JBL 610 Wireless Gaming Headset - Review
JBL are a brand that have more than 50 years of experience in the audio industry, founded in 1946 by James Bullough Lansing, hence the initials of the brand JB, the company has been designing and manufacturing quality audio products for a long time. It was only inevitable that JBL would at some point dip its toes into the waters of the gaming headset scene which is why in 2020 JBL launched their “Quantum” range of headsets with most models being greeted with critical acclaim.
Thanks to JBL I was able to get my hands on one of their latest headsets the JBL Quantum 610. A wireless headset designed for use with the PC, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox, if you have an Xbox then unfortunately they won’t be wirelessly compatible with your console and you will have to resort to connecting the headset via a cable, so if you are looking for a wireless headset for the Xbox then you may want to stop reading now. The box for the Quantum 610’s come emblazoned with the slogan “SOUND IS SURVIVAL” making sure that there is no doubt that the headset is catered towards the gaming sector of the market, it also boasts several impressive features such as 40 hours battery life, compatibility with both DTS and JBL’s own Quantum surround technology, lossless and lag-free 2.4 GHZ wireless and official Discord certification. The box itself is eye-grabbing and very well designed and this extends to the unboxing experience itself, once opening the box you will find the headset enclosed is a nice cloth bag which will come in handy if you intend to carry the headset around with you to a friend’s house or to a LAN party (do those things even happen anymore ??) Included in the box along with the headset are 2 cables, a USB A to USB C charging cable and a 3.5mm audio cable if you wish to use the headset in wired mode along with the 2 cables you also get a USB dongle that needs to be plugged into your PC or console to use the headset in wireless mode.
The cables are fantastic and reek of quality, they both feature thick braided cables and are generous in length ensuring that you will have room to move around if you are using the headset in wired mode. The headset itself is all black in colour and from what I can see is mostly made of plastic, which feels like it cheapens the headset a bit but it does still feel well made and weighty, the headset does look great but the plastic construction does leave me with concerns over the durability of the headset in the long term, I didn’t suffer any problems with it though and I have used the headset for over 100 hours so far. The headset is one of the most comfortable gaming headsets I have used (and I have used a LOT of them) and I would probably rank these up there with my RIG 800 PRO HD GEN 2 in terms of comfort and I consider those to be the gold standard of gaming headsets as far as comfort goes, the Quantum features a light clamping force and you will tend to forget you are wearing it after about 5 minutes of play and I certainly didn’t suffer any headphone fatigue in my long gaming sessions using the device.
The ear pads are a generous size and should be large enough to ensure that most people’s ears sit comfortably inside their roomy enclosures and they do a great job of blocking out all but the loudest external sound sources, unfortunately though they are made out of pleather though so this could lead to some sweating issues in some warmer climates, though I can safely say I didn’t experience any issues whilst I was playing. The headset is also adjustable in size by pulling the attached ear cups down on either side of the headband to adjust the fit to your liking and there should be a large enough range to suit all but the largest of heads. The cups also feature a 45 degree swivel that will allow you to wear the headset around your neck and swivel the cups to lay against your chest which is useful if you need to quickly pull the headset off to have an IRL conversation.
As far as functionality goes I am pleased to say that the Quantum 610 comes packed with a load of features. The left cup features a pull down style boom mic that is muted when in the upright position, handily represented by a glowing red light on the mic itself, the mic gives off a satisfying click when pulled down into the unmuted position which also extinguishes the aforementioned red light. The boom arm for the mic itself is slightly bendable but unfortunately not in a way you can customise it to get it closer to your mouth, ultimately it the mechanism is well designed but the boom itself feels a little flimsy.
The cup itself also features a physical mute button allowing you to play with the mic extended but still have the mic muted, once again when muted via this method the mic itself will light up with a red led so you can clearly see whether you are muted or not. Two dials are also featured on the cup with the top one being focused on voice chat/game sound balance, this works brilliantly especially when chatting in discord while playing a game, it made it really easy to achieve a pleasing balance of both chat and game sound without having to dive into Windows or discord settings to do so, this really should be a standard thing on every gaming headset, the second and lower dial is your standard volume control and this also is easy to use and achieves its intended effect of adjusting the headsets overall volume. The left ear cup also features a 3.5mm socket so you can plug the headset into your PC, your console controller or your phone with the included cable, below this socket you will find a USB C port which is used for charging the headset via the included cable.
