Emix H30 headphone review: A good attempt but not worth the ambitious price

The bass was great at times but overall the sound output needs to be improved extensively before being considered as a serious option for hardcore gaming

When a company known for its memory cards and storage drives launches a headphone, the expectations could be sky-high. And the same logic applies to Emix H30. While it is a good first attempt, ADATA has a long way to go in order to come at par with its competitors.

Out of the box, the bundle includes the wired Emix H30 headphone, a detachable microphone, the Solox F30 amplifier along with a headphone stand, a bag for the headset, an introductory manual, and a 1.6m USB cable for connecting the amplifier to your gaming console. The number of add-ons in the Emix H30 bundle limits portability and is not at all a viable option for gamers on the go.

In terms of look and feel, the Emix H30 looks gimmicky, a dark grey-coloured large headset with plastic everywhere. The outside of the both the ear pieces are decorated with a red metal mesh that veils a red LED lighting, giving it a pro-gaming feel.The steel headband is not expandable while an adjustable head cushion of faux leather sits tightly on the head. The fit is good but gets uncomfortable after a few hours of continuous gaming. 

The stand on the other hand, is stable, made of hard plastic, the stand does not topple easily, even if the headset is slumped onto it hastily. The amplifier fits onto the bottom of the stand and a magnet holds it firmly, thus allowing the headphone to stand on the desktop without taking up a huge space. The hard-wired cable is covered with fabric that offers good protection to the wire in order to survive wears and tears. 

Gaming headsets have their own flaws, tailor-made gaming cans are not all-round performers and the Emix H30 is not an exception either. The headset belts out average audio outputs be it normal songs or sound effects of the 'Rise of the Tomb Raider'. The amplifier also fails miserably. However, the base is thumpy and is at time great for shooters, PUBG seemed thrilling at the start but somehow too much treble or base makes the headphones vibrate and it might become uncomfortable after sometime of high adrenaline shoots. Listening to music on the headphones was also average. The sound was muddy across the range. The headphones struggled in the highs while the lows were dealt without any precision. However the bass was great at times but overall the sound output while listening to music was far from impressive. The bass is perhaps the only mentionable thing about these headphones and ADATA needs to work a lot on the music output in order come at par with the competitions in the market.

Surprisingly, the Solox F30 Amplifier which is meant to amplify the sound output doesn't improve the quality either. Powered by a USB 2.0 cable, the right side has two 3.5mm jacks for the headset and its mic, as well as a USB connector for the LED lighting. The left also has two extra USB ports and another 3.5mm jack for connecting speakers. A round knob on top adjusts the volume, and four buttons below it let you switch between preset sound profiles (Gaming, Cinema, Voice, and Music). While the amplifier looks fancy, the modes hardly make any difference in audio quality and the simulated 7.1-channel output also fail to provide satisfactory outputs. The presets are also ineffective and ADATA needs to do serious updates to be at par with the competitors in the market.

While the cosmetic built of the Emix H30 has everything to grab a gamer's attention but average audio output and the ambitious price of Rs 13,999 work against the headphones. There is hardly anything that make the headphones stand out against its competitors and the XPG brand needs to improve a lot in terms of audio quality before being considered as a serious option for hardcore gaming.