EPOS H3 Headset - Review

There is always something satisfying about reviewing headsets, be it the world of a game they help bring you into or eats that you can enjoy whilst on the go. EPOS may not be a name that you know off the top of your head, but you will know their legacy. Having been on their own for a while now, the team have created some amazing headsets, but they tend to fall towards the more expensive side of the scale, so it begs the question, how well does their H3 headset compare, given its more affordable price point?

Before I even got the headset out of the box, I was impressed by the packaging, due to the extremely limited amount of plastic that it contained. A lot of headset and PC accessory makers are doing the same thing, but it is always impressive to see in person. Speaking of the box, what you get inside is basic, you have the headset, a microphone, two cables for connections and some booklets, that is it. The cables provide options, the first being for devices where you can just connect with one end, most mobile phones, Switch console and so on, the other cable is for your PC connection, should you need to split the headphone and earpiece lines. There are no wireless options with this headset, it is as basic as you can get, just with a choice of hard-line connection styles. Neither of the cables offer in-line volume control, more on that in a bit, but they are threaded cables, meaning that they don’t tangle easily, which is always a welcome inclusion. One area where things get weird, is the end that connects to the headset, it uses the rare 2.5mm connection, while the end that plugs into your devices is the common 3.5mm option. The only reason this is a concern is that if something breaks in the cable and you must replace it, you can’t just use any 3.5mm to 3.5mm option, you will need to hunt for the right cable.

Leaving cables behind, let’s look at the headset itself, now the unit I received was the white mode, but it does also come in black. The headset features a familiar style, to anyone who has seen the Sennheiser or EPOS headsets of the past, but it does make use of a new hinge design, for connecting the ear cups to the band. Speaking of the band, this is where I encountered the first of my issues with the headset, namely the inflexibility of the band; it does have some give, but it gives extraordinarily little. By that, what I mean is that it always felt like it was attempting to revert to its packaged state, which as my head is larger than the default position, after a while, it felt like my head was in a vice. I could offset this by increasing the band position from the earcups, but then it left me with a headset the felt very loose on my head and any movement reflected that. The padding on the band is soft enough that when it was pulling back in, it didn’t hurt the top of my head, just the sides, and the faux leather around it was also quite supple.

Looking at the earcups, things are a little challenging here, purely down to the earcup shape, now the outside of the cups are again, quite similar to the other EPOS headsets, outside of those hinges, but internally, things are a little narrower. Now this may not be a concern for some folks, but if you have larger ears or you need extra room around your ears, this will be something to pay attention to. The padding around the cups is plentiful and soft enough, that if your ears don’t quite fit within, you won’t feel like they are being cut into, however given the band has a position it likes to return to, if you have larger ears and a bigger head, the combination may not be the best for your ears. As this is a wired headset there are no options on it, outside of the microphone and the volume wheel on the right earcup. The volume wheel can only rotate so far, before coming to a stop, which makes it easy to locate the range and while it does contain a series of notches that round the outside of it, they are all uniform, meaning you can’t put your finger on them to see where the volume is.

On the left earcup is where you will find the microphone, which features the basics like raise to mute and some slight flexibility to the arm. The arm itself is made mostly of the same material as the rest of the headset, except for the portion in the middle that allows for the flexibility, on the white headset it is quite easy to spot where that is. Whilst flexible, it does take a bit of force to have it move into the position you would like, you will also need to push it past that point, because it will try move back, only slightly. The good news is that once you have it in place, it does not move, it is rock solid and given that some mics love to move away when in use, this is a very welcome change indeed. Of course, you can mute the microphone, simply by raising the arm up, though the mute point is quite high, so be aware of that, the good news though is that once you have engaged the mute, it will not unmute on its own, as it does take a little force to engage it. My only real grievance with the microphone, is that once again, it is not removable and whilst it doesn’t impact the actual use of the device, I would have loved for it to be possible.

All of that comes together in a headset that takes some getting used to, of course the quality of the audio is something you will notice right away, because this is an EPOS headset. Across the board, in games or movies, the quality of the audio was impressive and the fact that this is a stereo headset, hearing sounds come through in games, as if it were a surround sound device, was impressive. I recently built a new PC and used the headset whilst testing my machine out with games like DOOM Eternal and Forza Horizon 4, both quite varied in the soundscape department, but the headset managed to achieve great levels across the board. If there was a downside to it, that would be around the bass, whilst you can hear it and at time feel it, there isn’t just enough punch to really enjoy it, much like getting hit with a marshmallow, as opposed to a tennis ball, both get the same outcome, but one just hits a little softer. This is not a massive deal, especially in games or movie players, where you can mess around with settings, but if you are not someone who does that, it might be a concern.

EPOS have created some wonderful headsets over the years, heck we awarded the GSP 370 our hardware of the year award back in 2019, because it was such an incredible piece of tech. The H3 headset is following along with that same core design, but achieves a different result, the headset is not bad at all, those with larger heads, may have some concerns with the band and narrower earcups, but if you can adapt, you will find a delightful offering. The audio quality is top notch, which is to be expected from EPOS, they know their stuff, the only real annoyance is that you can’t remove that microphone, something which I really want from all gaming headsets. If you are in the market for a new headset for your multiple consoles or media devices and you are on a budget, then the EPOS H3 wired headset is one that should be at the top of your list.

The Score

8.5

Review unit provided by EPOS

The Pros

+Incredible audio levels that were able to provide great sound across a range of mediums

+Solid build that sits on the head without too much hassle…

The Cons

-.. but can be a little tight if you have a larger head

-Earcups are narrower than most, which can leave larger ears feeling trapped