EPOS H3PRO Hybrid headset review: Neat frills for a king's ransom

Sometimes a price tag outweighs the benefit of gimmicks.

It ain't easy being a premium headset. Most everyone who looks at you is going to ask, "Are you really worth the price of multiple devices?" And in the EPOS H3PRO Hybrid's case, the answer is: No. The headset itself is very nice, but the whole is not greater than the sum of the parts. For the overall price tag of $279, you could get multiple quality devices that fit each specific use case of the H3PRO Hybrid, and you wouldn't have to worry about a single, somewhat fragile, primarily plastic pair of cans being the end-all-be-all of your audio experience.

EPOS H3PRO Hybrid headset review:

• The good
• The bad
• The competition
• Should you buy?

EPOS H3PRO Hybrid headset

Bottom line: The H3PRO Hybrid is a good headset, no doubt about it. But its drawbacks and lack of out-of-this-world features don't quite justify its out-of-this-world price.

The Good

• Lots of connection options
• Can connect to two devices at once
• Looks slick

The Bad

• Tiny audio issues and occasional fiddling required
• Eyebrow-raising price tag
• Not the comfiest, doesn't feel durable

$279 at EPOS

EPOS H3PRO Hybrid headset: What I like

Right off the bat: The audio quality is fine. Not outstanding or anything — don't expect the highs and lows of music to be the crispest you've ever heard, nor the bass to be rumbling nirvana — but there's no denying that the audio output gets the job done. When playing a game like Rainbow Six Siege, you'll hear the direction the bad guys are coming from along with all the footsteps and shuffling noises you could ever ask for. And as already noted, you won't be disappointed with the audio quality for music purposes, even if you're not overwhelmingly amazed by it, either.

A nice feature of this headset is the ability to connect to two devices at once. You can be corded to your PC or Xbox Series X and Bluetooth connected to your phone, or wirelessly for both, and be able to hear both devices' sounds at once. This is great for if you're playing, say, Forza Horizon 5 and want to simultaneously take a call on your phone without removing your headset or pausing the action. It's a useful, fun feature and makes it easy to ensure you never miss a call.

Another perk of the H3PRO Hybrid is its aesthetics. It features a detachable mic that can have its attachment slot covered up so the headset looks natively mic-less, in the event you're going out on the town with these cans and don't want to look like a call center reject. The subdued, black and rich-but-muted blue color palette of the device gives it a kind of dignity and fashionability that few gaming-friendly headsets bother to have.

EPOS H3PRO Hybrid headset: What I don't like

The H3PRO Hybrid's price is, to put it bluntly, not cool. For that price, you could buy a decent dedicated gaming headset, headphones for music, and wireless earbuds for going out and about with. And then, you wouldn't have to worry about a single device with seemingly fragile cup hinges being your one and only audio solution for almost $300.

While features like dual device connecting and active noise cancellation are neat, they just don't balance out the price. The audio quality isn't mindbogglingly good, and given that the cans' hinges and thin, longevity-lacking rubber USB-C cable scare me a little bit, the overall headset comes together to form a high-risk, low-reward value proposition.

I arrive at that conclusion without even having to mention the H3PRO Hybrid's oddities. One is the angle the earphone's cups are slanted at. It's not painful or anything, but it's an odd choice that can be a bit uncomfy if your ears aren't as angle-friendly as EPOS wants them to be.

And there's the very annoying pet peeve of audio kicking in a second after you start playing music. It doesn't always happen, which is the weird part. But sometimes, when there's a gap in audio—say, between YouTube videos—the headphones will decide to go to sleep, only to awaken a second after audio resumes. This means you'll miss out on the opening beat of a song, or first few words of a spoken lecture. It's super pesky.

EPOS H3PRO Hybrid headset: The competition

There is no shortage of competition for the H3PRO Hybrid, since it essentially fights for attention with just about the entire audio sector. For the price of this headset, you could go with the EKSA E910 headset and GT1 wireless earbuds and still have money left over for a third device, should you want a versatile trio of audio gear rather than a device that traps all eggs in one less-than-perfect basket.

With that said, the H3PRO Hybrid isn't a bad device, so should you want to choose it over one of the best PC gaming headsets because you love pairing active noise cancellation with dual connectivity, no one could blame you. Do note, the headset works with just about every system on the market, including the Xbox Series X (and S), Xbox One, Switch, PS4, and PS5.

EPOS H3PRO Hybrid headset: Should you buy?

You should buy this if ...

• You love headsets that can connect to two devices at once.
• You want a headset that's good for Xbox, PC, mobile, and everything else.
• You're a lover of cool gimmicks and tricks.

You should not buy this if ...

• You hate overpaying for plastic.
• You'd rather have two or three good devices for the price of one.
• You don't tolerate bugs and quirks in a nearly $300 product.

This headset has perfectly fine audio and a mic that, by and large, works well. Some people told me I sounded a little fuzzy or robotic (with one telling me I sounded like an airplane pilot — which is not a good thing), but by and large, it communicated my voice without fuss. So in that sense, the H3PRO Hybrid has the two main ingredients of a good gaming headset.

3.5 out of 5

It also packs neat bonuses and perks, as mentioned above. But all the garnishes in the world can't save a competent, average product from the fate of being remembered as just that: effective, but unexceptional. It's a good pair of cans and earns every point it gets, but it's not good enough to justify its lofty price tag. Consider waiting for sales.

EPOS H3PRO Hybrid headset

Bottom line: It's a good headset if you're in the mood to splurge. Otherwise, you can get similar quality for far less from other brands, though you may have to buy a few cheaper devices to match the H3PRO Hybrid's all-in-one feature set.

$279 at EPOS