JBL Quantum TWS Review: Best Earbuds for Gaming

For a long time, JBL has been a well-known brand with the utmost quality audio equipment. Recently, this audio company launched a new line of wireless noise cancelling headphones called JBL Quantum TWS. Apart from a powerful design, and impressive sound, JBL also equips this headset with a lot of good things. So what are the great features and what is the quality of this headset? Let’s know more about it in this JBL Quantum TWS review below.

JBL Quantum TWS specifications

• Driver size: 10 mm
• IP Code: IPX4
• Driver sensitivity at 1kHz/1mW (dB): 106
• Dynamic frequency response range (Hz): 20 Hz – 20 kHz
• Impedance: 16 ohms
• Active Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
• Charging Case Weight: 1.5 oz / 42.4 gram
• Earpiece Weight: 0.4 oz / 11 gram
• Bluetooth profiles: A2DP V1.3, AVRCP V1.6, HFP V1.8
• Bluetooth frequency: 2.4 GHz – 2.4835 GHz
• Bluetooth transmitted modulation: GFSK, π/4 QPSK, 8DPSK
• Bluetooth transmitter power: <12 dBm EIRP
• Bluetooth version: 5.2
• Charging time: 2 hours
• Maximum music play time with ANC off: 8 hours
• Maximum music play time with ANC on: 5 hours
• Maximum play time: 16 hours
• Maximum talk time: 4 hours
• Charging case battery life: 16 hours
• Features: Bluetooth, Adaptive Noise Cancelling, Ambient Aware, Built-in Microphone, Hands Free Call
• In box: 1 x JBL Quantum TWS earbuds, 1 x Type-C Wireless dongle, 1 x Charging case, 1 x 3 sizes of ear tips, 1 x Type-C USB charging cable, 1 x Warranty / Warning (W / !), 1 x product Quick Start Guide / Safety Sheet (S / i)

Design and wear feel

Overall, the JBL Quantum TWS resembles a “mini rice cooker” when viewed as a box with a lid and rounded edges. In terms of material, these gaming earbuds are still designed with rough plastic material with good fingerprint resistance. The size of the charging box is also fine, it will be comfortable to handle even for people with small hands.

Another plus point for the JBL Quantum TWS is that it has a very solidly designed hinge that you can open and fold thousands of times without worrying about damage. The details in the range have also been carefully designed, with the earphone groove deep enough with strong magnet attraction to help keep the headset extremely solid.

The housing of this headset is designed from plastic, for the most part, only the back is covered with a piece of metal with the JBL logo on it. It adds to the weight of the earpiece a bit, especially 5.5 grams per earpiece, but we don’t find it heavy but still comfortable to wear.

Dongle

The highlight of the JBL Quantum TWS is that it comes with a USB-C dongle for connecting to a mobile device or computer. This dongle will help users to connect to the headset easily without Bluetooth and will also reduce the delay between the headset and the device.

In the process of using it, we found that this tool is not very useful. Because basically, the Bluetooth connection between the phone and the headset is already pretty good. In terms of latency, through the Bluetooth connection on this headset, the latency is quite low, so we didn’t notice much difference when connected to a dongle.

Features

Firstly, the JBL Quantum TWS can connect 2 devices at the same time when equipped with Bluetooth 2.4GHz wireless connection and JBL Dual Source. Hence, seamless switching between sources is very easy, without causing much trouble when using headphones, laptops, and phones at the same time. Of course, to boost the full effect of earbuds, we need a separate app, and here it is the JBL Headphones App. With this application, you can customize a lot of things, especially the great features on JBL Quantum TWS.

The first thing you can customize and most importantly is the sound mode. With this app, you can customize 3 different sound modes: Active Noise Cancellation, Ambient Aware, and TalkThru. All these 3 modes seemed quite different to us and can be recognized quite clearly.

With active noise cancellation mode, you can hardly hear traffic noise when you walk on the road, extraneous noise is eliminated, and the only sound remains in the headset. With Ambient Aware mode, the sound quality is still intact, but outside noises like voices or vehicles will enter, helping us to be more active in the surroundings.

For TalkThru mode, the sound from the headphones will be reduced to the lowest level. In our opinion, it only has a ringing sound in the ear, so we don’t need to remove the headset, and we can still hear information from everyone. In addition, the JBL Quantum TWS also has a sensor to recognize when you hold the headset to your ear and only when you hold it to your ear.

The JBL Quantum TWS also comes with some cool features like an equalizer, quick switching between audio and game modes, custom touch operation, ear fit test, and headphone finder function. One of them is the key features such as fast switching between audio and game modes, making it possible for us to have a better audio experience in audio mode or minimize latency in gaming mode.

Realistic feel and sound quality

For such a low latency headset, it will certainly make it suitable for shooting sports, especially games like PUBG Mobile. According to the manufacturer’s announcement, the JBL Quantum TWS has very low latency, only around 50ms. With such a low latency, when we play PUBG, we have almost no delay when we press the fire button, we can also hear gunshots in our ears. In general, with such low latency, it is highly suitable for those of you who like these shooting games.

As for the sound quality, we think it would be suitable for those who like to listen to the mix songs and not focus too much on the instrument part. We heard OmegaSign – Sztoj Pa Moru, it’s most recognizable song whether the bass is deep or not. It is not surprising since JBL has always been a well-known brand that favors bass, so the bass of this one is powerful and deep, we think the drum parts are strong.

In turn, the middle and treble only stop at a decent level. We heard Ailee – I Will Go To You Like The First Snow. When listening to this song, we find that Ailee’s voice is still relatively clear and whether it’s in the intro or the chorus, it still sounds great.

The treble sound is similar, though not very loud, but still loud enough to be heard. The only part we don’t like is the details of the instruments behind it. We feel it’s a bit faint, and in the climax, we can barely hear it because it’s encroached on by the bass. In general, with JBL Quantum TWS, if you’re not too picky about the sound of the instrument or singer, it can still meet our needs quite well.

Battery and usage time

With up to 8 hours of battery life on the headset and another 16 hours through the charging case, JBL Quantum TWS will be enough for a long day. Normally, with the habit of listening for 2-3 hours a day, it takes almost a week for me to recharge the battery for this headset. In addition, these gaming earbuds come with an IPX4 waterproof feature which is relatively safe for activities such as running, swimming, etc.

Final line

With the listed price of $149.95 / £129.99 on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, we find this JBL Quantum TWS too worthy. Under $150, you have the best gaming earbuds with lots of cool features, extremely low latency, and enough battery life to use within a day. For those of you who love to play shooting games, this is an option that should not be forgotten.

If your main priority is budget gaming earbuds though, the JBL Quantum TWS is well worth the investment thanks to their excellent sound quality. Also worth looking at is the slightly costly Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Pro (REVIEW), which offers high-end sound quality.