EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid

The EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid are a great pair of compact gaming earbuds that work across multiple gaming platforms and offer outstanding audio quality. However, the microphone only works with a Bluetooth connection and a steep price will put off those who won’t find value in cross-platform support.

Introduction

Gamers have spent recent lumped console generations with cumbersome over the ear options, despite the wider public adopting wireless earbuds since 2016. Now, EPOS is looking to change that.

The EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid headphones boasts a low latency connection, a sleek aesthetic and an enviable battery life. Like the Razer Hammerhead True Wireless before them, EPOS ‘latest aims to drag gaming headsets kicking and screaming into the modern world.

The question is, do these gaming earbuds do enough to justify the price tag? And can these earbuds compete with the very best gaming headsets?

Price and availability

The EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid have an official retail price of £ 179 / $ 199 / € 250, and are available via multiple retailers.

However, you can also get the EPOS GTW 270 (non Hybrid) for £ 149 / $ 169 / € ‌169, which are the exact same headphones and charging case but without the USB-C adapter that allows for connection with the PS5 and Nintendo Switch.

Design

• Sleek, light and refreshingly adult-looking
• Pleasingly simplistic one-button layout
• Surprisingly comfortable once you find the right size earbuds

Unlike many of its nerdy peers, the premium price tag here certainly shows in its packaging. Rejecting garish colors, pokey plastic and edgy fonts, right off the bat, the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid’s sleek black box and aspirational renders present a refreshingly adult feel.

Of course, it’s just a box, but as Apple and a long line of YouTubers have proved, that initial unboxing experience is a crucial part of the new tech ritual. Thankfully for those choosing to splash out almost £ 200 on these wireless gaming buds then, the actual product inside is just as premium.

If there are two descriptors you probably don’t associate with gaming headsets it’s ‘sleek’ and ‘attractive’. Yet with the matte gray and black GTW 270 Hybrid, that’s exactly what EPOS has achieved. From its premium-looking metal charging chassis to the eye-catchingly emblazoned logo on each bud, and the satisfying, paw-print-esque shape of the gold charging connectors, the GTW offers what most gaming headsets lack – style.

Still, for those about to embark on a mammoth gaming sess, comfort is even more crucial. Over my week and a bit of heavy testing, I found the GTW 270s to be incredibly easy on the ear – fitting snugly into my large ear canals. After a decade plus of multiplayer sessions with a heavy piece of plastic lumbered atop my dome, it felt refreshing to be able to game without the usual hot flashes that come from keeping a headset clamped around your noggin.

Speaking of a cosy fit, it’s definitely worth taking the time to test all the different included buds here. As earbud aficionados will know, the difference in sound quality varies pretty drastically depending on how well each sleeve fits your ear. Case in point, the medium silicon bud it came with immediately disappointed offering with a limp, tinny sound. Thankfully, once I sized up, that feeble flurry of audio was replaced by a wave of rich bass tones flooding my grateful eardrums.

The buttons you’ll be pressing on the GTW 270 are just as minimal as the rest of their design, with one singular button adorning the left headphone and another ‘sync’ button on the charging case. The in-built mic is housed within the right headphone, which also seems to be the dominant connector. This means that if you remove your left earpiece, you can still continue to chat and enjoy audio to your heart’s content. If, however, you opt to remove just the right headphone, all audio immediately ceases.

The GTW 270 Hybrid connect via two different methods – dongle and traditional Bluetooth. Coming with a handy USB-C adapter, the dongle allows for impressively low latency connections to game consoles, yielding great results with both my PS5 and Nintendo Switch. Both of which, it is worth noting, can connect directly to the dongle – meaning that you’ll only need the extended USB connector if the Switch is in docked mode or you wish to connect it to a PC with no USB-C port.

As you’d expect from wireless earbuds, the EPOS GTW 270 are incredibly compact, making losing them while running for a bus a heart-stopping-ly plausibly affair. Thankfully, you’ll be able to easily whack them in the sleek-looking metal charging case, which is small enough to fit comfortably in a jacket pocket but large enough that you’ll notice if you drop it. The only downside to the said case is that the sexy all-metal chassis is incredibly easy to scratch. Keep those keys in a separate pocket.

Supporting Bluetooth 5.1, the headphones are compatible with everything from smartphones to consoles, making them a more versatile choice than many of their peers. If you’re not using the included dongle, pairing these bud boys is fairly simply. Once they’re safely nestled in their cosy charging case, simply press and hold the button – and you’re good to go. Because of this, you’ll really want to take the case on your travels if you’re out and about.

While EPOS ‘first wireless buds offer a middling five-hour use time in one sitting, popping them into the fully juiced charging case will provide them with an extra 15 hours. For you budding mathematicians out there, that brings the 270’s total battery life to a very respectable 20 hours. Equally impressively, the compact charging case works its magic quickly. If you’re unlucky enough to have your buds die on the go, just 15 minutes in the case will squeeze out an extra hour of use.

Audio and Mic

• Audio is consistently brilliant, be it for music, gaming or movies
• The mic delivers crisp and clear voice for calls
• The Companion App isn’t the best

Despite their tiny stature, these unassuming little buds pack a hefty audio punch. Whether it’s helping me drown out the world around me as I groove along to the hypnotic bassline of Citizen’s’ Fight Beat ‘on the bus, or brilliantly simulating the snarling horrors of PS5 roguelike, Returnal, EPOS’ small but mighty buds never fail to impress .

There’s no noise canceling tech here, but the secure fit of the buds in my ears help to silence the background hum of street noise. It’s a feat EPOS ‘latest consistently manager to achieve – even at half volume.

Once I pop in these buds and pick up my Nintendo Switch, the audible distractions of the world around me melt away, replaced by the cutesy cries of New Pokémon Snap’s jungle-dwelling inhabitants.

The one area where the 270s aren’t so stellar, however, is in their infuriating companion software. After spending literally hours messing around with EPOS ‘disappointingly shoddy software (uninstalling drivers, reinstalling drivers, connecting, reconnecting) I managed to install an update for the 270s which allows you to take Bluetooth calls even when the adapter is connected to another device.

As fiddly as installing the firmware was, it’s definitely worth the time. The second my phone call ended, the cutesy guffaws of wild Pokémon returned to my eardrums, keeping an impressively low latency connection to my Nintendo switch.

The EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid feature an on-board microphones, but they only work via Bluetooth. That means if you want to engage in a voice chat on the PS5, you’re all out of luck.

However, the microphone quality is solid when connected to a smartphone or PC via Bluetooth. I walked around the room while chatting, and the audio consistently came out clear and loud. So they’re good for phone chats, but not ideal for multiplayer gaming sessions on console.

This could understandably be a deal breaker for many gamers, but if you’re happy to stick to single-player games, the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid are fantastic versatile buds that offer stellar audio across multiple platforms.

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