C9 0:1 100T 
FIGHT 1:0 BEE 
DZ 0:2 M80 
TL 1:0 INTZ 
LOUD : 9Z 
- Quick Summary: The EPOMAKER GX1 is a feature-packed budget gaming headset with decent positional audio, versatile connectivity, and useful EQ customization. However, it's limited by a few minor design flaws and a flat default sound output.
Known primarily for keyboards and, more recently, gaming mice, EPOMAKER has now entered the audio space with its first gaming headset, the EPOMAKER GX1.
A relatively budget-friendly wireless device, the GX1 appears to pack a punch based on its specs, with 50mm drivers, virtual 7.1 surround sound, long battery life, and broad compatibility thanks to wireless, Bluetooth, and wired connectivity. On paper, it seems like the ultimate bargain, though its unique (for its price bracket) open-back design is a noteworthy design choice that may not suit everyone.
To figure out if its specs are as good as they say in practice, and to figure out if that open-back design was a good move for EPOMAKER, here are my thoughts on the GX1 after putting it through its paces.
Best budget headset?
Design, Build Quality, and Comfort
As mentioned, the EPOMAKER GX1 is a relatively budget-friendly headset with an unusually open-back design for this price range, which is said to create a wide, airy soundscape.
It comes in several colour schemes, including pink and grey, white, and – the sample I received to review – black and red. I’d say the latter is the most stereotypical gamer color scheme of the three, though that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I think the GX1 looks pretty good overall, particularly with the honeycomb texture on each earcup, which adds a little something extra to the design.
The bulk of the headset appears to be made from plastic, albeit with an oil-sprayed and electroplated surface finish. Unfortunately, it still feels quite cheap and plasticky, which isn’t particularly surprising given its price. It does, however, feature ultra-soft, breathable leather earpads and an extendable headband with seven adjustable positions. These contribute to a fairly average weight of 320 grams, which is not exactly lightweight, but certainly not as heavy as something like the Audeze Maxwell 2.
Comfort, on the whole, is a bit of a mixed bag. While the leather earpads and headband are lovely and plush to touch and wear, I found the clamping force wasn’t particularly strong, with the earcups not sitting especially tightly against my head. Combined with the open-back design, this meant the GX1 didn’t passively block out background noise very well. And, despite the open-back and minimal clamping force combo, I still found heat built up over time, although it remained reasonably comfortable after a couple of hours of use.
The headset features on-ear controls, with everything positioned on the left earcup except for the Bluetooth/wireless switch on the right. There’s an easy-to-find volume scroll wheel, alongside buttons for RGB lighting, microphone mute, and power. Unfortunately, these buttons sit very close together and don’t stick out enough to distinguish them easily by touch, making it a little distracting to adjust settings mid-game. Audible voice cues for the mute and power buttons are helpful in case you do mispress one, although, weirdly, I couldn’t get the RGB button to turn the lighting off on my review sample. Given that RGB lighting significantly reduces battery life, this was a little frustrating.
Under the hood, the GX1 features 50mm dynamic drivers and, elsewhere, comes with a detachable boom microphone, both of which form the basis of the performance I'll explore in more detail later in this review.
Sound Quality and Gaming Performance
The aforementioned 50mm dynamic drivers are complemented by virtual 7.1 surround sound, with a frequency response of 20Hz–20kHz, to deliver what EPOMAKER describes as precise positional audio. On paper, these are promising signs for a budget-friendly gaming headset, but I’ll go into more detail about how it performed below.
Imaging
When it comes to imaging, the GX1 does a pretty good job. Simple left and right directional positioning is clear and precise, with footsteps and other audio cues coming through the correct earcup and sweeping smoothly between them during transitions.
I noticed this particularly when playing Counter-Strike 2, where, interestingly, I found it easiest to pinpoint gunshots and footsteps when they were behind me, both in-game and using online testing software. I struggled more when trying to identify sounds coming from in front (in-game), with testing revealing a noticeable drop in accuracy.
Enabling Xear Surround Headphone in the EPOMAKER software seemingly improved things, but regardless, the overall imaging and positional audio are pretty good for a headset in this price bracket.
Soundstage and Separation
Given its open-back design, I expected the soundstage to be a highlight, and, to be honest, it was.
