EPOS H3 Closed Acoustic Gaming Headset Review

EPOS marketed this headset as the best versatile, durable, comfortable, and dependable all-arounder on the market, and I’m inclined to agree with them. I’ve gone through a lot of headsets and many pairs of headphones over the years–mostly because my cats keep breaking them–and the EPOS H3 Closed Acoustic Gaming Headset is my absolute favorite. It’s comfy, easily adjustable, provides great sound quality across gaming genres, and looks awesome. It works just fine on PC and my Switch, I can wear it for hours without getting a headache, and despite my cat’s best efforts, it hasn’t broken yet, so I feel confident when I recommend this gaming accessory to anyone who needs a new headset. Just be prepared for the cord to pick up the slightest jostle if you’re listening to a Let’s Play or a podcast instead of actively gaming.

Crystal Clear Sound Quality

The most important element of any headset is, of course, the sound quality, and the EPOS H3 sounds fantastic. This headset picks up even the faint noise of a character’s running footsteps. Whether I was playing an RPG, a platformer, or a roguelike, I was able to hear small sound effects and cues I would’ve otherwise missed, and I could pinpoint the exact moment the music changed to a more threatening tune as a boss encounter began. While actively gaming, this is the best headset you could ask for. While listening to podcasts or watching let’s play videos, the sound quality is still fantastic, but the cord will pick up the slightest jostle. I ended up developing the habit of holding my head very still while wearing them.

Set-up is incredibly simple. It’s a plug & play device with no software, so any set-up time is purely dedicated to adjusting the slider, fiddling with the volume, and making absolutely sure the cables are plugged in properly. No, really, you need to double-check–if the plug isn’t all the way in, the sound will only come through one side, and that’s a real waste of good headphones. The volume slider on the right earcup makes adjusting sound levels simple and convenient. It does apply much more to voices than to music and sound effects, however, so if you want to lower the overall noise levels you should probably use the volume controls on your gaming device.

I tested out the mic one-on-one with Discord and it sounded great–the person I talked with said I came across really clear. I didn’t do a deep dive into an online multiplayer or Battle Royale voice chat, however.

Lightweight Construction, but Pressure is Noticeable

This is a very lightweight headset, but although wearing it for long periods of time won’t give you a headache, I did notice a steady pressure that can become uncomfortable. The grip is excellent and the headset did not make my ears sweat, though I suspect it might in the full summer heat. More importantly, the EPOS H3 has mild noise-canceling properties in the form of passive noise attenuation, which means this is a great headset to wear while you’re trying to work and someone is taking a call in the other room, or bustling around the kitchen, or watching TV with the volume turned up. Of course, there is a downside: it’s really hard to keep tabs on what’s happening around you while wearing these.

It comes with two cords, one cord meant for PC and the other for consoles. It’s a bit inconvenient to trade them out, but I can’t complain about the results. However, the PC cord has separate jacks for headphones and mic, so if your computer does not have a microphone jack, you’re out of luck. Use the console cord and be prepared to fiddle with the settings if necessary. Speaking of the mic, it flips up for storage. It’s constructed of very stiff material, so if you have it down and you’re careless while, say, grabbing a snack, your hand–or your snack–might hit the mic by accident. Fortunately, this doesn’t seem to damage the mic at all, but it’s still pretty annoying.