Sony Inzone H3 Review: Fine but plain

You won’t be disappointed with the Sony Inzone H3, but you’d be better off with a different headset.

About Sony Inzone H3

• cost: $100
• style: Over-ear, closed-back
• colour: white with black accents
• driver: 40mm driver
• connection: 3.5mm wired with USB-A DAC.
• Device compatibility: PC, PlayStation 5 (USB); others (3.5mm)
• microphone: Unidirectional boom mic, flip to mute
• Virtual Surround Sound: 360° spatial audio (Windows only), Tempest 3D (PS5 only)
• Noise canceling: No
• weight: 11.0 oz

Sony’s Inzone H3 is the cheaper version of the Inzone H7 and Inzone H9. The latter headset is a wireless option, but the Inzone H3 connects via a 3.5mm cable and a USB-A DAC. It also makes some more subtle hardware changes, such as different speaker drivers and a different mic.

Sony’s Inzone H9 and H7 are premium wireless gaming headsets, and little else distinguishes them apart from the former’s active noise cancellation. The Inzone H3 may have the same name as its more expensive sibling, but Sony has made quite a few changes at $100, which is less than half the cost of his Inzone H7 and a third of the Inzone H9. .

The Inzone H3 is a simple wired headset. Either a 3.5mm combo jack or a USB-A DAC can be used. The DAC provides a nice clean audio connection on a bad motherboard (I like to mix the audio output into the incoming mic signal), but it’s about 5 feet from the headset’s cable and 6 feet from the cable. It makes the cable a bit unwieldy, the cable for the DAC. Sony also doesn’t include a clip in the DAC, so it just hangs.

Sony used less dense foam for the ear cushions and headband, giving it a cheaper feel.The Inzone H3 also takes a more traditional approach to connecting the headband to each earcup. Happily, the ear cups have actually shrunk a bit (about 0.2 inches narrower and shorter) from the giant Inzone H7 and H9, but are still quite large and weigh a It’s only lost 0.5 ounces. Despite the downgrade, the headset remains reasonably comfortable for hours of gaming at a time.

The Inzone H3 is more than enough for competitive gameplay.playing overwatch 2 As a healer with little means to protect myself, I was able to use the sonic cues I picked up from my Inzone H3 to listen to what was coming beyond my field of vision. hide was still lurking above. He’s a bit bass-heavy, but doesn’t sacrifice mids and highs, which is useful for both gaming and listening to music.

The flip-to-mute boom mic reproduces my voice beautifully, with satisfying richness and pleasingly crisp. The unidirectional mic picks up more noise from the mouse while gaming than its premium sibling, but my voice actually sounds better thanks to the wired connection to my PC. Wireless headsets often sacrifice microphone audio quality, but it’s surprising how the Inzone H3 stands out from Sony’s other options.

Should I buy the Sony Inzone H3?

No, it’s easy for the price

It’s as easy to use as the Sony Inzone H3 headset, but it doesn’t really stand out, even at $78. Few flashy features other than a very simple DAC and an option to enable 360-degree spatial audio. This comes with a noticeable drop in audio quality (extra hiss), a fairly common feature for headsets in this price range. .

You won’t be penalized with the Sony Inzone H3, but you’d be better off with a different headset and might even save a little money at the same time.

The HyperX Cloud Alpha S is a higher quality option that also includes a DAC, but adds surround sound, volume control, and chat mix control. You can even go cordless with the Arctis 1 Wireless for just $64. The mighty Razer Nari Ultimate is also on sale for under $100 these days.

Reviewed’s product experts cover all your shopping needs. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, twitterInstagram, TikTok, or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews, and more.

Prices were accurate at the time this article was published, but may change over time.