EPOS IMPACT 1061 Review: A Great Headset That Deserves a Better App and More Useful Website

EPOS IMPACT 1061 Review

For SEO purposes and clarity, I should start off by sharing the basic model for the EPOS headset is not 1061, but 1000. This is a configurable headset. It can be ordered single-sided or double-sided, with or without ANC, with or without a charging stand, and with or without Microsoft Teams or Unified Communications certifications. The review model, the $429 EPOS IMPACT 1061, comes with dual earpads, ANC and Teams support.

Sometimes, simplicity in one area, such as a limiting of buttons and indicators, can lead to a complication in another. In the case of the EPOS 1000 line, that complication places many features in the three available buttons, which makes becoming proficient on the headset time-consuming. To be fair, the basic features are pretty easy to master, but second-tier features require study.

What we like

Pros

I found the EPOS IMPACT 1061 a comfortable, all-day headset. Even if I’m not listening or talking, I keep it on to buffet out the sound of a home that supports multiple working adults. The EPOS IMPACT 1061’s four digital MEMS microphones and the flip-able boom pick up my voice with clarity and manage the ANC. I have heard no complaints about sound quality, regardless of meetings taking place on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet.

I always keep my microphone on the right, but that’s a choice I can make, while other owners may prefer the left. That boom microphone position as a choice is a good feature. That it flips up along the headband, out of the way, is an even better feature. I’m not fond of headsets with removable microphones. Something will get lost or broken.

The firmware supporting the EPOS IMPACT 1061 boom includes AI tech trademarked as EPOS AI™ to help eliminate ambient noise from around the wearer when on calls. The microphone boom sports the Teams button, used to answer calls when Teams is the default softphone system.

As should be the case with all conferencing headphones, the EPOS 1061 comes with excellent ANC, with varying degrees of hear-through. That said, even on the highest ANC setting, sounds, including conversations from another room, come through when not being drowned out by music and other voices.

Since most headset companies leverage ANC technology, EPOS ups its ambitions with EPOS BrainAdapt™. Their study, conducted by the Centre for Applied Audiology Research (CAAR) in Oticon, Denmark, suggests that the tech helps people focus and leads to a 35% reduction in listening effort. I don’t doubt the finding, but I do think it probably applies to more ANC headsets than the EPOS ADAPT 600, which was the only headset tested.

Of course, the most important aspect of a headset is sound. I would be happy with the EPOS IMPACT 1061 if I never used it for taking a call. Of course, I wouldn’t need to pay for Teams’ features, or perhaps the wireless charging feature, but still—a very good on-ear headset. 

I wrote most of this review while listening to an Apple playlist titled “Songs without Words;” I must confess that I can’t write new content while listening to lyrics. One set of words in my head at a time is plenty.

This eclectic mix of classical-ish songs is perfect for writing, and all of them came across with vitality and subtlety via the EPOS IMPACT headset. The fine tinkle of piano keys was followed by a whisper of reverberation. Explosive drums and vibrant violins sound rich and dynamic, spread across a large sound stage. While good, the codecs used are not shared. I read another review that mentioned a lack of AAC support, but I could find no codecs listed on the site or its downloadable literature.

My favorite non-sound feature comes in the form of a stand. Several of my headphone stands include USB charging, even wireless phone charging in the base. This is the only one that charges the headset when placed in its cradle. Earbuds charge in their case. EPOS throws down the gauntlet to other manufacturers to get on board with wireless charging that doesn’t involve connectors at all, such as the docking station found on other EPOS models and on business-oriented headsets like the Poly Voyager Focus 2.

I appreciate the multiple voice prompts available in German, French, Spanish, Mandarin, Japanese and Korean. They are optional, but I always select voice prompts over beeps or buzzes that require interpretation.

Those worried about their hearing will be grateful for the Audio Limiter settings.

The packaging was sustainable, mostly brown cardboard. All of the internal plastic bags were clearly labeled for recycling. This rates 4 stars, as there is no mention of recycled materials in the product. There is a sustainability page, but it requires a search to find it. No sustainability messaging nor the link to the page can be found on the “About Us” page, which lists the company’s mission and what it stands for. The messaging could be much more visible and integrated throughout.