With Xear Surround Headphone activated, the GX1 created a surprisingly spacious listening experience, almost making orchestral recordings feel as though I was listening to them in a concert hall. However, I wouldn't recommend leaving surround sound enabled for dialogue, as speech sounded noticeably more distant than with the default settings.
As for separation, individual layers were relatively clear, although particularly powerful sounds like gunshots and explosions could sometimes overpower footsteps. Thankfully, nearby footsteps remained distinguishable, meaning separation was generally good when it mattered most.
Bass, Midrange, and Treble
Unfortunately, while imaging and separation were solid, overall sound quality was where the GX1's budget nature became more apparent.
Bass occasionally sounded distorted and was largely inaudible at the lowest frequencies, although this wasn't a major issue for gaming. More noticeably, music sounded rather flat and sometimes a little staticky, which I suspect was coming from the treble.
Thankfully, the customizable EQ settings in EPOMAKER's software helped improve things. I'd recommend boosting the extreme frequencies slightly, particularly the bass for music and cinematic gaming. It won't transform the GX1 into a world-class audiophile headset, but it does make a noticeable difference.
I was particularly impressed by the Live EQ preset when playing Minecraft, as it made the familiar, relaxing soundtrack sound much warmer and more immersive. This highlights the value of experimenting with EQ settings for different games, although it's worth noting that software is only available on PC.
Microphone Performance
The EPOMAKER GX1 comes with a detachable Environmental Noise Cancelling (ENC) microphone, and, to be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by its performance for a headset at this price.
While it wasn't completely crystal clear, my voice came through clearly enough for casual party chats, with minimal latency. That said, it definitely sounded like a recording made using a headset microphone, rather than something more premium that would offer more natural voice capture and reproduction.
What I found most impressive, though, was the ENC technology. It practically eliminated the noise from my mechanical keyboard during recording, and even managed to filter out speech from a podcast playing on my phone, instead focusing on picking up my voice through the mic. That's pretty impressive for a budget-friendly headset, and it means your teammates should have fewer distractions from your surroundings when communicating during a match.
I also like the flexible, detachable microphone design. Its arm can be contorted into a comfortable position in front of your mouth, moved out of the way when needed, or detached entirely when you don't need it.
Unfortunately, the microphone mute button is a little awkward to find amongst the three closely positioned buttons on the left earcup, as I touched on in the design section. Thankfully, the GX1 provides an audible voice cue saying “Microphone Off” or “Microphone On” when you press it, giving you confirmation that you've actually muted yourself.
Overall, the GX1's microphone isn't going to rival a dedicated standalone mic, but its voice clarity and particularly effective noise cancellation make it better than I expected for the price. I'll dive into microphone customization via the software in more detail in the coming section of this review.
Battery Life and Connectivity
The versatility of the GX1 is a major selling point, boasting 2.4GHz wireless connectivity for an ultra-low-latency connection, alongside Bluetooth and wired connectivity via USB-C to 3.5mm or USB-A to USB-C. This makes it compatible with a wide range of devices, including PS5, PS4, Xbox, PC, Mac, mobile devices, and Nintendo Switch, although PS5 and PS4 don't support Bluetooth audio, while Xbox Series consoles are limited to wired mode.
I mostly used the GX1 in its 2.4GHz wireless mode and experienced no noticeable latency or connection issues. I also paired it with my phone via Bluetooth without any problems, so connectivity was pretty much flawless in my experience.
As for battery life, EPOMAKER quotes up to 70 hours of playback with RGB lighting disabled, dropping to 30 hours with the lighting enabled. The former is an excellent figure and better than what many rival headsets in this price bracket offer. Unfortunately, the reduction to 30 hours with RGB enabled is quite significant, although that's still around average for wireless headsets at this price. I'd therefore recommend switching the lighting off if you want to get the most out of the battery.
According to EPOMAKER, a full recharge takes approximately 3 hours and 20 minutes, which is fairly lengthy by modern standards. If you run out of juice mid-session, that's a substantial wait before you can get back to gaming, with no particularly quick top-up to save the day. That said, by disabling RGB lighting and taking advantage of the excellent 70-hour battery life, you should only need to recharge every few days, depending on usage.
