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QCY H3 Pro Wireless ANC Headphone Review – Do Overs

INTRO

The QCY H3 Pro improves two key areas over the H3 I previously reviewed. With these latest incarnations, they become something an adult might find useful if you need a cheap ANC model with basic features for movie, gaming, audiobooks, or background music listening at ~$45. I took the plunge to see if there could be some redemption in my previous experience with QCY, since the ANC and app showed promise.

WHAT’S NEW

Notable physical changes for the QCY H3 Pro include less clamping force, thinner pads, and a redesigned headband pad. One of the missing features of the original H3 was wired ANC, and the H3 Pro model has this feature as well. 

The headband pad feels less comfortable for me. The earpads are still problematic for glasses wearers. The headband also has a minor stylistic change where the swivel sits and the QCY logo is larger but chopped in half. From a brand perspective, not sure why you would chop your logo in half. I am not a branding expert, but I am pretty sure most brands would raise hell fire for doing some faux pas. 

In addition, there is better codecs this time around utilizing LDAC and AAC, skipping Apt-X codecs. LDAC disables multipoint however and spacious surround mode so you have to choose. Multipoint mode supports two devices connected to the bluetooth at the same time, and interrupt each other when needed, for example when a phone call comes in on one device while listening to music or movie on another.0

10 minutes fast charge is a nice feature that gives someone up to 5 hours of play time. Comes in several colors – light purple, white, Black.

Just like the H3, all EQ settings on the QCY H3 Pro have a huge valley through the bass region, and a notch at 8khz to hide the true response of the 40mm driver. If you enable it to flat, be prepared for an ungodly like sound that should not exist. This becomes a problem if you plan on using them wired since the built-in EQ gets bypassed, you will need to EQ them with secondary tools to make them listenable.

SOUND

Tested with an IPhone13 and LG G8

The QCY H3 Pro drivers are severely bass limited just like the H3 despite their unnatural tendency towards gluttony, but any kind of broken seal of the pads kills it off completely. Glasses wearers will be upset. The earpads also trap the heat in so if you are in the market for sound producing earmuffs these can cover in a pinch.

The bass is bloated in lower regions and lacks punch, leaving a hole in the bass, and yet still sounds woolly. Pianos lack their percussive elements, and bass hits sound flaccid. Still has the honkiness as the H3.

It has a spacy unnatural surround mode that appears to be enabled all the time, almost like a surround effect. It adds space around vocals. I decided to enable game mode and try them with movies, this is where they belong to me. Bass explosions are forceful, dialog feels enhanced, and their widening tendencies provide ample width to scenes.

Treble has a sizzle that is not particularly resolving and still exhibits some compression artifacts although it is much improved over the base H3. There is some smoothing and notching in the treble to hide the sibilants so it is not noticeably annoying. Swishy and washed out is the name of the game here.

QCY H3 Pro ANC capabilities are similar to the original H3 as far as I can tell, wind rushing noises are quieted down to a hush and lower drowning is mostly canceled out. They do not reach Sony’s exceptional range of ANC, but they will get the job done

FINAL CALL

For the low prices they go for, the codec improvement is major over the H3 which to me was un-listenable due to major compression artifacts. If you need a cheap pair of ANC they are capable, and not much worse than gamer headphones in terms of sound quality. I think these work great for movies while traveling or at home. Keep your expectations in check and do not expect them to excel at anything, like eating generic junk food to satiate a craving, you won’t admit it to your friends.

Disclaimer: We thank QCY for trusting us to give a fair shake and the freedom to do so, I own no stock, earn no commission, and take home no money related to this review.

PACKAGE CONTENTS

  • Manual
  • 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable
  • USB-C to USB-A cable

QCY H3 PRO SPECIFICATIONS

Product page

Type: Over-ear
Audio codec: LDAC/AAC/SBC
Compatible system: iOS/Android
Charging port: USB Type-C
Weight: 231g
Pairing name: QCY H3 Pro
Effective bluetooth range: 10m
Bluetooth version: 5.4
Supported Protocols: HFP/A2DP/AVRCP
Battery capacity: 550mAh
Battery life: 40H with ANC ON, 55H with ANC OFF

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DISCLAIMER

Get it from QCY Store or anywhere sold

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

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Author

  • Durwood

    Head-Fier since 2007. From an early age Durwood liked to tear apart perfectly good working things to see what was inside, always an urge to understand what made it tick. His love of music started at the local roller rink and as a result grew up with pop, electronic music (think Freestyle, Trinere), and early hiphop from the 80’s. Hit the grunge era and Chicago house in his teens when B96 had their street mixes with Bad Boy Bill, Bobby D, Julian Jumpin Perez. Became a DJ at the local now defunct roller rink because why not? A sucker for catchy TV/movie themes (Thank you John Williams). Car audio was his first audio passion, but now with a family his audio time is spent listening to headphones. The nickname is not self-proclaimed, bestowed to him multiple times and fits his experiences in life. Collector of technology and music- a maximizer trying real hard to be a satisficer. Simplicity is the goal, but the maximizer fights every step of the way.

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Durwood (Chicago, USA)

Head-Fier since 2007. From an early age Durwood liked to tear apart perfectly good working things to see what was inside, always an urge to understand what made it tick. His love of music started at the local roller rink and as a result grew up with pop, electronic music (think Freestyle, Trinere), and early hiphop from the 80’s. Hit the grunge era and Chicago house in his teens when B96 had their street mixes with Bad Boy Bill, Bobby D, Julian Jumpin Perez. Became a DJ at the local now defunct roller rink because why not? A sucker for catchy TV/movie themes (Thank you John Williams). Car audio was his first audio passion, but now with a family his audio time is spent listening to headphones. The nickname is not self-proclaimed, bestowed to him multiple times and fits his experiences in life. Collector of technology and music- a maximizer trying real hard to be a satisficer. Simplicity is the goal, but the maximizer fights every step of the way.

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