There is a lot to like about the EPOS 1061, from the wireless charging to the outstanding sound. But its apps are not great, and its four buttons take multifunction to levels some might find not just difficult to master but annoying.

What could be improved

Cons

I do not love the EPOS Connect software for the Mac. In particular, the settings are non-intuitive when they are available, as sometimes the app fails to recognize the dongle. Updates also seem to be an issue on the Mac as my app reports that it has no server connection to check for updates despite every other app connecting without an issue. It reported the firmware as being up-to-date, but that wasn’t true.

The iPhone app, however, said there was an update available. The only way to update firmware involves the USB-C connection, so I downloaded and installed EPOS Connect on a PC. The Windows version worked fine, reporting the need for an update. I clicked update, and the firmware was updated after a few minutes.

EPOS needs to fix the issue of Macs not seeing its update server. Ideally, EPOS will also work on over-the-air updates, so the headset does not need to be tethered to receive new firmware. That’s often a fallback in a wireless world but not the primary method.

During the eval, I lost the dongle. I mean, the headset lost its connection to the dongle. There is a control in the app setting that says, “Enable Pairing.” I clicked it. That control seemed to further disassociate the headset from the dongle, forcing me to, as the command suggests, pair the headset to the dongle. Since going through this operation, I have not had a repeat of the lost dongle issue.

The Enable Pairing button, however, does not offer any feedback about its state. I could not tell if I actually registered a click. After several minutes spent exploring the headset and the app, I looked at the dongle on a dock further down my desk and found it flashing. Then things made sense (not the original lost dongle connection, however). Good UI design demands that any click or drag should provide some feedback about the operation, in this case, a message like “Put your EPOS 1000 into pairing mode so it can reconnect with the dongle” would have saved time.

Another UI nit is that the device settings also include a link to general settings, which are on the icon bar at the bottom of the screen. I would prefer a more elegant UI that runs the settings options down the left, and clicking on one of them brings up a frame with those settings—only one way into settings, which would cause much less confusion. BTW, the opposite UI queue is not there. From general settings, you cannot get to the dongle or headset settings without going back home. Much useless clicking.

The app also doesn’t behave like a standard macOS. It has no close button, so it stays put, though it can be “hidden.” Jabra Direct, by comparison, follows Apple’s standards in its support for the red, yellow and green window control circles used to close, expand, or hide windows.

The other issue with the EPOS IMPACT 1000 design, as alluded to in the introduction, comes from what programmers would call overloaded variables. Each button does more than one thing. Each light means more than one thing. Without a manual, followed by a hunt for context, it might not be easy to decide what the headset is doing—or how to make it do what you want it to do. Regular users will figure it out, but occasional users may be confused.

At a base price of $389, the headset (without Teams or UC certification) and sans charging stand, still costs more than Bose Quiet Comfort 45 headphones. Do keep in mind that the EPOS Impact series does not target personal headphone buyers. In fact, they cannot be purchased on Amazon. The IMPACT is a business buy, which should mean, and I think in this case, the product does offer a more robust design made for work environments. It’s still pricy, as many of the work-related headsets reviewed at Serious Insights cost significantly less.

These suggestions for improvement don’t drive down the scoring that much, but they are annoying experiences that detract from the pleasure of using the headphones, and reduce productivity by introducing friction into the work day that doesn’t need to be there.

EPOS IMPACT 1061: The bottom line

I like this headset very much. It is a solid dual-purpose device. If the EPOS IMPACT 1061 is a user’s only device, they won’t have any issues mastering the controls. If they switch among as many headsets and earbuds as I do, each with its own control scheme, then the more complicated the controls, the longer it tasks to acclimate.

Beyond the button function issue and the app, the only big thing wrong with this headset is that it’s a headset and not a pair of equally impressive earbuds.

EPOS also needs to work on its overly complex website, which, despite layers and layers of information, makes it very hard to find things like the version of Bluetooth supported, codecs, or the battery charge specification. Scroll around enough and find a datasheet, and some of the info is there. What’s on the datasheet should be on the tech specs section of the website. (Note, I finally found the claimed talk time on the datasheet appendix.)

I would really like to see EPOS clean up their app first, and then make their website more easily navigated, and their data about products more centralized on the product page.

EPOS provided the EPOS IMPACT 1061 for review. Images courtesy of EPOS unless otherwise noted.

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