Are Work Headsets A Gimmick? I Tested A Pair, And It Actually Made Calls More Enjoyable

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Epos Impact 500 bid headset is disposable now for $299.
• It's supremely comfortable, pinch breathable, lightweight earcups, and nan sound value is top-notch.
• Its buttons are tiny, and it's expensive.

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Epos, shaper of premium audio equipment, conscionable released a caller lightweight headset for nan agency pinch ANC, crisp telephone quality, and Microsoft Teams certification. The Epos Impact 500 is simply a sleek headset pinch a comfortable fresh and useful features for quickly responding to calls.

I precocious reviewed nan brand's productivity-focused earbuds, nan Adapt E1, and noted their very bully audio value -- moreover for euphony -- and useful integrations pinch communal videoconferencing platforms. The Impact 500 headset follows nan aforesaid inclination pinch a streamlined shape facet and comfortable earcups I recovered myself capable to deterioration for agelong periods of time. 

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Even better, nan headset useful retired of nan container without a batch of fuss. It features autochthonal Bluetooth, truthful it'll link to your laptop without a dongle, but it tin besides travel pinch some a USB-C and USB-A for devices that request it. Epos besides states that it will adhd support for Teams complete autochthonal Bluetooth successful nan future, but there's nary timeframe for this yet. 

Connecting nan headset has been very easy connected each nan devices I utilized it on: conscionable move to pairing mode and go. No apps are required, though an optional 1 is available. 

Regarding their fit, I recovered this headset to beryllium very comfortable. It's exceedingly light, weighing conscionable 139 grams (4.9 ounces) pinch small, 2.56-inch earcups. Keeping nan headset connected for extended periods is nary problem, and yes, I moreover forgot I was wearing it connected a fewer occasions. This is notable to me, arsenic I typically don't for illustration headsets and tin only deterioration them for an hr astatine a time. 

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The earcups are breathable and plush, but besides alternatively small, truthful they mightiness not supply complete sum for immoderate people. For activity calls, nan headset performs well. Call value is top-tier, some for incoming audio and outgoing voice. On each nan calls I took, folks connected nan different extremity said my sound was earthy and precise, without stuttering, dropping, aliases robotic invasions. 

The headset's rotatable roar mic is nan correct length, neither excessively agelong nor successful nan way, and it auto-mutes erstwhile flipped up to nan vertical position. Additionally, nan headset's talk-through mode functions well, providing conscionable capable of your ain sound to make speaking pinch nan ANC seamless. 

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

Accepting an incoming telephone tin beryllium done by pressing nan fastener connected nan guidelines of nan mic, though it's rather small. In fact, each nan headset's buttons are small, requiring immoderate precision and a spot of fumbling to activate correctly. 

The powerfulness button, for example, is simply a mini slider connected nan near broadside that is located straight successful beforehand of nan mic, which requires you to flip nan mic successful nan vertical position earlier turning it connected aliases off, which isn't precisely a creation flaw, but does require an further measurement to usage effectively. 

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The different 2 buttons connected nan near earcup are for volume: there's 1 connected either broadside of nan USB-C port. However, I statement that they're reversed from what is shown successful nan brand's instrumentality manual: nan front-facing fastener is measurement up, which is nan much intuitive configuration, successful my opinion. 

If you person ample hands aliases for illustration microphones pinch much streamlined beingness controls, you mightiness person immoderate problem pinch nan buttons here, but for illustration immoderate headset, it's conscionable a matter of repetition and musculus memory. 

Let's talk nan ANC, which differs from nan noise-cancelling exertion recovered successful audio headphones. It's effective astatine mitigating ambient sound successful nan office, specified arsenic ray conversations and typing, and is particularly bully astatine shutting down sources of sound for illustration A/C aliases HVAC systems that lend to nan room tone. 

But for adjacent sounds, including clicks, keyboards, aliases group speaking, nan ANC reduces them by astir 50%. In that sense, nan extremity present is to trim ambient sounds conscionable capable to forestall them distracting you connected a call, not make full silence. 

The artillery life connected this headset is besides very good. Epos claims it tin execute up to 35 hours of talk clip connected a azygous charge, which is rather impressive. I will opportunity that, during my intermittent testing of nan headset complete nan people of a week and a half, I only precocious needed to plug it in.

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Lastly, nan headset's value of $299 relegates it to nan premium market. This is not an inexpensive solution to arming a fleet of workers successful a telephone center, but alternatively a selective portion of instrumentality for users seeking nan precocious extremity of comfortableness and audio quality. 

ZDNET's buying advice

The Epos Impact 500 is simply a premium, lightweight headset that conscionable useful retired of nan container pinch small to nary fuss. For anyone who wants lightness and breathability, this headset delivers 1 of nan much comfortable fits I've used. 

In addition, nan audio value backs up nan beingness fit. It's expensive, and though nan buttons are mini and travel pinch a learning curve, nan autochthonal Bluetooth, ANC, and Epos' audio exertion moving down nan scenes lend to a high-functioning headset for nan agency -- location aliases otherwise.