REVIEW – Even though we returned to the office four days a week last year in March, 90% of my meetings are still via Microsoft Teams. Crazy, but true! Since then, I have searched for the perfect earbuds for my office. When I work from home, I use some really nice computer speakers since I have my own home office setup and will not disturb my husband when I use them. I have so much trouble finding good earbuds because my ear canals are very small. No matter what I have tried, including Air Pods, they hurt my ears after about an hour. I dislike over-the-ear type speakers because I get too hot with them on, plus I hate the band that goes on the top of my head. I was excited to get the chance to review the new EKSAtelecom S30 Bluetooth Open Ear Conduction Headset when I realized nothing had to go into my ears. Read on to see how they worked out for me.
What is it?
The EKSAtelecom S30 Open-Ear Air Conduction True Wireless Headset is an open-ear wireless headset that offers 99.9% VoicePure ENC Noise Cancellation technology with over 70 hours of working time. They have their own carrying case and a very nice docking station. They are currently only offered on a Kickstarter that will be funded on Sun, January 28, 2024, 7:55 AM CST.
What’s in the box?
- user manual
- warnings manual
- carrying case
- docking station
- left and right earpieces
- USB-C charging cable
Hardware specs
Design and features
The EKSAtelecom S30 wireless headset comes with a very nice docking station. Since they go over the ear, the earpieces are much larger than Air Pods. The carrying case that holds the docking station will not fit in your pocket. It does, however, sit very nicely on my desk at work, constantly plugged into a charging outlet. The docking station has a single orange button that will turn the headset on and off while in the docking station. A single click will turn both headsets on when the headset is in the docking station. A double click will turn both headsets off. Triple-clicking the button will turn on the pairing mode and allow you to pair multiple devices to the headset.
After the headset was fully charged, I pressed the orange button once, which powered on both the left and right earpieces. The LED lights on the sides of the earpieces started to blink red and blue, indicating that they were in pairing mode. My PC quickly found EKSAtelecom S30 as an audio device and connected.
I took a picture of the back of the docking station. There is a single USB-C port in which the power cable plugs in.
On the front of the EKSAtelecom S30’s docking station is a small LED light indicating the charging level of the earbuds. Red indicates 0-30%, yellow 31-70%, and green 71-100%.
Below is a picture of the outside of the left earpiece. It has an extendable microphone with an orange button at the end. Pressing and holding the orange button for two seconds will turn the microphone off, putting you on mute. Pressing and holding it again for two seconds will turn it back on. There is a small LED light on the main body. That will blink red/green when in pairing mode.
You will find the speaker on the back side of the earpiece, on the main body.
Underneath the main body is another button. It can be used to control calls and to turn the earpiece on and off outside of the docking station.
- Press and hold the button for three seconds to turn that earpiece on.
- Press and hold the button for five seconds to turn the earpiece off.
- One-click will answer a phone call.
- One-click will end a phone call.
- Press the button for 2 seconds to reject the call.
- Triple click to redial the phone number.
- Double-click the button to start/exit the phone voice assistant.
Also, on the bottom of the piece that wraps around your ear is the metal charging plate used to charge the earpiece on the docking station.
I also took a picture of the back side of the right earpiece. The right earpiece is identical to the left with the same main body button, speaker, and metal charging plate. It does not have a microphone. Each earpiece can work independently from the other. So, if you wish to take a call, you can use only the left earpiece. Maybe you only want to listen to music, and you can use just the right earpiece.
Performance
I have been very happy with the performance of the EKSAtelecom S30 headset. Once paired to my computer, whenever I wanted to use the headset, I pressed the main button on the docking station to turn both earpieces on and then slipped them over my ears. When I was done with a meeting, I took them off, placed them in the docking station, and double-clicked the docking station button to turn them off.
They were also extremely comfortable. The earpiece bodies are very smooth and slip right around my ear. They stayed in place and did not move around. I often forget they were on and walked around the office, even going to rooms over 100 feet away. The earpieces would stay connected to my computer through two walls and well over 100 feet.
Everyone commented that my voice was very clear once I remembered to lower the microphone. When putting them in the docking station, you must raise the microphone out of a talking position. In my first few meetings, people commented they could barely hear me when I realized I had not lowered the microphone toward my mouth. The sound quality was outstanding. The only negative I would mention is that I would not recommend them if you are in a noisy environment. They do not have any kind of sound cancellation. You can hear folks talking around you.
I have worn them for well over four hours, and my ears have not hurt one time. I love that I can always keep the docking station on my desk and plug it in. I don’t plan on carrying these around much, but having a carrying case to pack them up is a nice touch. The case is sturdy and would protect the earpieces well should you put them in a computer bag.
I want to mention that the headset did a great job of eliminating outside noise around me so that it did not come over the call. I had someone else talking close to me, and no one on the other end of the call could hear them.
What I like
- Nice carrying case and docking station.
- The docking station stays plugged in on my desk, so I don’t forget to recharge it like I do with my Air Pods.
- The earpieces are very comfortable.
- Nothing is inside my ears, and my cubemates say they can’t hear anyone talking from the speakers.
- You can use a single earpiece at a time.
- Great outside noise cancellation, so folks at the other end of the call can only hear you.
What I’d change
- MSRP will be very pricey at $398. A lower MSRP would be great.
Final thoughts
If you work in a fairly quiet environment and are looking for a headset to wear all day long, I highly recommend the EKSAtelecom S30 headset. These earpieces are so comfortable I forget that I have them on. The docking station stays right by my computer and I place them in there as soon as my meetings are done. I always start the work day knowing they are fully charged.
Price: $169.99
Where to buy: EKSA’s store and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by EKSAtelecom.