On the right ear cup the sole button is the on/off switch which gives off a nice click when you turn it to the off position and will also alert you with a tone when the headset is turned on and then another tone when the headset connects to the USB dongle. Both ear cups also feature RGB lighting, which of course is all the rage these days, the lighting can be customized via the included software to display different ranged of colours and whilst the RGB works well and looks really nice I can’t help but wonder why this is an included feature when I can’t actually see the RGB colours myself while wearing them, if you are a streamer then I guess your audience will get to see the pretty RGB colours but other than that the inclusion of RGB on a headset has always been a head scratcher to me. JBL really missed an opportunity here to make the RGB a useful feature by allowing the option to have the RGB colours correspond to the devices battery level, this would make it really easy to see when your device needs a charge every time you pick the headset up, maybe JBL can include this in a future firmware update.
I am not an audiophile and in all reality gaming headsets should never really be judged by the same standards that audiophile headsets are, for a start they are much cheaper and they pack in a lot more functionality than most audiophile headsets do, that being said the Quantum 610s sound great whether you are playing a game, watching a movie or listening to music. The sound out of the box that emanates from the 50mm drivers is warm and full of bass, though certainly not too overpowering, I like a warm sound so I really didn’t have to make many adjustments out of the box though I did find switching the headset over to ‘bass boost’ mode whilst playing games and listening to music to be more pleasing to my overall tastes, this really takes the bass up a notch and it becomes quite punchy.
Speaking of adjustments, the included software known as the ‘JBL Quantum Engine’ makes it easy to adjust and tweak all manner of settings, this feature is of course only available on PC and is not available for consoles. When I first installed the software, plugged in the dongle and turned on the headset I was alerted to the fact that there were firmware updates available for both the dongle and the headset, it was as simple as clicking a button to get these both installed. The software also allows you to adjust sound via a graphic equalizer and comes with several presets such as bass boost, flat and clarity which will make it easier to hone in and find the sound that your ears prefer. It is within the software that you can also turn on either DTS X or JBL’s signature Quantum Surround technology, both of these are designed for competitive games such as FPS where sound really matters as being able to easily pinpoint your opponents position quickly can mean the difference between life and death.
The DTS X implementation is easily my preferred option when playing games as I find it gives a warmer overall sound and at the same time does a great job of enabling me to pinpoint sound sources around me, Quantum mode does much of the same thing and using this mode I could hear footsteps coming from a lot further away than I could using DTX but overall I found the sound to be too top end heavy with way too much echo and this resulted in a fatiguing experience for me, I don’t play FPS games at a competitive level though so in all reality the Quantum Surround mode may be your preferred choice if that is what you are into. The software will also show you the overall charge left in the headset. The battery life of the Quantum 610 is very impressive and I managed to get 39 hours of use off a single charge with heavy use with the RGB lights off, with the RGB lights on the battery life dipped to a still respectable 26 hours and 30 minutes.
The JBL Quantum 610’s are a great headset, JBL have long been acclaimed for their sets of consumer headphones and they have managed to fit their signature sound into a gaming headset whilst also packing it full of useful features. I have no problems recommending this headset to anybody who is looking for a set of gaming ‘cans’ especially if you are planning to use them on PC where integration with JBL’s software opens up a plethora of customization options. For a mid-tier priced headset the Quantum 610’s punch well above their weight especially in the feature category and could quite easily find a comfy home atop most gamers skulls.
The Score
8.0
Review unit provided by JBL
The Pros
+Astounding array of features for a headset at this price point
+Design of the headset is sleek and pleasing, RGB looks great when turned on
+Great sound quality
+Excellent battery life
The Cons
-All plastic construction leads to durability concerns
-Pleather ear cups could lead to sweating
