8" TRRS analog cable with an in-line remote
• Microphone windscreen
• Manuals

The JBL Quantum 800 Wireless have a bass-heavy sound profile that some users may find overly boomy. The treble is a bit uneven too and it can sound both veiled and piercing. At least speech and vocals should still be fairly clear. If you prefer a different sound profile, you can use the EQ in their companion app to help create a sound that better suits your needs.

The JBL Quantum 800 have a mediocre frequency response consistency. While they're pretty consistent in the bass range, there's a lot of inconsistencies in the treble range. Treble delivery seems to be sensitive to the headphones' positioning and placement, especially because they're not the most stable headphones.

The JBL Quantum 800 have okay bass accuracy. It's overemphasized across the range, producing a thumpy, boomy bass. That being said, some listeners may prefer a bass-heavy sound as it can help add extra thump and kick to explosions in video games.

The JBL Quantum 800 have exceptional mid accuracy. The range is very neutral and flat, resulting in vocals and lead instruments that sound detailed, natural, and present.

The JBL Quantum 800 have disappointing treble accuracy. It's uneven so instruments and vocals lose a bit of detail and clarity while sibilants like S and T sounds become bright and piercing. However, their treble response varies noticeably, and it depends on how the headphones are positioned in your head, so your experience may vary.

The peaks and dips performance of these headphones is unremarkable. There are a couple of minor peaks in the bass range that can slightly muddy parts of the mid-range. However, the large dip in the low treble reduces clarity and detail to vocals and lead instruments. The following peak can make sibilants bright and piercing too.

The JBL Quantum 800 has acceptable imaging. The weighted group delay has a little bump in the low bass range, but otherwise, everything is below the audibility threshold, ensuring mostly tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. The L/R drivers of our test unit are fairly well-matched in amplitude and frequency response as well. However, there's a large phase mismatch between the L/R drivers of our test unit, and while it isn't very noticeable with real-life content, it could have a small negative effect on the stereo image and how objects are oriented spatially. That being said, these results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.

The JBL Quantum 800's passive soundstage is poor. While the soundstage sounds somewhat natural, it doesn't seem very large. Sound is also perceived as located inside your head instead of being out in front of you.

These headphones have JBL's Quantum Surround 7.1 as well as a DTS X virtual surround feature. However, we don't currently test these features, and we only score as to whether or not headphones have this feature.

The weighted harmonic distortion performance of the JBL Quantum 800 is decent. While there's a small spike in the treble range at a moderate volume level, it shouldn't be too noticeable overall.

These are the settings used to test these headphones. Our results are only valid when using these settings.

The JBL Quantum 800 Wireless have great noise isolation. Their active noise cancelling feature is able to reduce some bass noise like the sound of bus and plane engines. While their ANC does a pretty similar job to the passive noise isolation in the mid and treble range, it still manages to block out a significant amount of noise in both ranges.

The leakage performance of these headphones is good, especially for gaming headphones. While leakage covers the entire range, it all falls below the noise floor of an average office.

The JBL Quantum 800 have a boom microphone with a removable windscreen. We tested this microphone using its 1/8" TRRS cable. Your microphone experience using its USB dongle or Bluetooth may vary.

The recording quality of the boom microphone is decent. While your voice lacks depth or fullness, it should still be clear and understandable to whoever's on the other line.

The noise handling of the microphone is okay. The mic can separate voice from background noise but it has a little more trouble in loud environments. However, this shouldn't be too much of an issue if you're gaming at home.

The JBL Quantum 800 have an unremarkable battery performance. They're advertised as having 14 hours of continuous playtime, but that's with the RGB lighting and ANC off. If you have both features on, they last about eight hours, which is quite a bit lower. They also fully charge in just over an hour and a half.

These headphones use JBL Quantum Engine as their companion software. It gives you access to a graphic EQ plus presets, and you can even adjust the mic level, which is nice. However, this software can only be used once you turn the headphones' Bluetooth off.

Update 09/23/2021: We've changed Multi-Device Pairing from 'No' to 'Bluetooth + Console/Non-BT Wireless' as these headphones can connect to a gaming console and a Bluetooth device at the same time. We could confirm this by connecting the headphones' dongle to our PS4 console. We then slid the power switch on the headphones towards the 'Bluetooth' label and paired our phone with them. Once paired to both devices, you can hear audio from both devices simultaneously. As a result, we have updated our review, and the scoring of this box has changed.

These headphones have great Bluetooth connectivity. While they don't have NFC pairing, you can connect them to one Bluetooth device like your smartphone and another device, like a PlayStation console or your PC, via their wireless dongle, at the same time to receive both audio outputs simultaneously. That said, their latency on PC and Android is fairly low when streaming YouTube videos, while their iOS latency is slightly higher. However, some apps and devices tend to compensate for latency differently, so your mileage may vary in real-world usage.

The JBL Quantum 800 also support a non-Bluetooth wireless connection via their USB dongle. Their latency is a bit higher than many other gaming headphones, but you likely won't notice too much lag.

These headphones come with a 1/8" TRRS cable with an in-line remote.

When using their 1/8" TRRS audio cable, you can plug these headphones directly into your PC headphone jack or PS4 controller for audio and microphone compatibility. If you're using their USB dongle, you can also plug it into your PC or PS4 for full audio and microphone compatibility with a wireless connection.

When using their 1/8" TRRS audio cable, you can plug the JBL Quantum 800 directly into your Xbox One controller for audio and microphone compatibility. However, you won't be able to use these wirelessly with the Xbox One.

The JBL Quantum 800 Wireless doesn't have a base or dock. The included wireless dongle can be plugged into a PS4 or PC but isn't compatible with the Xbox One.