The EPOS Impact 1000 AI-Infused ANC headset
The EPOS Impact 1000 is designed for an open office situation to drown out your loud co-workers/location sharers while you’re attempting to actually get something accomplished. There are multiple versions of this product depending on your needs. For mine they shipped with a stand charger, and a useful little carrying bag in case you’re desking at different locations, or just don’t want Steve grabbing your headsets again.
TL;DR – for small to maybe XL heads, absurdly good noise cancellation on calls/meetings. App needs work.
We’re reviewing the 1060T ANC edition, according to the app, paired with a Google Pixel 7 Pro and used extensively with a Galaxy S21 Ultra. It ships with a dongle, but can also be connected via Bluetooth to up to three devices.
My guess is that in terms of design the EPOS Impact 1000 works perfectly for people with small to large heads, probably even XL. Coming in at a fairly large 2XL I’m going to straight up start with this headset was not for me. Not its fault. I’m not going to bash it for this, but I will preface the review with the fact that my wife did a lot of the testing as she used it when we were both working from home to drown out my noise and has now adopted it as one of her things. On my head the ear pieces sat a little high and I didn’t quite get the feeling that I was getting a good seal unless I pulled them down. Once again, very large head, not all headsets fit me. Worked and still works beautifully for the wife.
The fact that it’s still in use by her says a lot, unfortunately she doesn’t. Other than that they’re a keeper and she can make calls even with people talking or tv/music going around her.
An interesting thing on the ANC is that while it’s good for you, it’s great for the person on the other end of a call. I made a few calls and asked people if they could hear the very loud music I was blaring, and universally was told no. While they can not hear it, if it’s at that volume you’re still aware, it just isn’t that loud.
These are aimed more at the hot-desking crowd as that carrying bag is well designed without being military grade. It would be nice if there were color options for the case, but sometimes you just have to accept basic black. The case has a pouch to hold any wires or a Bluetooth dongle in case you need it.
The range is more than adequate. Through plaster walls and a 1940’s house you can hear and speak with no interruptions unless you really try to find that Bluetooth death spot. I was able to get it to fail, but it was more than fine for any use case short of working across the street from your phone.
AI’s a big buzzword, but the AI-infused ANC does absolute wonders cancelling out surrounding noise and focuses on you speaking. To the person on the other end of a call, they hear you and not the random smart vacuum wandering by. You’ll still be aware there’s noise around you, but people on the other end of a call won’t. I’m going to refer you to another reviewer who did a series of real world tests as it really does have to be heard how well this works. I happen to be short 1) a Db meter, 2) a good mic for room audio. Should anyone want to send some my way let me know ;)
The noise cancelling experience really reminds me of Krisp, which is an AI plugin that does some of the same with anything, although that service will run you $96 a year these days. This headset has that capability set built in.
If these fit me right (and were over the ear as opposed to on the ear,) they’d be my go-to taking the spot from my beloved Jabra set.
Nitpicking time
While I suspect it’s potentially due to the huge head as my wife doesn’t have this problem, when I look down I’m looking at the headset falling to the floor. On me at least this appears to be because there’s not much contact area with the top of my head. You’ve got ears, and then two padded contact points up top basically about a square inch in total of contact space. This appears to have been done mostly to accommodate the very cool wireless charging.
Headsets that do not fall off my head generally have about three times that top contact space.
The app, when tested on a Pixel 7 Pro… the phone Google made… well, here’s the screenshot of the farthest I have managed to get into it. Headset identified in the app, and then it attempts to connect. Rebooting phone, rebooting headset, no change.
I suspect this is fixable, and will be fixed shortly, but it sort of ruins the well put together package when the app doesn’t function on a Pixel. From the description it looks like it allows you to tweak settings and perhaps update firmware. Everything else about this works right out of the box.
EPOS Impact 1000 overall?
A great sounding portable wireless business class headset with Microsoft and UC certification options configurable with options? I like it. I feel I would like it more if they made a larger version or I had a smaller head, but you work with what you’ve got.
Honestly the best other-end noise cancelling I’ve tried, and good operator side as well. If you’ve got to work in a loud crowded environment and don’t want to shout to be heard, these have an amazing sound.
If I did the configuration right, the configuration sent to us was $429USD and lists as a 1061T ANC, not a 1060T ANC as the app suggested. The only difference between the two is the stand so that really does not matter. Prices range from $299-$429 based on what configuration options you want.
EPOS Impact 1000 AI-Infused ANC headset
The EPOS Impact 1000 is designed for an open office situation to drown out your loud co-workers/location sharers while you're attempting to actually get something accomplished. There are multiple versions of this product depending on your needs. For mine they shipped with a stand charger, and a useful little carrying bag in case you're desking at different locations, or just don't want Steve grabbing your headsets again.
Product Brand: EPOS
Product Currency: USD
Product Price: 429.00
Product In-Stock: InStock
4
Pros
- Lightweight
- Wireless charging
- Absurdly good call audio
- AI noise cancellation
Cons
- Not great for larger head
- App not there yet
- Headset falls off easily
