JBL Quantum ONE Gaming Headset Review

The most disappointing headset of 2020?

Alex Rowe
7 min readDec 8, 2020

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Photo taken by the author.

The “flagship” gaming headset market is a narrow field. $300+ price points are increasingly common in the standard headphone space, but still rather rare in gaming audio. As a result, competition is fierce, and gaming headsets that want to demand this high price have to really bring it.

JBL launched an astounding number of different gaming headsets earlier this year under their new Quantum branding. I previously reviewed the affordable Quantum 300, and despite a few minor complaints, it was still good enough to be one of the year’s best new headsets. When the range got a set of heavy discounts for Black Friday, I sprang for a Quantum ONE to see if the most expensive version of the headset could deliver on its promises.

Instead, it delivered only disappointment and bafflement.

The Quantum ONE is a beefy device, here shown sitting on top of my 12-inch MacBook. Photo taken by the author.

The JBL Quantum ONE normally retails for $299.99 (official site here), but it receives regular discounts below that price. That MSRP puts it up against well-reviewed high-end models from Astro, HyperX, and SteelSeries. It’s also $100 more expensive than JBL’s own Quantum 800, which offers both USB…

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Alex Rowe

I write about gaming, tech, music, and their industries. Audio producer, video editor, and former magazine critic. Look mom, I’m using my English degree!