ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Epos Adapt E1 earbuds are on sale now for $166 at Amazon.
- Designed for the workplace, the Adapt E1 include a number of options tailor-made for videoconferencing, in addition to nice battery life.
- The mic high quality is variable and I discovered myself wishing some calls have been louder.
There are numerous earbuds in the marketplace proper now at each value level, so it is smart that manufacturers are beginning to specialise in particular use circumstances.
Danish audio model Epos (previously referred to as Sennheiser Communications) simply launched a pair of professional-looking earbuds particularly designed for the office, with compatibility in thoughts and built-in integrations for videoconferencing software program, their very own connectivity dongle, and multi-point connectivity.
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The buds’ default gestures correlate with frequent videocall actions: urgent the left earbud launches Microsoft Groups, the place urgent and holding will elevate your hand within the assembly. The fitting earbud mutes the mic, accepts a telephone name, or skips tracks.
Other than gestures, the buds have multi-point connectivity so you’ll be able to seamlessly swap from calls in your telephone to calls in your laptop computer with out having to re-pair, a game-changer in case you take completely different calls all through the day on completely different units. In addition they assist solo use, which means you’ll be able to hold one earbud in at a time (left for videoconferencing, proper for telephone calls).
Additionally, the Adapt E1 are designed to be as appropriate as attainable, and include their very own USB-C dongle, which minimizes connectivity points by pairing with the earbuds straight as an alternative of relying solely in your laptop computer’s Bluetooth.
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The dongle may even will let you obtain firmware updates to the earbuds with out putting in something in your laptop, one thing loads of individuals are prohibited from doing on work-issued units. If you’ll be able to obtain and set up the accompanying Epos app, you can make a couple of changes, however general, the app is on the slim facet, and I would not name it a necessity.
Concerning audio high quality, you doubtless will not run into connectivity points, however you’ll want to experiment with the settings relying on how loud your setting is. I attempted the Adapt E1 in an workplace with a mean quantity of ambient noise, and was instructed my vocal high quality was a little bit muffled.
This was doubtless as a result of, in trying to suppress background noise, it was additionally slicing into my very own voice. If in case you have ANC on, it additionally considerably blocks out the sound of your personal voice, which might make communication awkward.
The Adapt E1 mitigates this impact with assist for Sidetone, which opens up the noise cancellation to a hybrid format, permitting for some ambient noise and, most significantly, your voice to come back by.
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By way of consolation, Epos touts the Adapt E1’s design as being knowledgeable by over 500 thousand ear scans, and contains 4 completely different bud sizes within the field. They’re actually comfy and light-weight, and sporting them for prolonged durations did not lead to any explicit soreness.
After taking them to the health club, working, and transferring round in them, I discovered that the Giant measurement eartips labored greatest for me and resulted in a extra comfortable match. For no matter cause, it is at all times the left bud that tends to come back free after I put on earbuds of any model, however these stayed put.
The ANC on the Adapt E1 is sweet, but it surely is not going to match the deep silence you’d get in over-ear headphones just like the Bose QuietComfort Extremely.That being mentioned, they carry out acceptably in ultra-loud environments, like on the subway the place I stay in New York or on a busy road in Midtown.
On that word, the audio high quality of music can be fairly good on the Adapt E1. It is bought a hefty serving to of bass, well-defined mids, and an general crisp and clear audio profile. The one factor I’d say is that these aren’t buds with notably ear-splitting quantity. I steadily discover myself cranking it as much as max when listening to music.
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On telephone calls, audio high quality was additionally variable. After a handful of calls in varied eventualities, my consensus is that the audio high quality within the earbuds is healthier than the mic. I might hear others very nicely, however I used to be instructed my voice wasn’t coming in clearly on a couple of events.
Granted, there are a variety of elements right here: sign energy, ambient noise, and many others., however in very noisy environments, you will need to ensure that your settings are optimized (and the amount is turned up). Fortunately, I’ve discovered the gestures on the buds to be very responsive.
I additionally discovered battery life to be excellent. Epos claims as much as 150 hours of battery life in a single fully-charged case and intermittent use. With continuous use, it claims 10 hours of music listening time with ANC on and 6 hours of speak time. Throughout my testing, I simply made it by the workweek with intermittent use every day. If you do have to cost them, they energy up quick: simply 5 minutes of charging provides you an hour of battery life.
Referring to some considerations I had, some customers will not be thrilled to be taught that the gestures are hard-coded to the earbuds and cannot be modified. For instance, the videoconferencing controls are relegated to the left earbud, whereas name settle for/reject, monitor skip, and mute are locked to the precise. That being mentioned, the actions are logically assigned, and I had no points with them.
Second, I would not suggest these earbuds for customers who simply want a stable pair of all-around earbuds. The Adapt E1 veer towards the specialised facet, with an intensive quantity of customization choices that may get in the best way of on a regular basis customers who simply need to take heed to music on their commute.
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Final, I had no connectivity points, however I discovered the decision high quality to be variable. Epos is a number one model in enterprise headsets, so I am hoping newer variations of the Adapt earbuds have improved mic high quality throughout the board that does not depend on fine-tuning the optimum sequence of settings.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
Epos’ Adapt E1 are slick {and professional} with glorious battery life, multi-point connectivity, solo put on, and are very comfy. I would suggest them to anybody who makes use of Microsoft Groups extensively and desires a pair of earbuds that may seamlessly soar from a laptop computer to a smartphone and again once more all through the course of the day.
The ANC is sweet, however you will need to configure noise cancellation for calls in case you’re tripped up by not listening to your personal voice if you communicate. Audio high quality is superb for a pair of workplace earbuds, and rounds out the premium bundle right here. The common value of $170 is sort of affordable for these earbuds, particularly in case you plan on preserving them within the workplace, the place they work greatest.
