ADATA XPG EMIX H30 and SOLOX F30 - Sassy Looks with Splendid Bass
ADATA turned quite a lot of heads last year when it launched their XPG EMIX lineup of audio gears with an in-ear gaming earphone called the XPG EMIX I30 which we reviewed a few days back and the EMIX H30 over the head gaming headset and SOLOX F30 Amplifier. The venture is an interesting move not only for ADATA alone since its their first venture into the field of audio devices but also as a whole since this puts ADATA in a league of manufacturers that deal both in memory devices as well as peripherals!
Today thanks to ADATA India I have with me the ADATA XPG EMIX H30 Gaming Headset and SOLOX F30 Amplifier that happen to be the flagship product of this new EMIX lineup.
Coming with a hefty price tag of $200 the EMIX H30 headset utilizes 53mm neodymium drivers to deliver a thump pumping audio quality at a maximum 20Khz all working perfectly with almost any device you can name of including PC, cell phones, tablets and even gaming consoles of the latest generation.
With an impedance of 32 Ohms and a maximum output power of 150mW we're looking at around a 50mW output higher than competing headsets, which looks quite good on paper and seems impressive for a product that is first of the lot.
As an addition we get features like red lights on the cups, USB connectivity and 7.1 virtual sound experience that we would obviously expect from a headset of this category. For the SOLOX F30 we don't have much to say here but will be discussed later on in the review.
What's in the Box!?
The XPG EMIX H30 gaming headset comes in a humongous box the likes of which I've never seen for a headset so far in all these years of my life, its simply too big even premium motherboards from Asus or Gigabyte don't comes in boxes this big! The box is primarily black and red in color which are the signature color combo for the XPG lineup with the headset, amplifier and stand arrangement in the center and an abstract X shape in the background and the XPG logo at the top left corner.
Product's name is clearly printed in a glossy texture at the bottom end along with a few feature highlights.
Turn to the backside and we get a well detailed and marked diagram of the product with almost every detail about every inch of the product including the headset, mic, amplifier and even the cables. A few more logos and Skype compatibility are highlighted at the bottom side completing the whole package with details and images making it a good & informative packaging from the outside. I would've loved a showcase window on top with a flipper as this product deserves that kind of packaging and showcase so hopefully ADATA would listen to his small suggestion and try to incorporate it in the future batches of the same.
Open the big box and we find everything well laid out inside a foam cavity which is resting inside thick and sturdy black cardboard box which adds that extra cushion and strength to the packaging.
Once you've got everything out you'll get the EMIX H30 gaming headset, the SOLOX F30 amplifier, a headset stand, the detachable mic, a power cum connection cord for the amplifier, a user manual and a carry pouch to carry the headset and amplifier when required for on the go gaming style or just a casual trip to a friend.
A Closer Look
The XPG EMIX H30 Headset
The XPG EMIX H30 gaming headset is largely made out of premium quality plastic which on the bright side gives it a light weight construction without compromising much upon tensile strength. The entire color theme here is that of black and red which by now has become the universal theme for gaming products and is also that of the XPG lineup so ADATA is maintaining homogeneity here.
Earcups on the EMIX H30 are made out of plastic that has a brushed aluminum like finish accentuated with a chunky XPG branding on the side and a red mesh that lights up bright red when connected to a PC or any other device via the red LEDs underneath. These are connected via the aluminum frame and cannot rotate on the pivot which is something that I'd likes to have here for easy mobility aswell as wearing around the neck comfort.
The foam over here is a memory foam and quite thick and well textured to mimic actual leather while it isn't which gives it nice aesthetics. About there comfort we'll see when I'll be testing them but from the looks they look promising enough.
Headband is made out of solid but flexible aluminum for strength and looks while the leather strap underneath is contoured, has an XPG logo on top and is stuffed with a layer of foam. This band itself is responsible for the adjustment aswell as fitting of the headset on your head since the aluminum headband is non-adjustable at the cups but only apply the clamping force on the ears. This is a good move if you don't like a heavy headband sitting on top of your head but can result in slippage as the leather band tends to slip over hair and skin if you jerk your head.
The head strap is attached to the metal frame via strong and flexible strings that looks sturdy enough but what irks me here is that flat ribbon wire that is sticking out at the edges responsible for the connection between both the cups. This wire is strong but can break or tangle in ear rings, hair clips, beads etc if the user is not cautious enough.
Wire on the EMIX H30 is quite thick, braided with red and black color scheme and is 2.4m long which is more than enough for anyone. It ends up into a USB port and a 3.5mm audio jack for the audio and another one for the mic which are all gold plated for enhanced signal transfer. I would've liked a detachable cable here but that's something subjective to ones own preferences.
