These budget noise-cancelling headphones could be your next gaming headset

Final UX3000 noise cancelling headphones
(Image credit: Final / KS Distribution)

Japanese audio brand Final has just launched the UX3000, a pair of wireless noise-cancelling headphones with a surprisingly budget-friendly price tag. In fact, if you're in the market for a brand new headset to use for gaming or watching your favorite movies with, the UX3000 might be well worth looking into.

The Final UX3000 wireless ANC headphones will cost you $149 / £119, and can be bought at Amazon in the US and hifiheadphones in the UK. That's a relatively (and impressively) low price tag considering the UX3000's specs, which are honestly much better than the retail price would suggest.

Alongside active noise-cancellation, and support for aptX, AAC and SBC audio codecs, the UX3000 also boast support for aptX LL, a low-latency codec that in turn supports hi-res audio. As such, the UX3000 could be an ideal pair to have when listening to your favorite playlists on Apple Music and Amazon Music HD, both of which offer hi-res audio tracks to their subscribers.

Plus, as the low-latency aspect would suggest, aptX LL provides audio with minimal delay, which could make the UX3000 an ideal pair of headphones for use with gaming, where effective sound design and music can seriously heighten a player's immersion.

In terms of battery life, the UX3000 noise-cancelling headphones offer up to 25 hours on a single charge when ANC is enabled. That goes up to 35 hours with ANC switched off. This is pretty standard among over-ear headphones, but certainly an impressive figure for a relatively affordable pair. Throw in a charge time of around two and a half hours and you'll never be without music or podcasts for very long.

Additionally, the UX3000 features a soft-textured "Shibo" coating finish - giving a look of slightly wrinkled paper or leather - that offers a level of dirt and fingerprint resistance, which could give the pair a more premium feel than we're used to with similarly priced headphones. Buttons to control power, playback, ANC and volume are all located on the headphones, too.

Our initial impression of the UX3000 is fairly positive. It's somewhat rare to find higher-end specs - particularly hi-res audio support and ANC - in a pair of cans that are this affordable. Hopefully, then, the UX3000 can provide a level of sound quality that its specs imply.

Rhys Wood
Hardware Editor

Rhys is TRG's Hardware Editor, and has been part of the TechRadar team for more than two years. Particularly passionate about high-quality third-party controllers and headsets, as well as the latest and greatest in fight sticks and VR, Rhys strives to provide easy-to-read, informative coverage on gaming hardware of all kinds. As for the games themselves, Rhys is especially keen on fighting and racing games, as well as soulslikes and RPGs.