JBL Quantum 600 – Review

Gaming headsets are plentiful in this day and age, where just about every tech company out there seems to have a gaming label to put out flashy, gaming-oriented peripherals at prices ranging from nice, to affordable, to sometimes unreasonable. JBL has now brought its Quantum headset lineup to India, and I’ve been lucky enough to spend the last week and a half with the Quantum 600.

How did it hold up to the stresses of not only working from home, but also of unrelenting, near-constant gaming I hear you ask? Well that’s what I’m here to talk about. But let’s get this out of the way first. If this review does convince you to pick up the JBL Quantum 600, it’s going to set you back by Rs. 16,999. I’m not really going to bring up the price from this point onwards. Anyway, let’s get to the actual review.

Let’s get the hardware itself out of the way before actually talking about how it sounds.

Bells and whistles

JBL Quantum 600 is a wireless headset that also has options for using a 3.5mm cable that comes included with the box. While that’s a nice option to have, especially if you’re using it on an Xbox One since the console doesn’t support the Quantum 600’s wireless format, but I ended up using it prominently in its 2.4Ghz wireless mode. Other bells and whistles include RGB lighting on the earcups, and a microphone that can be muted simply by pointing it upwards. Great features that actually made using the headset quite pleasant.

In wireless mode, the Quantum 600 boasts 14 hours of battery life, and honestly, I don’t think I ever ended up crossing that limit. I was using the headphones throughout the days, with a combination of music, gaming, and voice chat, and never did I actually feel the need of charging the headset back up outside of the nightly charge I got used to putting it through.

Software experience

Most of the JBL Quantum 600’s features revolve around the Quantum Engine software you have to grab from the official site. The software lets you handle stuff like RGB lighting—that can thankfully be switched off—EQ settings, and battery management. The software, while definitely unnecessarily flashy in its looks, is functional. It’s quite possibly the best driver software I’ve used for a peripheral by far. It’s quick, snappy, and has quite a few useful settings.

But how does it sound though

While the Quantum 600 didn’t really give me anything to complain about, it’s definitely obvious what you’re getting into. JBL definitely has a specific kind of sound in its products, and the Quantum 600 is no exception with its slightly bassier, elevated lows and subdued highs. By no means did it ever actually sound bad; on the contrary, listening to music was downright fantastic. It’s just not really the sound signature I personally prefer.

Outside of music, however, the Quantum 600 works quite well thanks to its QuantumSURROUND option, which is basically a fancier way of saying that the software’s simulating a 7.1 surround system around your head. It works well enough that I was able to make use of the sounds of footsteps while playing Valorant, or the beautiful engine sounds in Forza Horizon 4. All in all, the sounds great. Just ever-so-slightly heavier on the bass than I’d personally like.

The Verdict

The JBL Quantum 600 is a fantastic pair of headphones, provided you enjoy bass. The sounds are great, but most importantly, the QuantumEngine software knows perfectly how to stay out of the way and let your content take focus. Tinkering is almost never necessary, regardless of whether you’re listening to music, watching a movie, or gaming. And the added smaller quality-of-life features like 2.4Ghz wireless and a microphone that can be muted just by moving it out of your face certainly help.