The XPG SOLOX F30 Amplifier
The XPG SOLOX F30 comes bundled with the XPG EMIX H30 and can be bought separately aswell if one wants to use it with any other brand's headset/earphone. The SOLOX F30 is basically an amplifier for the EMIX H30 that not only comes with a bunch of presets and volume dial but it also enables the headset to have that 7.1 channel virtual surround sound experience which can be further customized if require using the XPG Audio Center.
It is made out of premium quality plastic just as the headset and for a change boasts a black and grey color them, than god! The volume dial in the center is with a gun metal finish while the four buttons at the bottom are textured. This amplifier has magnetic strips at the bottom so that it can stick and sit snugly on to the provided stand to avoid falling off when moving.
At the left hand side the SOLOX F30 has a USB port and two 3.5mm ports which are neatly labeled as mic and headset. This is where you can connect the EMIX H30 headset or any other headset/earphone that you are using with it. The USB port is only required here to power the red LEDs on the headset so its not an issue if your audio device only has a 3.5mm jack(s) as the audio optimization works on the jacks only.
Turn to the right and we find two USB ports along with a micro USB port and another 3.5mm port. The micro USB port is to attach the power cum connection cable for the amplifier that's provided with the bundle while the two USB type-A ports can be used to connect any USB based device such as a keyboard/mouse, flash drive, portable HDD and even to charge your phones. The 3.5mm port is to connect any other speaker set or even headset/earphone. Since this 3.5mm port works in sync with that on the other side so you'll listen to the same sound on both the devices and would be optimized in harmony aswell.
The volume knob is a 360° free rotating knob and has a ticking feeling to it when turned and volume is indicated via the LED lit marks on top, by default it will always be set to 50% volume. Apart from that he four buttons at the bottom are namely as the equalizer/mode changing button to switch between the Gaming, Movie, Voice and Music modes, 7.1 virtual surround sound on-off button, mic on-off button and the a very interesting relay button which when red indicates that the main jacks on the left are active, press it again and you'll have purple which turns on the jacks on both side making both the audio devices connected work in sync and a third time press would make it blue muting the main jacks on the left and keeping only the one on the right active.
The wire provided with the SOLOX F30 amplifier is around 1.2m long and is braided ending into two USB Type-A connectors and one mic USB connector which are all gold plated as well for enhanced signal transfer. You only need to connect one of the USB Type-A connectors, which is the bigger one of the two having the USB logo, to make the amplifier and the other USB ports on it work but the other one can be connected if you are using any pair of devices that demand too much power like a portable HDD and cell phone charger in combination.
The Mic
ADATA has provided a full flexible and detachable microphone with the XPG EMIX H30 gaming headset which has -42dB sensitivity and a frequency response of upto 10Khz for crystal clear reception. The mic is unidirectional and can be used with the headset or alone along with the SOLOX F30 amplifier maybe for voice overs or skype calls in a group which is quite handy at times and also makes the mic along with the whole package quite comprehensive and user friendly. It also has a red LED at the tip which lights up when the mic is in use and active.
XPG Audio Center
Although the XPG EMIX H30 and SOLOX F30 combo is quite competent in its own right and are a plug and play device both with Windows and Mac ADATA still went a step ahead and provided the XPG Audio Center for fine tuning and added control over the bundle! You get all the details about the sound on top with the master volume on the right and boldly written Speakers and mic on the side on which we can hover the mouse and get the the related options to select from.
The utility can be downloaded from the official website and has bunch of useful functions and added presets to make the most out of the SOLOX F30 amplifier. Not only does it have equalizer presets for music such as Jazz, Pop, Rock etc but provides custom tuning ability. We can even change the sample rate for the speakers aswell as for the mic. Though all the other features work just fine except for the Xear Audio Brilliant which on too high a level, however, the setting can become a double-edged sword, because you hear more details and the sound is not quite as deep, but quiet noise sneaking in.
My favorite out of the lot is the Xear Surround Max as it adds that depth to the rich bass that the headset already provides making it even better especially for bass rich music, movies and games so any bass head would love to keep this setting on always. The only down side to this utility is that it may look too bland to a few people out there so I expect ADATA to revamp this utility and give it a more rich and deep cosmetic UI.
Time to hit the Cords - Performance testing!
Are they Comfortable!?
