review – I don’t really care about headsets until everyone is at home for video conferencing. In general, head-worn mics sound better to listeners than laptops built-in mics, while over-ear speakers give you listening privacy. ESKA H5 headphones feature “AI-Powered” noise cancellation in a professional-looking package.
what is it?
ESKA’s H5 headset model is Bluetooth earphone It features an over-the-ear single handset design with a microphone on an adjustable boom. This is my favorite type of headphone because I like to have one ear open.
What’s in the box?
- ESKA H5 Wireless Headphones
- Docking Charger
- USB-C charging cable
- instruct
- drawstring bag
Hardware Specifications
- Drive diameter: 40mm
- Weight: about 75g
- Impedance (talk) 2.2kΩ
- Impedance (music) 32Ω±15%
- Sensitivity (talk) -25dB±1dB
- Sensitivity (music) 125dB±3dB
- Frequency Response (Dialogue) 100~8kHz
- Frequency Response (Music) 20~20kHz
- polar patternomnidirectional
- Busy light: no
- Call Control: Yes
- Battery life (calls) 46 hours* (70% volume)
- Battery life (music) 46 hours (70% volume)
- Charging time ≈ 2h
- Working temperature -10~55℃
- Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB-C**
- Bluetooth version V5.0
- Working range 10M/32.81FT
- Connecting Devices: Connect 2 devices at the same time***
*The website lists 25 hours of talk time. This might be a typo.
** In testing, the USB-C port on the headset appears to only support charging, not connecting. When plugged in this way, it doesn’t appear as an audio device.
*** I don’t see any way to connect this headset to two devices at the same time. As with many headphones, there are instructions for pairing a second device, but you can only hear/speak to the device you’re actively pairing at any given time. I would not use the word “simultaneously”.
Design and Features
From the website, the main features include:
1. AI-Powered ENC Mic, the noise reduction depth exceeds 40dB
2. Two different charging methods: wired/inductive charging*
3. 75g Mono earphones designed for all day comfort
4. 25 hours talk time ensures you are always ready for meetings
5. 270° rotating microphone, can be worn left/right
*I’m not sure if there is inductive charging similar to Qi or Magsafe. There are contact pins on the bottom of the headset and in the charging dock. To test this, I covered the terminal with tape and docked the headset. Not charging.it is Conductive, do not generalize. The dock seems to be magnetic. When you put the earphones in to charge, it creates a nice pull. I wonder if magnets are what they mean.
The ESKA H5 is designed to be worn on the head with the headband. The microphone boom rotates up and out of the way. It doesn’t mute when pushed up.
The boom can be rotated in either direction, so the headset can be worn on the right or left ear.
There are several buttons around the outer edge of the earpiece. There’s a power button and volume down button (above) as well as a volume up button and a USB-C charging port (below).
I’ve never owned a headset with the mute button at the top of the boom. very smart. It’s not lit, but the mute button clicks it nicely. 
The earphones are oval-shaped and very, very soft. It doesn’t appear to be removable or user replaceable.
set up
The ESKA H5 is designed to connect via the included USB dongle (Mac, PC) or directly via Bluetooth to devices such as tablets or smartphones.
But where is the dongle? I had to refer to the manual, but it’s tucked away in a cubby behind the charging stand.
It’s time to charge! You can charge the headset directly via USB-C, or use the charging cradle.
The USB-C port is on the rear of the dock. A small red LED lights up. The LED is always lit red. It doesn’t change color.
The ESKA H5 earphones have a tiny LED that indicates charging status: red for charging and blue for full. Unfortunately, when the boom is fully upright, the LEDs are blocked.
I plugged the USB dongle into my Mac and the headset paired easily. I don’t have to enter any other settings. If you are connecting this headset via Bluetooth without a USB dongle, you must go to Settings > Bluetooth or similar.
Here I can select the USB dongle as the ESKA PC adapter as the sound source (shown as Mac OS).
Yes, it works with programs like Zoom. Under “Settings” you must select ESKA PC Adapter as Speaker and Microphone.
This is a USB dongle that plugs into a Windows laptop. Note the tiny blue LED when connected to the headset.
I don’t know why, but pressing the volume keys on a Windows 11 laptop shows a volume slider in the upper left corner, as the volume goes up or down. This doesn’t seem to track 1:1 on the Mac, at least not all the time.
Performance
I recorded my speech with the ESKA H5 headset and my “regular” headset, the Jabra Evolve 65, another Bluetooth-enabled headset with a USB dongle that only covers one ear.
To do this, I put on two headphones and made some recordings.
The first half of the recording is H5 and the second half is Jabra. My old Jabra was sharper in a quiet room.
Notice the audio gap at the beginning of the recording? Somehow the ESKA H5 has a short delay when recording on my Mac. I don’t know if it’s a connection issue, but I’ve seen this happen before on some headphones with aggressive noise cancellation.
For the next test, I recorded again while crumpling a piece of paper.
Well, what do you know… the H5 leads the pack by reducing the prominence of background noise.
That damn silent voice prompt
The audio cue for mute on/off is terrible. It says “Mic on” and “Mic off” and it’s not very clear. I can hardly see a difference as there is no change in the final sound change. A beep would be preferable, or “muted” and “unmuted”. I realize I’m being nitpicky, but take a listen:
what do I like
- Comfortable ear pads.
- Mute button on top of boom.
- USB dongle or Bluetooth connection.
- Charge via the magnetic base or directly on the headset using USB-C.
- Elegant look (not a “gamer” headset).
- Great for noisy environments.
what would i change
- Aggressive noise cancellation comes at the expense of clarity. A way to toggle noise cancellation would be nice.
- Mute prompts could be clearer.
- scam
final thoughts
If you mostly work in a quiet home office environment, you might want to skip this one. Despite its quirks, the ESKA H5 headphones do a pretty good job of reducing background noise if you can’t control your surroundings.
price: $64.99
where to buy (this: Require and Amazon
resource: This product sample is provided by Require.
