JBL's newest high-end headset learns some important lessons from the competition

JBL has developed into a pretty big player in the world of gaming headsets in recent years, with its Quantum line having become way more compelling since it was first launched. Now, with Gamescom in full swing, it's a great time to refresh its lineup again.

In the new Quantum 850, it has a new premium offering, in fact, and it looks like it adds some features that the high-end competition for best headset has been making hay with for a little while. For one thing, it has adaptive noise-cancelling, which should ensure that you get more easily immersed in your sessions.

On top of that, it expands JBL's system of replaceable parts and will let you swap out any of the microphone, USB-C cable, ear cushions, earcaps, hammock, and battery pack. Any of those failing could be the end of a headset, so it's great to know they'll be replaceable.

That said, I was hoping this would mean the headset would come with a swappable battery to make for basically never-ending battery life, and that feature remains absent. It's something that SteelSeries and others now do impressively, so it's a bit of a miss given the price of the Quantum 850. That feature is on the more expensive Quantum 950, which remains the absolute flagship for JBL as a result.

Still, there are other interesting inclusions, including head-tracking and spatial sound, along with the option to use either 2.4GHz wireless or Bluetooth 5.3 as your connection of choice. JBL hasn't specified how much battery life the headset will offer on a charge, surprisingly, but I'd expect it to be over 40 hours based on its cheaper models.

The new Quantum 850 will be available from 1 October this year, starting at £249.99 in the UK and €279.99 in Europe, which puts it into the premium market pretty firmly.

To give more options, JBL's also launching the Quantum 520, Quantum 520X and Quantum 120. Each one goes down in price from the previous, and none of them has noise-cancelling, but they all have pretty similar aesthetics and use 50mm drivers, so hopefully even the cheapest of them still has good sound.

Those more affordable models are available now from JBL directly, so if you're in the market for a cheaper headset, they could be solid options. We hope to test the Quantum 850 in depth closer to its release, meanwhile.