When SteelSeries launched the Arctis Nova Elite last year, I felt like it would almost certainly result in a market shift of some sort for gaming headsets – a £600 headset will do that if it sells almost any units at all. Now, I think it's a little too early for that pricing shock to have set in for rivals, but JBL's new Quantum headsets, announced at CES in Las Vegas, have demonstrated that the high-end remains the place to be for headset-makers.
The headline-grabber is the next Quantum 950X, which will launch at a more predictable $399.95 when it launches in April. Still, just because someone else is charging £600, that doesn't make £350 suddenly look all that cheap.
This is still a really luxury-coded headset, one that looks to knock others off their perch and persuade people to spend more on their in-game audio than they might have on a PS5 during Black Friday.
JBL says the headset has all-new 50mm carbon dynamic drivers, which can deliver Hi-Res certified audio (presumably in wired mode, although the headset is wireless too). Crucially, the headset also cribs from SteelSeries' notes by including hot-swappable replacement batteries, so that you don't get caught short by low charge. These will charge on a base station that also acts as a wireless hub, making the headset extremely comparable to the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless.
Each will last 50 hours, impressively, while the 6mm cardioid boom microphone will have AI-enhanced noise-cancelling to transmit only your voice. The headset itself has normal noise-cancelling, too, for better isolation of your sound. Again, how impressive that ends up being will come down to my testing when I'm able to do it.
It's an impressive-looking headset that I look forward to getting my hands on, since comfort and fit are such huge variables for this sort of accessory. Memory foam ear cushions should make that a positive experience, but you'd be surprised how variable even that sort of earcup can be.
The Quantum 950X isn't the only new headset JBL's announcing, either, with the $200 Quantum 650X and $80 Quantum 250 also arriving in April and March, respectively. The first is a mid-range wireless option that drops the noise-cancelling and swappable batteries, while the second is a wired budget option.
