EPOS H3PRO Hybrid review: "Top performance with a dual purpose"

Serving as the flagship product of the EPOS brand, at least from a price perspective, the EPOS H3PRO Hybrid wireless gaming headset is feature-rich, with an emphasis on sound quality that aims to impress. But does the headset do enough to justify its rather hefty price tag? Check out our thoughts in the review below.

Top tier sound

Sound is perhaps the most important aspect of any headset, and it is thankfully an area where the H3PRO absolutely shines. While not a part of the joint venture anymore, it is unsurprising that a company formerly associated with Sennheiser is able to craft a fantastic-sounding product.

There is real clarity with the H3PRO, refraining from the oppressive bass-favored sound that is so common with consumer-grade headphones. Everything feels really well balanced, allowing me to pinpoint every aspect of sound clearly.

This is immediately excellent for your competitive titles like VALORANT, CS:GO, and Warzone where your ability to hear and pinpoint footsteps and various audio cues is vital to your success. However, the headset also performed excellently in single-player titles too, giving real depth and immersion to diegetic sounds and music.

Hybrid performance

What impressed me even further is how well the EPOS H3PRO serves as a dual-purpose headset and headphone, working just as well for music listening as it does for gaming. When testing, I probably spent an equal amount of time listening to music as I did playing games, as it provides a detailed soundscape that is perfect for music too.

What helps this is the detachable boom microphone that can be replaced instead with a handy discreet cover. This alleviated the cumbersome weight of the microphone when I wasn't using it, while also being incredibly easy to just pop back on whenever I had a meeting or was jumping into an online game.

The wireless capabilities of the H3PRO are also faultless. Using the 2.4 GHz dongle gave me no noticeable latency which is essential for gaming, but the Bluetooth was also stellar when I wanted to connect to other devices.

In turn, the battery life was also very impressive, reportedly lasting around 19 hours with everything turned on. However, I rarely found myself having to think about charging the device. While a small feature, I did appreciate that you're given a rough battery estimate whenever you turn the headset on - almost as a small nudge for when things do get a bit low.

Letting your voice be heard

The other obvious key feature of the headset is the microphone, and it has some areas where it really shows off. Overall, the microphone quality is good. It has a tendency sometimes to sound a little bit processed, but you're always going to come through clearly and with a nice warm tone.

The absolute highlight of the microphone, however, is how it reduces background noise. If you live in a noisy environment, or you have a particularly noisy keyboard then you don't have to worry at all with the H3PRO. It cuts out pretty much all background noise when you're not speaking, and does an outstanding job of reducing it while you're talking too.

The inclusion of sidetone, which lets you hear your own voice slightly through the headset, is very much appreciated too. It makes you aware of what sounds are being picked up and how loud they are.

This can be further adjusted in the EPOS Gaming Suite software, alongside the noise cancellation and equaliser settings, but I largely stayed away as I had quite a bit of trouble getting the software to recognise the headset, alongside a few crashes too. Thankfully, the H3PRO can be used without any additional drivers or software, so you can go without it if you'd prefer.

Well crafted comfort

Lastly, the H3PRO is a very comfortable and well-made device with one small caveat. It has a largely metal construction which feels durable but not too heavy when on the head. The ear cups themselves have a stylish faux-leather accent on the outside, soft fabric where the cup meets your head, a breathable mesh on the inside lining, and a spacious memory foam interior. This gives the perfect blend of isolation and breathability, as you get the seal of the leather but comfort and heat-alleviating materials on the inside.

The headband has the same blend of breathable and padded materials, but I did find that tension built up at the top of my head if I wore the headset for extended periods of time. While it was not necessarily painful, it did end up being rather uncomfortable and might be troubling if you're keen on long gaming sessions.

This might be alleviated if you have a different head shape, and I am very much used to ski-band style headphones, but it is definitely something to consider.

The verdict

Overall, the EPOS H3PRO Hybrid is a top-tier dual-purpose headset that provides great sound for both gaming and music alike. While it is at a steep price point of $279/£239, the convenience, comfort, and overall performance of the headset justify the price if you're looking for a hybrid option.

4.5/5

Product provided by the manufacturer.