Pros
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Immersive audio
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Comfortable fit
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Low latency gaming mode
Cons
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Limited battery life
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Bulky design
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No active noise cancellation
About the JBL Quantum TWS Air
JBL Quantum TWS Air specs
The JBL Quantum TWS Air have an MSRP of $100, but can often be found for almost half the price.
- Price: $99.95
- Battery life: Up to 5 hours, up to 24 hours total with case
- Drivers: Two 6.8 mm drivers
- Colors: Black
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.2
- Water-resistance: IPX4
- Ear tips: Small, medium, large
- Weight: Earbuds, 8.8 grams; case, 35.4 grams
Right off the bat, the JBL Quantum TWS do sound good, especially for being the budget-minded buds that they are. The buds offer relatively crisp highs and punchy bass, providing a well-balanced audio profile that can be tuned and adjusted via the available equalizer inside the handy JBLHeadphones app. It doesn’t sit at the big kids table in terms of audio quality, and it's a far cry from its high-priced relatives in the JBL Tour Pro 2. But the sound the JBL Quantum TWS are capable of is a pleasant surprise for $100, or $50 on sale.
The JBL Quantum TWS also check the comfort box. While they are bulkier, heavier earbuds, the Quantum TWS feel secure in your ears, and with three ear tip options, they seem plenty suitable for prolonged gaming sessions or daily commutes. They’re just not what you would call minimalistic from an earbud's perspective.
Speaking of gaming, JBL includes a USB-C dongle with this pair of buds that lets you establish a 2.4 GHz connection for low-latency gaming. I don’t profess to be much of a gamer, but some light gameplay testing saw the Quantum TWS do a decent job of minimizing audio lag for a more responsive and enjoyable gaming experience. Plus, the buds support JBL Dual Source—basically the branded way of saying it can switch between the 2.4GHz lossless connection and bluetooth for phone calls seamlessly.
In the category of bummers, the JBL Quantum TWS Air just doesn’t cut it when it comes to battery life. It supports five hours of playback, and 24 total hours with the included charging case, which read like specs that are stuck in the year 2020. The only excuse today for mediocre battery life is having such high-powered, mind-blowing earbuds that the juice drain is justified. The JBL Quantum TWS Air are not that, and they absolutely would have benefitted from a few more hours of battery life.
Finally, I feel like I got duped a little with the JBL Quantum TWS Air’s noise canceling abilities. The JBL app has a tab for Ambient Sound Control, which includes toggles for an Ambient Aware mode as well as TalkThru. That’s all fine and well, but these modes are missing their older, more successful sibling: active noise cancellation. The Quantum TWS Air give you the complementing ambient sound modes, but they skip the very reason you would need them in the first place. They are a little on the cheap side for ANC to be a make-or-break necessity, but this particular omission hurts more than others in this price range.
Should you buy the JBL Quantum TWS Air?
Maybe, if you’re an audio-minded gamer on the go
The JBL Quantum TWS Air earbuds have a low latency connection for gaming, but it's worth looking around at other options if gaming isn't your thing.
The JBL Quantum TWS Air earbuds are a solid choice for those prioritizing solid audio quality and low-latency gaming. They are not, however, a match for anyone hunting for long battery life or active noise canceling capabilities of any kind. If you can find them on sale (like the 50% discount at the time of this writing), it becomes much easier to pick these up for some casual listening during a commute. But at full retail, we have a whole roundup of budget-friendly earbuds that you should consider as worthy alternatives.
The JBL Quantum TWS Air are a good, inexpensive option for low-latency gaming with solid audio performance.
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Meet the tester
Nick Woodard is a tech journalist specializing in all things related to home theater and A/V. His background includes a solid foundation as a sports writer for multiple daily newspapers, and he enjoys hiking and mountain biking in his spare time.
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