REASONS TO BUY
Comfortable
Great microphone and audio quality
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Doesn't block background noise
EPOS GAME ONE Review
One of the best headsets — this model boasts comfort, a great microphone, and stellar audio quality
RELATED: Best Gaming Headset of 2024
Our Verdict
Finishing near the top out of all the headsets we have tested, the EPOS GAME ONE is one of our favorites. This model is quite comfortable to wear, even for marathon gaming sessions. It is always easy for anyone else we were playing with to understand what we were saying. The sound quality of this headset is just great, doing justice to a variety of musical genres, all while transmitting our teammates voices loud and clear. The only downside? The GAME ONE couples its excellent performance with a premium price that might be a bit more than most people will want to spend on one of these products.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product EPOS GAME ONE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Best Overall Gaming Headset |  Best Open Back Gaming Headset | Best Wireless Gaming Headset |  Best on a Tight Budget | |
| Price | $179 List $156.99 at Amazon | $130 List $74.99 at Amazon | $179 List $110.38 at Amazon | $150 List $99.99 at Amazon | $50 List $29.99 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | For those that want a top-notch headset and are willing to pay for it, this product is an good option | This headset offers great audio, superior comfort, and a fantastic microphone –- the only knock against it is that it is corded | This is a fantastic gaming headset, but its open back design does not block external noises, making it ideal for quiet spaces and in-person gameplay | An across the board good performing wireless headset that gets the job done at a price that is below average for the class | This headset is a great bargain option, holding its own with the top models while costing considerably less |
| Rating Categories | EPOS GAME ONE | Kraken V3 HyperSense | EPOS H6 Pro | Corsair HS80 RGB Wi... | Kingston HyperX Clo... |
| Comfort (40%) | |||||
| Audio (30%) | |||||
| Microphone (20%) | |||||
| Ease of Use (10%) | |||||
| Specs | EPOS GAME ONE | Kraken V3 HyperSense | EPOS H6 Pro | Corsair HS80 RGB Wi... | Kingston HyperX Clo... |
| Connection Type | 3.5mm | USB | 3.5mm | USB | 3.5mm |
| Measure Max Cordlength | PC: 9.6 ft 3.5mm: 4.4 ft |
6.4 ft | PC: 8 ft Console: 4.4 ft |
Charging cable: 6ft | 10.5 ft |
| Wireless or Wired | Wired | Wired | Wired | Wireless | Wired |
| How to Mute | Lift mic | Button | Lift mic | Lift | Lift mic |
| Detachable Microphone | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Mute and Volume Control Location | Headphone | Headphone | Headphone | Headphone | Headphone |
| Measured weight (cable hanging) | 9.6 oz | 13 oz | 11.4 oz | 12.8 oz | 9.5 oz |
| Measured Inner Ear Cup Opening | 1-5/16" X 2-5/8 " | 1-1/2" X 2-1/2" | 1-1/2" X 2-3/4" | 1-1/2" X 2-1/4" | 1-5/8" X 2-9/16" |
| Ear Cup Shape | Oval | Oval | Asymmetric oval | Asymmetric oval | Oval |
| Ear Cup Fabric Type | Velvet | Memory foam, leatherette, cooling mesh | Microfiber fabric | Microfiber fabric | Leatherette |
| Downloadable Software | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Surround/Spacial Audio | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Manufacturer Stated Platform Compatibility | PC, Mac, PS4, Xbox One (older version controllers may require an adapter) | PC, PlayStation, Switch (docked mode) | PC, Mac, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Switch, Tablet | PC. Mac, PS4, PS5 | PC, Mac, PS4, Xbox One (older version controllers may require an adapter) |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
Performance Comparison
Up close and personal with the Game One.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Comfort
Accounting for the largest percentage of the overall score at 40%, Comfort is our most important testing metric. Many people will wear these headsets for quite a long time, meaning that even the most crystal-clear audio is totally useless if the headset is too uncomfortable to wear. We had a panel of judges try out each headset for an extended period of time, rating the overall comfort of each product, as well as focusing specifically on the ear cups and the headband. Additionally, we also had testers that wore glasses try on each headset, to see if any unpleasant pressure points were created. The velvet-padded headband is quite nice, holding the headset very comfortably on your head, while also securely holding the GAME ONE on your head without any wobbling.
