JBL has recently released the Quantum 810 Wireless, a wireless over-ear performance headset with active noise cancellation. Despite the gaming reference in all its material, the Quantum 810 Wireless is a great device for media too – music or videos.
The JBL Quantum 810 is very comfortable to wear, with a light headband and premium leather-wrapped memory foam ear cushions for a total weight of 418g. This allows you to wear the headset for long periods – and a battery rated for up to 43 hours helps here.
The battery life will be affected using the active noise cancellation or the RGB LEDs but just in case you need to keep going the Quantum 810 allows you to recharge via USB-C even while using it – a feature not commonly available and most welcome. It takes about 3.5 hours for a full battery charge.
The boom microphone is permanently attached to the headset, but you can swivel it up and down to turn it on or off and get it out of the way when not in use. It uses a directional microphone with echo-cancelling technology, so your voice comes clear during chats or meetings.
The Quantum 810 offers two connection options: using the included USB receiver for a dedicated 2.4 GHz link (which gives you a lot of features and controls through a desktop application) or via Bluetooth, with support for Bluetooth 5.2 giving it a more efficient use of the bandwidth available.
The USB receiver is very small and plugging it into a Windows computer will trigger the driver installation and Windows will also automatically offer to download and install the desktop application.
This app lets you control everything on your Quantum 810, including the option to configure and select multiple user profiles, each with different settings.
The app includes an equaliser with multiple presets, LED controls with a huge number of options, microphone and sidetone levels as well as firmware updates.
You can also use the app to switch the active noise cancellation on or off but most importantly it gives you full control of the spatial sound, with options to turn this feature off or use one of the two options available: JBL’s QuantumSURROUND or DTS Headphone:X.
You will have to use these options to find the one that sounds better for you. In my case, I thought the QuantumSURROUND (with virtual 7.1 surround capability) sounded better than the DTS Headphone:X for music and having the surround sound off definitely felt flat all around.
The app helps but it’s not necessary to control the Quantum 810 as there are buttons to control noise cancelling, volume, and Bluetooth pairing.
The sound comes through 50mm dynamic drivers with a frequency response between 20 Hz and 20 kHz. The sound is clear and it’s easy to separate voice from other sounds. The preset equaliser has levels specifically designed to push the drivers and give you that extra bass if you care for it.
I had the Quantum 810 connected to my desktop via its USB receiver and to my phone via Bluetooth. Unlike other devices, both sources will play at the same time so you will need to pause one or another if you need to answer a phone call.
On your Windows computer, the Quantum 810 will appear as two different sound devices – one a headset for chat and another a headphone for other apps such as a game or music player. Using the app or a button on the headphones you can control the balance between each of the sources and use the Quantum 810 for chatting with friends (over Discord for example) while playing your game. This works well and allows you to give proper attention to different sound sources.
I mentioned my experience with Windows but the USB receiver works with PS5 and PS4 consoles as well. The Bluetooth connection works with compatible devices and you also have the option of using a 3.5mm audio cord to connect to any other sound source.
The JBL Quantum 810 Wireless is available in New Zealand now.
