JBL Quantum 520 - Premium Gaming Audio at an Affordable Price

It seems like every time I review a gaming accessory, I feel obliged to remind you, I'm not much of a gamer.

In fact, I've done so many of these reviews over such a long period, you'd think that I would be a much better gamer by now, just from the hours I've put in.

Sadly, no.

Either I just don't have the genes, or I have some kind of mental block when it comes to achieving gaming success.

So the last thing I need is to be hampered by my hardware.

The JBL Quantum 520 has the potential to help take my gaming performance to the next level.

But before we get to that, I just want to say how cool I thought this headset was, from the moment I took it out of the box.

It's very light and although I was sent the boring black variant to review (there are three much funkier colour options; Ice, Coral and Purple) it still has some sweet little details; the covers on the ear-cups - regardless of which colour combo you choose - are not only partially composed of recycled plastic, they're translucent, so you can see into the headphones themselves.

They also have contrasting bright purple braided cables running between the ear-cups and the headband.

These, in turn, match the purple and bright orange charging cable and the bright orange 2.4GHz wireless dongle.

In total, that makes three ways you can connect to the Quantum 520; via Bluetooth 5.4 - fairly low latency. Via the 2.4GHz wireless USB-C dongle - very low latency. Or wired in with the braided USB-C cord - essentially, no latency whatsoever.

Whichever way you decide to connect - and that could be different methods for different devices - setup, firmware updates and other customisations can be made using the JBL QuantumEngine app, available for PC, both Intel and Apple silicon Macs, iPhone and Android.

With JBL QuantumEngine, you can choose to activate the 3D surround effects of Spatial Audio - even choosing the size of the virtual room you're creating inside your head. Oh, and by telling the headset the ACTUAL size of your head, those spatial effects will sound even more accurate. Now you can tell if those off-screen footsteps are in the distance or right behind you - perhaps within stabbing distance?

This also makes the Quantum 520 a pretty decent headset for music, as well as gaming. As I listen to "Red Light, Blue Light" by Harry Connick, Jr. and his big band, it sounds like I'm in the front row, with the various stings and stabs from different parts of the band attacking the track from all directions. Very cool.

In fact, the Quantum 520 is literally cool too. Although the headband is not particularly plush, it's nice and wide, so it displaces the weight of the headset quite evenly across the top of my skull and because it's so thin, it helps keep the whole operation very light.

Meanwhile, the ear-cushions are a soft fabric rather than the squishy leatherette you often find on other headphones. That pleather experience tends to be a somewhat hot and sticky one after prolonged use. Conversely, the more velvety Quantum 520 ear-cushions are much more breatheable, while still providing plenty of passive noise cancellation.

Which is just as well, because the one thing the Quantum 520 is missing is ACTIVE Noise Cancelling - well, not on what you're listening to, anyway.

Thanks to QuantumEngine, not only can you EQ what you're hearing, you can also tweak how your teammates hear you through the cardioid boom mic. This unobtrusive, removable mic gives you the ability to cut out your keyboard clicks, mouse scrolls and other background noise so the other players in your game only hear your voice.

The physical controls (power, volume, game/chat etc) are nicely spaced out across both ear-cups so you're unlikely to press or dial the wrong one by mistake.

JBL claims up to 37 hours of wireless use on a full charge. This is not the longest battery life I've encountered but it ain't too damn bad. Especially when a 5-minute charge is all it takes to keep you in the fight for another hour.

And because the Quantum 520 is Zoom certified, you may even be able to get work to buy it for you so you can attend those hybrid online meetings with crystal clear audio.

This might not be strictly what you'd call a "premium" headset; it doesn't come with any kind of carry case, other than the wireless dongle and charging/AUX lead, there are no other adapters or cable options and as we've mentioned, there's no ANC.

However, there's a durable, robust feel to the Quantum 520 and even more importantly, it's light enough and comfortable enough to wear for hours on end - even if you wear glasses like I do.

The battery life is more than adequate, the fast-charging is great and the purple and orange highlights here and there inject a bit of fun - even on my boring black review unit.

You don't get a lot of extras, but you're also only paying NZ$169.95 - which I reckon is a bargain for a headset that delivers a much higher-end experience than the price tag would suggest.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the JBL Quantum 520.