EPOS H3Pro Hybrid review - the ultimate travel gaming headset

Our Verdict

It may be expensive but this wireless gaming headset doubles as a set of ANC-equipped travel headphones, plus it sounds great, has loads of features and is comfortable.

Reasons to buy

• Superb sound quality
• Comfortable
• Loads of useful features
• Includes ANC and Bluetooth

Reasons to avoid

• Expensive
• Unresponsive volume wheel
• Slightly awkward headband adjustment
• Middling mic quality

We’ve generally been impressed with the growing gaming headset lineup of EPOS (previously Sennheiser), with the GSP 300 being among our favorite budget wired headsets. The new EPOS H3Pro Hybrid is at the other end of the scale to the GSP 300, though, with a premium price and lots of features to go with it.

Thanks to its inclusion of Bluetooth, active noise cancelling, a removable mic and compact, comfortable design, it makes for a superb hybrid travel and gaming headset with the ability to listen to your phone and PC simultaneously too. It’s no wonder EPOS‘ latest has earned a spot on our best gaming headset guide.

Specs

Design and comfort

Sporting a design that’s an evolution from the company’s previous headsets, the H3Pro Hybrid is a smarter, sleeker-looking unit than the previous GSP range. The three color options – black and dark blue, white and light grey and dark green and gold – are relatively subtle and in tune with trends in premium headphone design.

That sense of embracing headphone design is reflected in the simplified headband too. The GSP range used a wide, split design that was less elegant than the single-piece design here. We expected this to compromise comfort, as the split design was excellent at distributing the headset’s weight, but the H3Pro Hybrid’s memory foam padding proved very comfortable.

Comfort levels in general are excellent thanks to a nicely contoured earcup design that closes around your ears for a secure fit but doesn’t put pressure on them. The earcup padding is deep and soft and has a lovely plush finish on the surface that touches your head while the padding sides have an easy-to-clean pleather finish.

Fit adjustment is via the notched sliding earcup arms. We found them difficult to adjust while on your head and too easy to knock otherwise, so you can’t just set and forget the headband. We ended up memorizing how many notches per side we liked in order to dial in the right fit before donning the headset.

Features and sound quality

For features, the H3Pro Hybrid is packed to the gunnels. Along with USB dongle-based wireless audio, you get Bluetooth, direct USB-C audio and a 2.5mm analog jack input. Annoyingly, though, the analog input only works when the headset has power, which slightly defeats the purpose, if you ask us.

Otherwise, audio quality is fantastic. Detail levels are superb and there’s a spaciousness and width to the stereo image that far surpasses many other gaming headsets – EPOS’ pedigree in more professional-grade audio equipment shows. Music feels alive and your sense of direction and place when gaming is greatly increased even without engaging the excellent virtual 7.1 surround mode (via EPOS’ software). Tapping the Bluetooth button (aka the smart button) can be set to switch between 2.0 and 7.1 modes or between the preset EQ modes.

Back to those features and as well as having EPOS’ signature large, fold-down microphone, the H3Pro Hybrid has secondary inbuilt microphones that are used for mic noise canceling as well as powering the headphone’s active noise canceling (ANC). It’s a shame the fold-down microphone is noticable worse quality than previous EPOS units we’ve tested, though with a boxier sound and frustratingly limited range of positions at which the mic picks up your voice – you’ve got to get it in just the right spot.

The ANC isn’t the most accomplished we’ve used but takes the edge off the worst road/rail/jet noise. What’s more, the primary microphone can be removed (it’s magnetically attached) and the inbuilt mic relied on entirely, making for a cleaner, more portable arrangement.

There’s a pleasingly large and easy-to-feel-for volume wheel on the right earcup but it’s disappointingly unresponsive, taking a quarter turn to respond then changing the volume in large increments.

Battery life

Battery life is middling for a gaming headset, with a rating of 30hrs for wireless use without ANC and 38hrs over Bluetooth without ANC. Those figures are notably a big step down from the more basic EPOS GSP 370, which managed 100hrs, but comparable to quite a few other options. In real-world use, it’s a headset that needs a charge once or twice a week, with a quick 20min charge getting you several more hours use. Plus, if you plug in the USB charging cable to your PC, you can carry on listening via the cable.

Price

Priced at $270 / £179, the H3Pro Hybrid is among the most expensive gaming headsets you can buy but it offers far more than most too. In particular, its active noise cancelling isn’t a feature you’ll find on many other gaming headsets and its general ability to genuinely be both a gaming headset and a practical portable headset too makes up for a lot in terms of value.

Conclusion

Despite its slightly unresponsive volume wheel and middling-quality main microphone, the EPOS H3Pro Hybrid is a superb gaming headset. Its headphone sound quality is class-leading plus it’s largely very comfortable and is packed with useful, easy-to-use features.

Its ability to morph into an ANC-enabled, travel headset by removing its boom mic is also a huge boon for regular travellers not wanting to splash out on an extra set of headphones. So good do we think the H3Pro Hybrid is that it makes our list of the best gaming headsets.