The cushions on the earcups are soft and feel really smooth against the ear without creating any sort of irritation at all. Even though they are leather and non breathable like a fabric they don't cause any sweat or irritation in and around the ear since they apply a perfect clamping force on the ears due to its lightweight construction, infact these are so light that at one point I forgot that I'm even wearing something so big over my head and ears. I've used a lot of headsets and the ADATA XPG EMIX H30 sits on the positive side of the comfort spectrum with being quite light weighted and cozy on the ears making it a comfortable pair of cups.
Also the leather strap headband is perfect for my head-size and so would be for most of you out there. Its quite comfortable and keeps the headset in place even if I jerk my head suddenly all without hurting my head with too much pressure which is what one looks for in any headset & not just a gaming headset!
How do they Sound!?
The sound signature on the XPG EMIX H30 is variable courtesy to the SOLOX F30 amplifier that it comes bundled with and can be altered to ones personal choice and the work in hand at that point of time. Still the Game mode is something that would work out for almost everything that you do from gaming, listening to music or just talking over skype.
This means that in Crysis 3 we had no issue whatsoever in listening to or understanding what Prophet was saying and noises were greatly distinguished in the heat of battle, even of the crickets in the NY jungle! Battlefield 1 came out fully immersive especially when it came to sitting inside the battle tanks or listening to aerial bombing happening across the field. In Shadow of War we could really feel the voices coming from different directions due to the 7.1 virtual surround sound effect which works exactly as it should for a virtual sound solution and interestingly even though these headphones generate significant bass they didn't distort the sounds of footsteps from behind due to good balance of treble and mids intact and I was able to pin point the enemy location making it a great choice for eSport players including CS:GO.
The passive noise isolation isn't too great even though these are leather cups and people around you can listen to what you are listening to especially if you dial up the volume over the 50% mark making it a bit annoying at times. On the other hand noise cancellation is pitch perfect and you I didn't hear anything around me when these are put on even at low volumes which is a great thing for immersive experience.
Coming over to music I don't recommend that you use the Music mode as the Game mode would do the trick but yes you can turn of the Xear Surround Max option in case you want to lighten the bass a little bit. With a good balance of mids-lows and amplification from the bundled amplifier they cover all ends of the sound spectrum well making listening to music or watching movies a great enjoyment. Yes at some points you might feel that the headset is vibrating under its own bass so always keep the volume between the 50%-70% mark as at 100% these cups can get really loud and punchy which is something that most of us might not want or appreciate but a few metal heads might!
In short gunfire is almost percussive, explosions suitably disorientating and dialogue clearly discernible from the background music. In short, you'll be stunned at how good the XPG EMIX H30 sounds.
The bilateral mic on the EMIX H30 is really good for almost everything. At 100% sensitivity the mic pics up your voice perfectly and reproduces it with a certain depth and detailing which is what you need for voice overs or audio calls if not game chats. The only downside is that a bit of nasal comes into play at this high sensitivity which can be get rid off if sensitivity set to 70%-80%. Obviously the nasal factor won't be audible to other if you are just speaking to them but it'll be noticeable if using it for a voice over or streaming purposes.
My Verdict
The realm of gaming audio accessories is dominated by some veteran players like Razer, HyperX and SteelSeries and whatever was left is being filled up by new players like Corsair and Asus so with so much going on around making a place for a brand like ADATA is a tough task in hand which they seem to have tackled pretty well with the EMIX H30 and SOLOX F30 combo! With a well tuned 53mm driver and balanced output that juggles between bass and treble quite effectively we are looking at a headset that does exactly what its meant to do right out of the gates. The plastic build quality is definitely not cheap and shaves off that extra weight from the headset making it a tad bit more comfortable on the head with a reasonable clamping force. The bundled amplifier is not only a welcome addition which not only imparts a wholeness to this package but also does a brilliant job in amplifying the sounds through the various presets and equalizers all with the added benefit of two USB ports for devices and speaker/headphone relay to make that movie watching experience or gaming session with a friends and family a whole lot of fun.
"The XPG EMIX H30 and SOLOX F30 combo is a strong step in the right direction from ADATA which would surely make its presence felt due to its refined finishing, unique sound signature and the overall impressive appeal that it comes with. If you want something new and refreshing that would add to your precious Gaming setup then this headset should definitely be on your shopping list!"
Pros -
- Good sound signature
- Heavy and punchy bass
- Respectable build quality
- Detachable mic
- Lots of useful customization features
- SOLOX F30 amplifier works as advertised
- Comes with a bag and stand
- Compatible with a wide range of devices
Cons -
- Earcups cannot rotate
- XPG Audio Center looks bland
