Kensington has been around for several decades, making a name for itself by providing quality, professional products for businesses and customers while providing top-tier support when needed. With products ranging from laptop cases and docks to USB hubs, webcams, headsets and more, Kensington likely has a product to help enhance your experience in a variety of use cases.
I recently got to test the Kensington H3000 Headset, their latest Bluetooth headset, designed for the Intel Evo laptop accessory program. That being said, the headset can easily be paired to other devices such as MacBooks, iPhones and Android devices. Equipped with a rotating boom microphone that can be positioned for use on either side of the user’s head, cooling-gel earpads, a padded adjustable headband and an impressively long battery life, the Kensington H3000 headset aims to deliver an experience customers should find genuinely satisfying.
Looking at the Kensington H3000 headset, the build quality is best described as sturdy. While much of the build is made up of plastics, it didn’t feel like it was as delicate as other headsets I have used in the past. The earpads have deep cushioned padding with a cooling gel inside them, which I didn’t find made my ears sweat or feel uncomfortable after long uses.
They have a wide range of movement, making wearability easy for most users. The headband has a plush leather-like padding which I rarely felt when using the headset for hours on end. While the headband kept the headset on my head comfortably, rough headshakes could easily cause the headset to come off my head if I tried. However, quick head movements left the headset firmly in place with minimal, if any, sliding.
Along one side of the Kensington H3000 headset, you will find the rotating and adjustable boom mic, which can be left pointing up when not in use to keep it out of the way. On the other earpad is where you will find all the controls and buttons for the headset. On the outside face of the earpad, you will find all common-use media controls. Up and down on the control pad will adjust the volume, left and right for the previous and next track, respectively, and the center button for pause/play or answering/ending calls.
Within a matter of minutes, I was quickly able to train my fingers where to press to control music without having to open the app or software I was playing content on. On the bottom of the same earpad, you find the on/off switch, pairing mode button and USB C charging port.
In my testing of the Kensington H3000 headset, primarily listening to music, I was able to get a solid week of use for about 6-7 hours a day before even needing to charge it. Kensington claims the headset can deliver up to 60+ hours of music playback, and I can definitely confirm that the H3000 can easily reach that mark without much struggle.
“I was thoroughly impressed by the Kensington H3000 headset’s performance.”
Music came through crystal clear and clean, with very pleasant highs and mid tones. Bass/Low tones were a mixed bag in my testing, though. Using the Kensington H3000 headset when paired to my iPhone or iPod, I was not able to push enough bass to the headset to fully immerse me in my heavier/rock music. That being said, when paired to my laptop, after a bit of tuning in the sound software, I was able to push ample bass to the headset and was able to enjoy any genre of music I wanted to play completely.
While not as powerful as a proper high-quality set of headphones, I was thoroughly impressed by the Kensington H3000 headset’s performance. Overall, with proper tuning, most users wanting to listen to their music through the headset should have a very satisfying and respectable experience.
While using the headset for calls, I found the people I was talking to sounded perfectly clear to me with no noise interference. As for how I sounded to the people on the other end of the phone, everyone I talked to claimed I sounded better over the headset than I do over my phone directly.
All conversations also benefited from Kensington’s inclusion of what they call their “Pro Noise Cancellation,” which, in use, did a remarkable job of tuning out all background noises when I was in a phone call or voice call conversation with someone. While on calls, if I ever needed to mute my mic, it could be done by simply lifting the boom mic up and out of the way.
My favourite feature of the Kensington H3000 headset had to be its ability to use two devices at once. This regularly allowed me to listen to music I had on my laptop while being able to take phone calls at the same time seamlessly. While playing music, if I received a phone call, a simple press of the answer button on the headset would pause my media content and answer my phone call within a second or two. When the call ended either, whether by pressing the call end button or the other person disconnecting the call, media content would resume right where it had paused.
“My favourite feature of the Kensington H3000 headset had to be its ability to use two devices at once. “
When it came time to eventually charge the Kensington H3000, the included USB C to USB C cable allowed me to plug the headset into either my laptop, wall plug or even some power banks effortlessly. For times when I need to plug into a USB A port, Kensington has included a small USB C to type A adapter with the headset.
Kensington also has built-in Rapid Charge Technology, which will give the headset an additional 8 hours of use in as little as 15 minutes. Full charges took around an hour and a half from empty. Given how long I can use the Kensington H3000 headset on a single charge, it’s great to know I am never far from being able to enjoy my media on the go.
For those who take their headset on the go with them or those who just want to protect their headset, Kensington has thoughtfully and thankfully included a hard zip-up case. Inside the case, there are not only straps to secure and protect the H3000 further but also a small pouch for the USB C to USB A adapter and a larger pouch to store the charging cable. While I found myself occasionally wishing that the headset was foldable to be more compact while travelling, the case left me feeling confident that I could bring my headset along without worrying about causing any damage to it.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time getting to review the Kensington H3000 headset. The audio quality was up to par with my expectations, although it didn’t outperform other dedicated headphones I have used. That being said, the Kensington H3000 headset delivered an impressive experience when it came time to tune out background noises.
Battery life was absolutely incredible, and I rarely found myself reaching for a charging cable to top them up, and their comfort additionally allowed for long listening sessions without feeling uncomfortable. The Kensington H3000 headset is well made and well deserving of a solid recommendation from me.
