By June Ramli
Perth, Nov 11: Anyone who has taken a call in an open-plan office knows the problem: you can barely hear yourself over the chatter, and the person on the other end hears all of it too.
The EPOS IMPACT 400 Wireless is a Bluetooth headset designed for that situation, and for hybrid workers who split their week between the office, home and everywhere in between.
The microphone is the main selling point.
EPOS says its voice pickup technology achieves 99 per cent word recognition in noisy environments, and the headset is certified for Microsoft Teams with Premium Microphone for Open Office, which means it meets Microsoft’s requirements for voice pickup and noise suppression in shared spaces.
It’s also certified for Zoom, Google Meet and Webex.
The boom arm uses AI-based noise reduction to isolate your voice, and it doubles as a control: lower it to answer or unmute a call, raise it to mute.
A small LED on the mic shows when you’re muted, and flashes if you start talking while muted, which should save a few awkward moments on calls.
In my testing, call quality was good, though I honestly couldn’t tell the difference from other review headsets I’ve been sent before.
Battery life is generous. EPOS quotes up to 39 hours of talk time with noise cancellation and the busy light on, or 47 hours with noise cancellation off. For music, that stretches to 63 hours with noise cancellation on and 110 hours with it off.
A 20-minute fast charge gives up to 12 hours of talk time, and a full charge takes about two hours, so in practice you could go most of a working week between charges.
The hybrid active noise cancellation, powered by EPOS’s BrainAdapt technology, is designed to cut background distraction. EPOS quotes 19 decibels of noise reduction.
There’s also a TalkThrough mode for quick chats with the person at the next desk without taking the headset off, and a busy light that tells colleagues you’re on a call.
Australian buyers may appreciate that it meets the G616 acoustic safety standard, which protects against sudden loud bursts on the line.
At 145 grams it’s light. It’s an on-ear design with leatherette ear pads, the boom can be worn on either side, and it folds flat to fit in the included pouch.
I found it comfortable, and I could wear it for long hours without any trouble. It connects to two devices at once, such as a laptop and phone, and pairs with up to eight.
A thoughtful touch is serviceability: the ear pads and battery can both be replaced, the battery without tools. That’s rare in headsets and should help it last well beyond its two-year warranty.
The IMPACT 400 Wireless is aimed squarely at work rather than leisure, but for anyone who spends their day on calls, that focus is the point.
In Australia, the version with the BTD 400c USB-C dongle and USB-A adapter (EP1001553) is available now for an RRP of $299. A Bluetooth-only version without the dongle (EP1001554) is coming soon for $269.
Disclosure: EPOS provided DailyStraits with the IMPACT 400 Wireless free of charge for this review.
Media & PR: editor@dailystraits.com. Copyright 2021–Present DailyStraits.com. All rights reserved.