It has been a hot minute since I reviewed a new EPOS product, with the latest headset out of Copenhagen landing on my desk a few weeks ago – EPOS Impact 460.
This unit is part of the Impact 400 series, with the 460 denoting a model with two speakers, the single speaker version is the 430.
The life of a tech journalist means much of my gear is transient. I test them thoroughly for the review period then I move on. As a result It is not often that something remains in my kit long term, as is the case of the EPOS Impact 1000 which I reviewed over twelve months ago. This remained my daily driver until now.
First Impressions
Visually, the two EPOS Impact devices are quite similar. The shared design language is quite obvious when you put them side by side.
As business devices, the EPOS Impact are black units. A hint of colour comes in the purple on the inside of each earcup.
The Impact 460 is a little smaller in everything – the headband is narrower but retains the padding at the inside of the apex. The ear cups are smaller, but retain the same design and generous padding. Both have a swivel boom mic that automatically mutes and unmute your mic depending on the position.
The Impact 460 is a wired headset, with the connection going into the earcup with the boom mic attached. The cable has a USB-C end, but EPOS has provided a USB-A adapter that is looped onto the wire for convenience.
In Use
Personally I am not a fan of cabled headsets. It tethers me to a device in order for me to use it. This means if I need to go grab a drink, I have to either take the headset off, or take the laptop with me. Then there is the problem of the cable catching on things as I get about.
However after using the Impact 460 for a few weeks, it is also hard to deny the convenience of just plugging in the cable and not have connection issues or Bluetooth delays before the audio kicks in.
I have been in a period of work where I have constantly bounce between Teams calls and phone calls. Whilst the Impact 1000 was conveniently connected to both my laptop and phone where I can easily take calls whichever way it comes in, I have also been having issues with the Impact 1000 and my phone.
With the Impact 460, I could plug it into whichever device I need to talk on and will almost instantly on the go.
I valued the Impact 1000 for it’s call quality, ANC capabilities and the BrainAdapt technology. I have used it in some unusual places and no one has ever thought I am anywhere but in a quiet working environment. That said, watching my daughter in the school gym performing her circus routine to very large background music was finally enough to overwhelm the ANC on the Impact 1000.
The BrainAdapt technology in the Impact 1000 has also been of great benefit to both myself and my son – we are both neurospicy.
So how does the Impact 460 perform in comparison? As the numbers denote, the 460 is step down. For starter, it does not do thirty-two thousand sampling per second. It also does not come with BrainAdapt.
I just came off a two and a half hour long conference call earlier this evening doing a systems application migration for a client. It was prime early evening rush at home with kids doing their things, partner cooking dinner in the kitchen. A lot of medium level background noise.
The great thing was that the noise filtering algorithm was doing an admirable job of keeping the background noises at bay. It was not the level of the Impact 1000, but until my daughter came right up to me asking me for homework help, everyone on the call just thought I have managed to run away from the kids and was isolated in a quiet room.
To everyone the microphone picked up and rendered my voice clearly. And for me, the audio coming through was excellent. The Impact 460 is quite obviously tuned for conversations and business use over music. To me if feels both the microphone and speakers are on par with what I am used to, just the difference being the ANC.
Over a longer term use, I find physically the Impact 460 to be comfortable to wear. As I mentioned earlier, I am constantly on and off calls at the moment. Even after my two and a half hour stint, they still felt just fine on me.
I do however, find that I am working harder to process audio information compared to the Impact 1000. I covered off BrainAdapt in some detail in my previous review, and I think that tech just works well with my particular needs.
Other Thoughts
Over long term use of the Impact 1000, I noticed a few quirks which I have had conversations with the support team about.
In particular I found the Impact 1000 made a clicking noise when I am using the steam wand of my espresso machine, the igniter on my gas stove and if I am scrunching up plastic. Our conclusion was that it was likely to be the ANC sampling rate is struggling with these particular frequencies.
I specifically tested these exact situations with the Impact 460 and could not replicate the same result.
I really like the red busy light on the end of the boom arm. It is just in my peripheral vision to tell me that I am on mute with the boom mic in the talking position. There are also red busy lights on the outside of the ear cups as well so people (other than my daughter) knows that you are on a call.
The unit comes with a really nice felt carry pouch that will protect your headset.
Gripes
I did have one, but EPOS has already fixed it.
When I first started using the Impact 460, I had many instances where the microphone refused to unmute. Regardless if the boom was up or down, whether I toggled mute and unmute on Teams, the unit stubbornly refused to unmute. A recent firmware update fixed this bug.
Conclusions
The EPOS Impact 400 series might be the less capable headset compared to the Impact 1000 that I still have in my daily kit, but it also comes with a substantially cheaper price. It is a solid performer across the board with very little to complain about.
It is available in Teams and non-Teams certified variants, as well as mono or stereo variants. My review unit is a stereo non-Teams version. The RRP is $149 for mono and $165 for stereo, although you will find them closer to the $100 mark online such as on Amazon Au.
DRN would like to thank EPOS for providing the review unit, as well as the ring light which was not part of this review.
