The Epos Adapt 560: A Dedicated Productivity Headset with a Premium Price Tag
The pandemic has pushed many of us into the world of remote work, with video conferencing and online meetings becoming an essential part of our daily routines. This necessitates the need for clear audio communication, which can be challenging with conventional headphones often prioritising music over voice clarity. Enter the Epos Adapt 560, a wireless headset specifically designed for voice communication and co-developed with the renowned audio specialists, Sennheiser. Priced at Rs. 29,990, the Adapt 560 is a premium product catering to a specific user base. But does its feature set justify the hefty price tag? Let’s delve into our review and discover if the Adapt 560 is worth your investment.
Design and Build: A Familiar Look with Premium Ambitions
While the price point might suggest an over-ear design, the Epos Adapt 560 adopts an on-ear form factor, a choice that might seem unorthodox considering the presence of active noise cancellation (ANC), which typically performs better with the superior noise isolation of over-ear headphones. The headset is surprisingly comfortable, thanks to the soft padding and lightweight construction. However, I wasn’t entirely impressed with its ability to isolate background noise, which could be a concern for users seeking a quiet environment for calls and online meetings.
The unmistakable Sennheiser influence is evident in the headset’s design. The Sennheiser logo sits prominently below the Epos logo on the headband, and the headset inherits the distinct styling and ergonomic sensibilities characteristic of the German audio powerhouse. However, the all-plastic construction feels rather basic, especially considering the hefty price tag, and might leave some users wanting more in terms of premium aesthetics.
Feature-Rich Design: Connectivity Options and Controls
The Epos Adapt 560 features a comprehensive set of controls and ports located on the underside of the right ear cup. There’s a sliding button for playback and volume controls, separate buttons for answering calls and enabling/disabling ANC, the power button, and a USB Type-C port for charging and wired connectivity. While the abundance of controls might seem appealing at first, I found them a bit cumbersome to manage, with a learning curve to remember the placement of each button.
Unlike typical music-focused headphones that integrate microphones within the ear cups, the Adapt 560 features a foldable boom microphone that extends outwards for clearer voice pickup and neatly stows away nearly flush with the ear cup when not in use. The microphone, like the rest of the headset, is made of plastic and snaps into place securely when retracted.
Connectivity is handled through Bluetooth 5 for seamless pairing with smartphones and tablets. The package includes the Epos BTD 800 USB dongle for effortless connectivity with computers and laptops that lack built-in Bluetooth support. This dongle enables simultaneous connection to both a smartphone and a USB device, offering flexibility for multitasking. You can also connect to two Bluetooth devices concurrently, with or without the dongle, including laptops equipped with built-in Bluetooth.
A dedicated button on the dongle is advertised for quick launching of the Microsoft Teams app, but I encountered issues with functionality on my MacBook Air. The headset automatically connects to the dongle without requiring any pairing process, simplifying the user experience. In addition to the Microsoft Teams certification, the Adapt 560 also supports the SBC, AAC, and aptX Bluetooth codecs.
The Epos Adapt 560 excels in battery life, boasting an impressive runtime of approximately 34 hours with music playback when connected to a smartphone on a single charge. With typical usage, including calls, music, and other audio for 6-7 hours per day, I estimate a battery life of around four days on a single charge. However, charging is a bit of a drawback, taking nearly four hours to achieve a full charge.
Sound Performance: A Focus on Voice Clarity and Productivity
Unlike most headphones we review which prioritise music, the Epos Adapt 560 stands out as an exception, designed for tasks beyond typical music listening. Given its intended use case of calls and voice communication, I focused primarily on audio performance in this domain. I tested the headset with both iOS and Android smartphones as well as using the dongle for connectivity with my MacBook Air. While Bluetooth connectivity to my laptop was possible, I found using the dongle provided a quicker connection experience.
The Epos Adapt 560 shines as a hands-free headset. I experienced positive results with both smartphone and computer applications. The sound tuning emphasizes voice clarity, ensuring voices are readily audible and understandable regardless of the connection used, be it cellular or a fixed home Internet connection. The boom microphone delivers exceptional performance, accurately capturing my voice and transmitting it clearly to the person on the other end of the call.
This voice-centric sonic signature makes the Epos Adapt 560 an ideal choice for content rich in dialogue, such as instructional videos, podcasts, and even certain types of movies. Personally, this feature proved immensely helpful as my work often involves consuming such content. The ability to keep the headset perpetually connected to both my smartphone and laptop streamlined this aspect of my workflow significantly. Furthermore, device switching was near seamless, allowing quick and effortless transitions between audio sources in just a couple of seconds.
While the Epos Adapt 560 delivers exceptional performance in communication, the same cannot be said for music listening. Despite supporting the aptX Bluetooth codec, which I tested with a compatible Android smartphone, I noticed no considerable improvement in the music experience. The sound signature leans towards a rather plain and ordinary sound, perfectly adequate for the occasional music listening session but not compelling enough for extended use.
To illustrate this, I tested "Golden Brown" by The Stranglers in high-resolution format, utilising the aptX codec with a compatible Android smartphone. I observed a lack of musical character, a departure from the level of detail and energy expected from a high-end wireless headset. The instrumental introduction of the track, which typically sounds beautifully cohesive and rich on the Sony WH-1000XM4, was significantly more muted on the Epos Adapt 560.
Noise Cancellation: Adequate but Not Class-Leading
The Epos Adapt 560 offers a satisfactory level of ANC. It effectively reduces the common background noises present in my home office, even attenuating subtle sounds like voices and television noise in the distance. However, it’s crucial to acknowledge that the ANC performance is not class-leading. It’s closer to the mid-range ANC found in headphones and earphones priced around Rs. 15,000. It is also worth noting that the on-ear design compromises some of the effectiveness of the ANC.
Verdict: A Niche Product with a Premium Price Tag
In a market dominated by music-centric wireless headphones, the Epos Adapt 560 stands out as a unique offering. This headset is unapologetically designed for communication, offering features and design elements that differentiate it from typical enterprise or business-oriented audio products. Its approach is productivity-focused, resembling a retail wireless headset in both aesthetics and functionality.
For its core purpose of communication, the Adapt 560 excels, delivering exceptional connectivity options and one of the most impressive battery lives in its segment. However, the hefty price tag of Rs. 29,999 is a significant barrier to entry, even for users who value its dedicated communication capabilities.
The on-ear design, average ANC performance, and limited musical flexibility make the Adapt 560 a niche product that might only resonate with a specific subset of users. Even for this niche market, the price point could be a deterrent, making consumers reconsider their investment. It might be more sensible to explore a more versatile all-round headset like the Sony WH-1000XM4, which offers a better value proposition and performs admirably for productivity tasks while delivering an overall superior listening experience.
