EPOS IMPACT 1061 ANC

Comfort

We tested the binaural unit, the EPOS IMPACT 1061 ANC, and it weighs 181 grams; thanks to a tilt and swivel mechanism, it fits on the head flawlessly. The fairly loose fit made for a high level of wearing comfort, but at the same time, it offered sufficient stability to prevent it from slipping during fast, jerky movements. Added to this, heat development at the ears was quite moderate. As a special feature, it can be set up to suit individual requirements via software or app, and you can choose whether the microphone arm should be on the left or right side. The stereo playback is then automatically adjusted to match your chosen configuration of the microphone.

Battery life

This Bluetooth headset could achieve a runtime of 60 hours when playing media at high volume. If noise cancellation was used in the maximum setting, a listening time of 35 hours was possible, and here the manufacturer specifies a talk time of up to 20 hours. If the battery is empty, a charging cycle via cable takes five hours and 15 minutes, and the EPOS IMPACT 1061 ANC can also be used during charging via the USB port of your laptop or computer. When in Bluetooth operation, on the other hand, the fast-charging battery provides a capacity for listening time of two hours and 40 minutes after ten minutes of charging. A USB-C cable with a length of 120 centimetres is included, but a USB-A adapter is not part of the package.

Operation

The EPOS IMPACT 1061 ANC supports Bluetooth standard 5.3 and multipoint connections with three devices. This enables the headset to be connected to three mobile devices simultaneously, and we found that this worked with any problems. Parallel pairing with a Bluetooth dongle, smartphone and tablet was also possible, in which case the Bluetooth adapter was inactive when using macOS as long as mobile devices were connected. We also noticed that the range of the wireless connection via the dongle was lower than when used in combination with mobile devices, but this could be due to the older Bluetooth version 4.2 used by the USB adapter. Having said that, the connection was stable and not susceptible to interference in either case.

A reliable and promptly reacting push and slide button below the microphone arm is used to control media playback and call up voice assistants, and this is also used for volume control and track selection. However, jumping back and forth between tracks requires some practice, as the button has to be pushed forward or backwards when pressed. Phone calls can be accepted and ended via a button on the microphone arm, which on the Microsoft Teams version supports additional functions such as opening the software or displaying voicemails and missed calls. The microphone technology could usually be muted by folding up the arm. An additional ANC button also switches between standard operation, noise cancellation and the TalkThrough function. However, the amplification of outside noise could only be activated when the headset was in ANC mode, which took a little bit of getting used to. The controls, including noise cancellation and TalkThrough function, were also available when the headset was operated via USB cable, which was a useful and practical feature. In this respect, the EPOS IMPACT 1061 ANC offers a total of three possible uses: via USB dongle or cable with a computer and via Bluetooth in conjunction with mobile devices.

Software and app connection

The headset can be set up to suit personal preferences via the EPOS Connect software for Windows and Mac systems or the EPOS Connect app for Android and iOS devices. The ANC and TalkThrough modes can be adjusted to the environment using three intensity levels. Alternatively, the noise cancellation can be used in adaptive mode. The monitoring function for telephone calls can be finely adjusted to create a natural conversation atmosphere. In addition to the microphone boom, voice announcements and feedback tones, a timer, various call settings or wearer recognition for media playback can all be configured. There is also a hearing protection function available.

We did miss having options for sound adjustments, such as an EQ section.And firmware updates are currently only possible via the software. During our tests, the app had display problems on iOS devices, not something we had experienced with other EPOS models, but we hope that an update would remedy this situation.

Speech quality of the microphone technology

According to the manufacturer, the EPOS IMPACT 1061 ANC uses sophisticated beamforming technology with adaptive noise cancellation for voice transmission in order to ensure excellent intelligibility even in a busy background environment such as an open-plan office or home office. We can confirm that voice transmission was extremely clear, present and natural, but the person on the other end of the line’s voice seemed a little nasal, which took some getting used to. We also noticed that wind noise was transmitted and could become a significant impairment to intelligibility. Ambient noise, however, was completely blocked out by the microphone technology, both during speech and in pauses. Even with loud background noise, there was absolute silence.

Noise cancellation (ANC) and TalkThrough function

The headset’s noise cancellation was largely silent when working and reduced the low-frequency as well as high-frequency outside range effectively, but not particularly widely. Background voices were noticeably attenuated but still penetrated, and the manual mode seemed somewhat more efficient than the adaptive mode in the maximum setting. In the lower and upper-frequency ranges, the static noise cancellation in the highest setting offered slight advantages for loud background noises. In TalkThrough mode, a slight background noise was perceptible. Otherwise, external noises were amplified very cleanly and quite intensively, making it easy to have a perfectly understandable conversation.

Sound

Depending on which operating mode of the headset you are using, there can be quite large differences in quality when it comes to media playback. Via Bluetooth connection, the EPOS IMPACT 1061 ANC supports the audio codecs SBC and LC3plus, but not AAC, aptX or aptX LL like, for example, the EPOS ADAPT 660. Therefore, an offset between sound and image was noticeable when watching films and videos due to the high latency when you have to make do with the SBC codec. There were also limitations from a sound perspective in this case, which could limit the mobile usage options for this headset, despite a successful tuning.

With the USB dongle or cable, the headset conveyed an unadulterated, agile and detailed sound impression, and the sound stage appeared to be compact rather than especially wide. The bass range was wonderfully controlled, tight and dry. Even though the low bass was kept slim, the fast bass reproduction was by no means powerless, and this harmonised very well with the present midrange, which had a discreet basic warmth. The appealingly realistic reproduction of voices with their mid-range, centrally aligned positioning stands out as first-rate. There was excellent speech intelligibility when listening to film dialogue or spoken-word content, as well as when listening to music, which did not make listening with this headset tiring or exhausting. Beneficially, sibilants were reproduced in a decidedly gentle and softly rounded manner, with the high-frequency range appearing restrained rather than timid.

Conclusion

The EPOS IMPACT 1061 ANC is able to boast about its high-quality, natural speech transmission. Wind noise was not filtered out by the microphone technology; other ambient noise was completely filtered out, even if it was loud. The noise cancelling of this wireless headset also did a good job in the low and high-frequency ranges, while there was still room for improvement in the mid-frequency spectrum. Further plus points were the appealing sound tuning and the flexible application options via USB dongle, cable and Bluetooth connection.