Pivoting ear cups help reduce pressure points.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
The ear cup padding is also covered in velvet and is a bit on the firmer side, but the vast majority of our judging panel was more than happy to wear the GAME ONE for extended periods of time — even for upwards of 10 hours.
One of our testers wore this headset for over 13 hours.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
We found the ear cups to be plenty spacious, measuring a little over 1.25" across and about 2.6" tall.
The velvet ear cups felt nice and helped keep our ears cooler.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
We also liked that the open ear cup design kept you from getting overly sweaty when wearing them for long periods of time.
The open back design of the GAME ONE allows sound to flow through.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Audio
Moving on to how the GAME ONE actually sounds, we put it through a set of benchmark tests, as well as judging how clear voice and music sounded and how accurately it could convey the position of a sound. Additionally, we also scored it on how well it did at blocking out external noise.
The GAME ONE did alright with positional sound that was originating in front of you or to the sides, but it can get a little muddled when the sound is behind you, with a handful of testers incorrectly identifying the location of the sound.
Voice from other players comes across exceptionally loud and clear, though the deeper tones sounded slightly more muted. However, the open back design on this headset makes them abysmal at blocking out any external noise, allowing you to hear every side conversation or noises like fans or music playing in the same room you are playing in.
This headset also does a great job when listening to the soundtracks or music, delivering well-balanced sound with only a slight emphasis on the mid-range tones. It has a slightly airy sound due to its open back, but provides an immersive experience, especially when playing games with a rich, orchestral soundtrack.
Moving on to our suite of benchmark tests, a bass quality test, driver matching test, binaural test, and a wiring test. The GAME ONE didn't do the best when the bass was boosted to the max, failing to display any parasitic buzz, instead actually rattling the headset around. The frequencies both sounded extremely centered in the driver matching test and all of our judges were usually able to identify the location of the sounds in the binaural test, again, much more accurately when the sounds were in front of you, rather than behind.
The GAME ONE has an excellent microphone.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Microphone
Moving on to the microphone quality, the GAME ONE again scored very well and meriting another 8 out of 10 for its top-notch performance, putting it right at the top of the group in this set of tests, which are worth 20% of the overall score.
We started off by having a panel of listeners rate how a recorded message of the same person reading the same script sounded, without knowing which headset generated the recording. We also gathered the opinions of the recipients of our messages when using a common voice chat program. In both cases, almost all of our judges thought the GAME ONE sounded great. Only a few judges noticed a tiny amount of buzzing and one noted that the recorded voice sounded slightly flatter than it did in real life. There was only a small amount of feedback when the microphone was tapped and it doesn't overemphasize “T” or “S” sounds.
Lift-to-mute mics are by far the easiest to use, which is why we love the GAME ONE.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
The microphone also does a solid job of only picking up your voice and filtering out external noises. While it will pick up sounds of you eating or a background fan, you can type away on a mechanical keyboard without issue. There is only a slight amount of noise on the other end when you mute the mic and while it will pick up the sounds of other people talking in the room with you, the side conversations are transmitted at a much lower level and won't overpower the sounds of the game you are playing.
The Game One has the slightest hint of a hum when the mute is on.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Ease of Use
For our final testing metric, accountable for 10% of the total score, we looked at how easy it is to actually use and operate each of these products. We based the score for each headset on the presence of onboard or in-line controls, the cord length and if it is detachable, and the convenience of using the microphone. This headset has onboard controls right on the headphones, allowing you to both adjust the volume and mute the mic, which is done by simply lifting the mic up and out of the way. The cord on this product is plenty long, measuring in at 9.65 feet, and is detachable. However, the mic is not detachable and it doesn't have the ability to enable a mic sidetone, but we never really found this to be a problem with the open-back design.
Value
While this is a good headset, it isn't the best value option because it pairs high performance with a high price.
We think this is one of the best headsets you can get.
Credit: Jenna Ammerman
Conclusion
All in all, the GAME ONE is a good choice if you can afford it. It's comfortable, has great audio and microphone quality, and is easy to use. Additionally, you can also consider the GAME ZERO — essentially the identical headset with a closed-back design, if you are too bothered by ambient noises while playing.
—
David Wise and Austin Palmer
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