At Gamescom 2026, I sat down with Gordon Tong, Senior Director, Product Technique and Planning, Gaming at JBL, to speak about one thing that may make or break a gaming session: audio.
What began as a dialog about wi-fi gaming shortly became a broader dialogue about JBL’s Quantum technique, AI-powered audio, and why the corporate believes its greatest benefit isn’t essentially being the loudest identify in gaming. Spoiler: it thinks its benefit is being JBL.
Wi-fi has already received
In accordance with Gordon, wi-fi gaming audio has moved properly past its experimental section. Avid gamers who as soon as demanded wired connections and “zero latency” are more and more comfy with low-latency wi-fi. The market definitely appears to be heading that method.
“Avid gamers have psychologically transitioned from demanding wired, zero-latency connections to accepting low-latency wi-fi options. It has been an actual psychological shift for the market.”
Wi-fi gaming audio has moved properly past its experimental section. What was as soon as thought-about a compromise for players who refused to surrender wired connections is now a superbly regular a part of a contemporary gaming setup. The know-how has matured, latency has come down dramatically, and players are more and more extra within the comfort of wi-fi than in obsessing over the milliseconds.
And truthfully, as a gamer, I’m proper there with Gordon. If I can’t really feel the distinction whereas enjoying Valorant, I’m not significantly excited by realizing whether or not my audio travelled by a cable or by the air.
JBL’s secret weapon isn’t RGB
So how does JBL compete with Logitech, Razer and SteelSeries? Gordon doesn’t actually see it as a standard battle. As a substitute, JBL is leaning closely into one thing its rivals can’t merely manufacture in a single day: many years of audio experience.
“Put it this fashion: it’s not strictly about competing. Everybody supplies totally different options for gamer wants. When individuals select our model, they know JBL as a sound legend, so by default we decide to that acoustic customary throughout all value tiers.”
That philosophy is especially attention-grabbing while you have a look at JBL’s refreshed Quantum lineup. The brand new $49.95 Quantum 120 and $129.95 Quantum 520X each use 50mm carbon dynamic drivers, as does the corporate’s higher-end Quantum vary.
“Whether or not we’re making a $400 headset or a $45 headset, we use the very same driver — a 50mm carbon dynamic driver.”
And JBL clearly desires us to concentrate to that driver. Carbon-based diaphragms are valued in dynamic-driver design for his or her mixture of stiffness and low mass, which will help management undesirable diaphragm flexing and resonance. JBL says its specific carbon damping materials is designed for low distortion and detailed sound, whereas its newest Quantum 850 provides enhanced high-frequency extension to enhance sound localization.
In much less audiophile-ish phrases: the driving force is basically the bit doing the shouting inside your headset. A greater-controlled driver could make tiny particulars cleaner and simpler to pick — helpful when that distant footstep is the distinction between “I heard one thing” and “there’s a Jett behind me.”
AI desires to listen to your enemy earlier than you do
Probably the most intriguing a part of our dialog was JBL’s AI Footstep Booster. Not like a static EQ that blindly boosts excessive frequencies and turns each close by flashbang into an ear-piercing nightmare, JBL says its engine constantly analyses the sport audio and dynamically identifies necessary sounds, from footsteps and voices to gunshots and explosions.
“Our algorithm truly analyzes and understands sport sound to isolate and routinely increase footstep frequencies dynamically.”
As somebody who has spent an embarrassing period of time tweaking EQ settings particularly to listen to footsteps in Valorant, I’m intrigued. The issue with the standard strategy is that boosting the frequencies the place footsteps reside may make all the things else louder and harsher.
If JBL can genuinely isolate the helpful stuff with out turning the remainder of the sport into audio mush, that’s significantly extra attention-grabbing than one other EQ slider. The function is at present deliberate for This fall 2026 and initially targets main FPS video games.
TWS is sensible… till the battery dies
We additionally obtained onto True Wi-fi earbuds, an space the place JBL has already established a presence with its Quantum TWS vary.
This one turned significantly private as a result of I truly use the JBL Quantum TWS. I like the consolation, sound, and immediacy of the in-ear design. My greatest criticism, although? Battery life. Throughout Valorant, two matches could be sufficient to make me begin eyeing the charging case.
Fortunately, Gordon was refreshingly candid in regards to the trade-off. TWS makes specific sense for cell gaming, whereas PC and console players usually tend to deal with it as a multipurpose machine. And truthfully, physics stays undefeated: tiny earbuds merely don’t have the battery capability of a full-size headset.
JBL isn’t attempting to be Razer
Maybe probably the most revealing factor Gordon informed me is that JBL isn’t attempting to beat its gaming rivals by copying them.
“Whereas rivals have been in gaming for many years, JBL launched its Quantum line six years in the past. Relatively than counting on conventional advertising, we give attention to actual, customized sound know-how.”
That’s finally what I took away from our dialog. JBL entered gaming later than a lot of at this time’s established gamers, so attempting to turn into one other Razer or Logitech would hardly be the neatest approach to stand out. As a substitute, it’s leaning into sound, then constructing smarter software program round it. Wi-fi has turn into quick sufficient that latency alone isn’t a lot of a differentiator anymore. Headsets are getting smarter, game-specific profiles have gotten extra refined, and AI is beginning to do one thing extra helpful than merely showing in a product’s advertising slide.
JBL bets that the subsequent battle will likely be about what these applied sciences truly do in your ears. And if it could possibly make an reasonably priced headset sound extra like JBL whereas serving to you hear the enemy sneaking up behind you, that’s a gaming technique I can get behind.
