The undisputed king of audio connectivity - the wired connection - it's simple, plug and play and reliable! No interference or other inconviniences like low audio quality when using the microphone, which is a characteristic of all bluetooth headphones because bluetooth doesn't support high-quality audio when a microphone is in use.

The EPOS H3 (pictured) is a wired gaming headset that looks a lot like the Sennheiser GSP300 headset, although the H3 is less bulky and more lightweight, weighing just 278 grams (without the cable) - 12 grams lighter than the newer H3PRO Hybrid Wireless. The EPOS H3 also integrates 40mm dynamic drivers, which deliver clear and clean sound reproduction for hearing footsteps, as well as loud volume and good bass performance to draw you into the game. There is no 7.1 surround sound support though, so the EPOS H3 doesn't deliver quite the same immersion depth and positional audio you get with a 7.1 gaming headset with 50mm drivers such as the  GSP 670 headset.


The EPOS H3 construction is entirely of plastic, including the headband, which has a low/medium clamping force and houses a metal reinforced ratchet slider that extends pretty wide to suit tall heads. The headband is attached to the earcups via a plastic articulating arm (similar to the GSP 601 headset) that provides enough tilt and swivel to accomodate the earcups comfortably over the ears. The EPOS H3 headband has comfortable padding with a recess in the middle to minimize headband hot spot on top of the head.


The EPOS H3 headset memory foam ear pads are user replaceable and can be easily detached by simply pulling off the earpads, which are held down by plastic clips. The H3 headset uses GSA 3 earpads, which are especially made for the H3 headset; hence the earpads aren't interchangeable with other EPOS headsets. Earpad replacements can be bought directly from EPOS website. The material covering the earpads is made of three different materials: protein leather (outside), velour fabric (front) and breathable cloth fabric (inner hole).


Like most detachable earpads, the EPOS H3 earcups benefit from better air flow, thanks to the earpads not being glued on to the earcups, which helps minimize heat buildup and sweaty ears. Detachable earpads may slightly compromise the closed-back design of headphones, although this doesn't seem to be an issueue with the H3, which provides good sound isolation without excessive sound leakage. 


The inner hole of the EPOS H3 GSA 3 earpads has a "human ear" type design so, the opening is wider towards the top and narrower towards the bottom to fit the countour of the ear. The inner dimensions are 6cm high and 3cm wide, while the outer earpad dimensions are 10.5cm high and 8cm wide. The 40mm drivers are protected by a thin layer of fabric material, although the earcups have a 2.5cm depth, which is deep enough to accomodate protruding ears.


There is a volume control on-board located on the right side of the earcup, which uses a flat dial that can only be adjusted by pressing against it with a finger and rotating it clockwise (to increase volume) and anti-clockwise to decrease volume. The H3 flat dial design doesn't feel as intuitive as a scrolling wheel or knob but, it works just like a conventional potentiometer. It has stoppers for high and low volume settings, as well as tactile resistence for gradual control of the volume. 

The actual volume dial is made of plastic and has textured lines like a clock face to help actuate the dial. The Epos H3 volume dial doesn't have master volume functionality so, it only controls the volume of the headphones, not the volume of the source device the headphones are connected to. Another thing about the H3 volume control is that the lowest volume setting does not mute the volume completely. It simply turns the volume low.

The Epos H3 comes with a non-detachable boom arm microphone for online game chatting and regular phone calls. The boom arm mic has a wide range of motion over 90 degrees so, you can position the mic by the ear and below jaw level. The boom arm has a "flip to mute" design so, the mic gets muted when the boom arm is flipped all the the way. You will hear a subtle but audible click too. The EPOS H3 boom arm has a flat plastic construction, measures 12cm long and has a memory rubber mid-section that allows you to bend the boom arm left or right. The boom arm cannot be bent vertically. In terms of mic quality, the Epos H3 unidirectional noise cancelling microphone picks the voice loud, clearly and naturally, while supressing background noise (e.g. keyboard typing). The H3 mic quality is very similar to the GSP300 mic.


The EPOS H3 headset comes with a 2 meter long GSA 30 PC cable (mini 2.5mm male to 3.5mm audio/mic splitter), as well as a 1.5 meter long GSA 30 console cable (mini 2.5mm male to 3.5mm audio cable). Both cables have a fabric sheath of medium stiffness and gold-plated connectors. The mini 2.5mm cable connection plugs into the left side of the earcup, which also has a mini 2.5mm connection. Thanks to the single sided cable connection, the EPOS H3 cable doesn't get as much in the way as hedphones with dual entry cable.


Both cables are sold separately on EPOS website so, you can buy replacements. Third-party cable replacements may be hard to come by because of the recessed mini 2.5mm plug connection. The cables are of very good quality and have rubber strain reliefs. The plugs are all made of hard plastic with the exception of the 3.5mm plug, which is rubberized. The longest audio cable weighs 29 grams. The H3 headset comes packaged inside a lightweight cardboard box with a thick open-cell foam insert, which is removable. This EPOS H3 headset is compatible with PC, Mac OSX, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Switch, as well as the EPOS GSX 300 dac.You can buy the EPOS H3 headset from amazon.