Ultimately, while the charging time isn't ideal, the GX1's battery life and reliable connectivity make it a versatile wireless gaming headset, and the lengthy recharge time isn't a deal-breaker for me.
Software and Customization
The software compatible with the GX1 is the aforementioned XearOne software, downloadable from EPOMAKER’s website under the name EPOMAKER Audio.
Visually, it’s pretty basic, but don’t let that fool you, as there are quite a few customization options to play around with. You can adjust volume, balance audio between the left and right earcups, tweak the EQ settings and presets I touched on earlier, and enable or disable various Xear sound enhancements, including Xear Dynamic Bass.
There are also several microphone customization options, including volume control and noise reduction technology. Perhaps the strangest inclusion is Xear Magic Voice, which is essentially a voice-changing tool that can make you sound like a rubber duck if you so desire. I can't see much use for this outside a bit of short-term fun, but if Xear had the technology to do it and the capacity to include it in the software, why not, I suppose?
Now, the software obviously doesn't compete with high-end platforms or paid-for services, and the EQ customization options are ultimately limited by the headset's actual hardware and sound quality. That said, the fact that a budget headset like the GX1 offers free, customizable EQ settings is a massive plus. As I found earlier, tweaking these settings can noticeably improve the sound output and help make the headset seem more expensive than it actually is.
Unfortunately, I did encounter one annoying issue: after closing the software on my PC, I couldn't get it to reopen, no matter what I tried. The only solution I found was to restart my PC to get it working again. It's not a deal-breaker, but it's certainly an inconvenience I'd rather not have to deal with when adjusting my headset settings.
Price and Value for Money
At $49.99 (£45.99), the EPOMAKER GX1 is a pretty feature-rich headset and, on paper, an absolute bargain. I’d be inclined to agree based on my test, with it boasting a solid overall design and fairly comfortable fit, alongside decent audio where it matters for gaming, particularly in shooter games. Crucially, its sound can be customized through the included PC software, allowing you to fine-tune the EQ and other settings to better suit your needs and get more out of the headset.
That said, it’s not quite a must-buy at this price. The open-back design won’t be to everyone’s taste, and there are a few design niggles, such as the RGB button seemingly failing to switch off the lighting on my sample. The default sound profile is also fairly flat, with some issues at the extreme frequencies, so it’s certainly not perfect despite its low price.
Overall, I’d recommend the GX1 as a budget-friendly gaming headset, especially if you’re after decent positional audio and plenty of customization without spending a fortune. However, if you’re willing to spend a little more, you can find better sound quality and microphone performance elsewhere. The Audeze LCD-GX remains the gold standard for headsets in my eyes, although it sits in a vastly different price bracket.
Pros and Cons
Let's break it down:
Pros
- Affordable price: At $49.99 (£45.99), the GX1 offers an impressive range of features for a budget headset.
- Comfortable design: Plush, breathable earpads, an adjustable headband, and relatively light clamping force make it comfortable for extended gaming sessions.
- Good gaming audio: Decent directional imaging and positional accuracy, particularly in shooter games such as CS2.
- Extensive customization: The free PC software offers EQ adjustments, sound enhancements, and microphone settings to improve the default audio profile.
- Versatile connectivity and battery life: Supports 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth and wired connections, with up to 70 hours of battery life with RGB lighting disabled.
Cons
- Average default sound quality: The sound profile can feel flat, with weak or distorted bass and some issues at the extreme frequencies.
- Open-back limitations: Offers poor passive noise isolation, making it less suitable for noisy environments.
- Design and control flaws: The RGB-off button didn't work on the review sample, while closely positioned controls can be difficult to distinguish by touch.
- Software and charging drawbacks: The PC software experienced a bug requiring a restart to reopen, while charging takes around 3 hours and 20 minutes.
Final Verdict
The EPOMAKER GX1 is a solid budget gaming headset that offers plenty of features for the money.
Its comfortable design, decent positional audio, versatile connectivity, and customizable EQ make it particularly appealing to gamers on a budget. However, flat default sound, limited noise isolation, and a few design quirks prevent it from being an outright winner.
It’s not perfect, but with some EQ tweaking, it delivers respectable performance for the price. So, if you want affordable gaming audio with plenty of customization, the GX1 is well worth considering.
Stay tuned to Siege.gg for more gaming guides, reviews, and esports news.