Honestly, the Eksa Telecom H1 wireless headset ($39.99) is not something I thought I needed or would enjoy this much. Although listed as a “trucker headset” meant for those driving big rigs, I used it to make calls, film a short video, listen to music, and ruin a bill collector’s day.
The H1 is a particular device and looks like something you would find in a call center which initially turned me off. However, by day’s end, I found myself using it as my go-to listening device, which allowed me to handle all of my work duties, listen to music and keep an ear out for deliveries.
EKSA H1 wireless headset pricing and availability
The lightweight EKSA Telecom H1 wireless headset costs $39.99 and can be purchased on Amazon or Eksa’s website.
EKSA H1 wireless headset design
The H1 is made of black plastic, with an all-metal telescoping headband covered in rubberized material. It helps keep the unit in place once you’ve got it properly fitted to your head. Despite being mostly plastic, it is well constructed, and I tossed it all over my desk; on the dashboard of the car I had this past week, it fell onto the concrete a couple of times, nothing broke, not even a scratch. The extra-large earpad is made of a black soft leatherette material and covers the foam beneath very well. Due to the 270-degree rotation of the microphone, you can wear the H1 comfortably on either ear.
We find three control buttons on the earcup, and on the boom mic, there is a mute button. It looks like a gaming headset that’s missing an earcup which it pretty much is, and I am fine with that. The soft rubber pad on the other end of the headband feels nice as it lays gently against my head. Since the unit is wireless, there are no cumbersome cables keeping you tethered in place, which creates an excellent sense of freedom.
Measuring just 7.87 x 7.09 x 3.54 inches and weighing 4.9 ounces, the H1 is pretty lightweight.
EKSA H1 wireless headset comfort
Thanks to the EKSA H1 wireless headset’s weight, it’s extremely comfortable to wear and use for long durations. The leatherette-covered foam ear cup is extremely soft and contoured to my massive ears regardless of how I had the mic arm turned.
I used it while driving up to visit my daughter in Connecticut, which is a two-hour journey. It was super comfortable, but having an ear free to hear my surroundings gave me an extra sense of security.
EKSA H1 wireless headset setup
The EKSA H1 uses Bluetooth 5.0, and I easily paired it to both my iPhone and my OnePlus 9. It took one press of the button located between the volume buttons, and within seconds I was connected.
The unit can pair with two devices simultaneously, which is useful when you have one phone for business and another for personal use. You can connect the H1 to laptops, tablets, and even your smartwatch.
EKSA H1 wireless headset controls
Unlike most current headsets, headphones, and earbuds that use capacitive touch controls, the H1 comes with four very clickable physical buttons. In the center is the multifunction button, which turns the unit on or off, answers or hangs up calls, and turns on Bluetooth. On either side of the multifunction button are buttons that have plus and minus symbols that will raise or lower the volume and allow you to skip forward or back through songs.
At the base of the boom mic, there is a mute button for when you wish to mute calls. Because the buttons have a textured feel, you will rarely hit the wrong one as they’re easy to tell apart by touch.
EKSA H1 wireless headset noise canceling
While the EKSA H1’s look rather basic, it hides some excellent environmental noise canceling (ENC). The chip detects noise around you and uses an algorithm to focus on picking up your vocals, and it does an impressive job.
I first tested the H1 out by making several recordings on my iPhone while tapping on my desk with a metal hammer. I was startled by how quickly the ENC chip picked up the noise and pushed it away while making my vocals a clean, clear focal point of the recording. The hammer taping was muffled, and my recording caught all my voice’s timbre and deep range.
I put the H1 through another test while driving at 65MPH with the window down. I called my daughter, figuring the windy noise would annoy her, and I would have a good laugh. However, the ENC in the H1 nicely muted the wind and background noise, and she was able to ask me to take her to an expensive restaurant for lunch and then a movie. I asked her if she could hear the wind, and she said, “No, and don’t try to pretend like you didn’t hear me!” So steak lunch it was, thanks, EKSA.
The EKSA H1 would be a great choice if you were in a cafe working through lunch and needed to take calls. It will keep the background noises out and allow wearers to hold distraction-free video meetings and calls.
EKSA H1 wireless headset audio quality
The one earcup audio experience took a moment to get used to but once you do, you start to enjoy having a free ear to fully hear your surroundings and keep you aware of what’s going on around you. The H1’s single-cup offers solid audio performance and you will enjoy a full range of quality highs, mids, and low tones. I’m not saying they’re on a par with a pair of Bose over-ear headphones but, they do compare favorably with most lower-end gaming headphones I’ve reviewed like the Razer Kraken V3 X’s or the HyperX Cloud Stinger.
I listened to my hip-hop playlist between meetings and the H1 handled the deep base of Chris Brown’s “Look At Me Now” and easily transitioned to the smooth sounds of John Coltrane’s “The Best of the Best 57 Takes” compilation and the H1’s rewarded me with a very detailed, clean jazz listening experience with a nice moody thump from the bass strings, sweet piano highs and the rat-tat-tat of the snare drums, though odd because of only using one ear, it was still a very pleasant experience.
EKSA H1 wireless headset battery and Bluetooth
The EKSA H1’s come with a 500mAh battery. EKSA guarantees 165 hours of standby time, 57 hours of music, 30 hours of calls, and a full charge in 1.5 hours. I am a very chatty person, but even I couldn’t talk for 30 hours straight. However, I did have several two-hour conversations. I spent five hours listening to music while holding meetings via Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams over an eight-hour day, and it never tapped out. I will add that despite having these for a few weeks I only charged them when they arrived and have been using it daily since. So I have put a good 100 hours of mixed-use in without a recharge, so that’s impressive.
The H1’s Bluetooth signal is powerful. I stopped for gas, walked around the vehicle, and remained connected to my phones. I even went into the gas station donut shop to grab a coffee and still didn’t lose connection as I listened to a family member explain to me why ancient aliens have left portals here on earth we have yet to discover. The H1’s Bluetooth signal is rated at 99 feet, but I was easily over 150 feet away and couldn’t escape my telephone conversation.
EKSA H1 wireless headset call quality
EKSA H1 provides great call quality whether you’re using them at your desk, or in the car. I walked around my noisy Brooklyn street during prime traffic time and all my calls were clear and excellent. As I mentioned above, whatever environmental background noise you encounter will be easily handled by the H1’s ENC chip and without any of that choppy digital audio, you can sometimes get with a pair of earbuds ANC.
During my calls, everyone I asked said I sounded great, with my hard-of-hearing uncle getting rather upset when I said no to his request to date my girlfriend.
EKSA H1 wireless headset bottom line
For $39.99, you’re going to get more than you bargained for with the EKSA H1 headset. I get why the company promotes them for big rig driving truckers but, the H1 is just a really good affordable headset, with excellent ENC mic performance, and solid audio that anyone who makes a lot of calls while driving or sitting at their desks would love to have. They’re incredibly durable, taking everything I tossed at them. Products like this prove once again that bargain-basement pricing doesn’t always mean cheap or poor quality. If you’re on the road or working from home, the EKSA H1 headset is one you should take a serious look at.
