The EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid gaming earbuds deliver solid sound performance, aided by the aptX low latency codec and Bluetooth 5.1. You’ll find the GTW 270s comfy for any gaming session, and the earbuds continue the Danish audio developer’s long-standing tradition for well-crafted audio hardware.
- Brand: EPOS
- Battery Life: 20 hours
- Bluetooth: Yes, 5.1 & aptX low latency
- Additional Tips: Yes
- Noise Cancellation: No
- Excellent audio quality
- Comfortable design
- Well-built charging carry case
- Very easy to setup
- aptX low latency
- Middling battery life
- Wouldn’t replace gaming headset
- Cannot use microphone with aptX
EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid
amazon
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When you think of gaming headsets, you probably think of big, chunky earpads and adjustable microphones. But what if it didn’t have to be like that? What if you could find an alternative gaming audio option?
The EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid closed acoustic gaming earbuds are exactly that: earbuds designed for gaming. While EPOS is very much focusing on pushing these new earbuds towards gamers, they’re definitely more than capable of delivering excellent audio in a wide range of situations.
So, how does EPOS’s first set of gaming earbuds stack up against the competition? Let’s find out in our review of the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid earbuds.
What’s In the Box?
The earbuds arrive in a tidy box, and the eagle-eyed will note that the sponge inlay is absolutely shaped like a face. That’s a plus point from me.
In the box, you’ll find:
- EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid earbuds
- Charging carry case
- EPOS Bluetooth dongle
- USB Type-A to USB Type-C port cable
- USB Type-A to USB Type-C charging cable
- 3x silicone earbud tips of varying size
- Silicone Bluetooth dongle case
- Instructions and quick start manual
EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid Specifications
The EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid earbuds deliver a decent package in terms of out of the box specs:
- Design: Closed-back earbuds
- Color: Black, with grey metal plates
-
Drivers: 6mm dynamic
- Frequency response: 20-20,000Hz
- Sound pressure level: 100 dB
-
Microphone: Integrated omnidirectional
- Frequency response: 100-7,500Hz
- Sensitivity: -20 dBV/Pa
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.1, aptX low-latency via USB-C dongle
-
Battery life: 5 hours on earbuds, 15 hours on the carry case
- Charge time: 5 hours full charge
- Fast charge: 1-hour playback on 15 minutes charge
- Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, Android, PlayStation 4 & 5
- Water resistance: IPX5 for sweat and light rain
- Virtual assistant: Google Now, Alexa, Siri
The EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid gaming earbuds feature Bluetooth for standard connections, and interestingly, the low-latency aptX codec when used with the USB-C dongle. Furthermore, while the PlayStation 4 and 5 aren’t listed on the official specifications, the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrids do work with these consoles.
EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid Design
Straight out of the box, the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid earbuds and charging case carry a solid weight. Not heavy, but enough to deliver the feel of quality. The anodized-aluminum carry case is smooth and solid, and its latch and locking mechanism strong and secure. The front of the portable charging case features five small blue lights indicating battery level, which also flash red when you’re pairing with a new Bluetooth device.
The earbuds themselves are slightly heavier and chunkier than I was expecting, but it isn’t noticeable at all when you pop them in your ears. Walking around the house with the default earbud tips and the GTW 270s are locked firmly-yet-comfortably in place. As with most earbuds, you can easily slip the replaceable tips on and off to find a fit that suits you.
You’ll find a small control button on the left earbud. It really is small, but it has many functions: one tap for play and pause, two to skip the track, and three to rewind. To access your virtual personal assistant, hold the button for two seconds. When you’re on a call, you have to hold the button for three seconds to put the phone down.
EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid Sound Quality
The GTW 270s sound is really good. You’re never going to beat a gaming headset with drivers ten times the size of the GTW 270s 6mm drivers. But in fact, that makes the gaming earbud’s audio performance that bit more impressive.
Jumping into various games to test the earbuds, it quickly becomes clear that what the earbuds lack in size, they make up for in finely-tuned audio performance.
Firing up Assetto Corsa Competizione, and the Mercedes AMG GT3 maintains its meaty roar around the hills of Spa-Francorchamps. It’s a similar story jumping into a Lancia Stratos in Dirt 2.0.
Next, a trip into Red Dead 2 Online, where you can hear the ambient noises of the mid-West surrounding you. First-person shooters like Insurgency: Sandstorm and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus deliver exceptional audio range, covering the thundering gunshots and subtle noises of approaching footsteps.
It is a similar story for music, too. My favorite thing to do with new headphones is run them through the Songs to Test Headphones With playlist on Spotify, covering all manner of hip-hop, hard rock, techno, and everything in between.
The GTW 270 earbuds maintain a solid balance between treble and bass throughout my extended run-through, which is impressive given the eclectic range of tracks on the playlist.
Overall, the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid earbuds deliver top-notch audio quality for both gaming and music, which is really quite impressive.
EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid Functionality
So, the GTW 270 earbuds sound great, but how do they perform elsewhere?
One immediate positive is how ridiculously quick they are to setup using the included aptX low-latency dongle. You can have the earbuds up and running within a minute of unboxing as the earbuds and dongle come pre-paired.
I connected the USB dongle on my desktop PC using the supplied cable and let the auto-connection do the rest. It was a similar situation when plugging into a Nintendo Switch. The connection updated automatically, and the audio worked instantaneously.
Now, there is one downside to the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid earbud microphone. When you’re using the aptX low-latency dongle, you cannot communicate in-game. It isn’t a glaring issue, but for earbuds that position themselves as gaming hardware, and with the aptX dongle a main selling point, it is slightly irritating.
That said, I would counter my own point with the fact the GTW 270 earbuds are perhaps better suited to short gaming bursts and are particularly handy when you’re out and about, gaming on the move. Often, you’re not engaging in team-speak gameplay in these scenarios, which is why it isn’t the downside it could be. I’d also add that this isn’t a slight on EPOS; it’s a restriction of aptX.
You should also note that when you use a standard Bluetooth connection (for instance, with your phone, a standalone Bluetooth dongle, or your motherboard supports Bluetooth), the microphone works fine. The quality isn’t amazing, but you can be heard with relative clarity.
Regarding battery life, the GTW 270 earbuds hold five hours charge, and you’ll get another 15 hours charge from the carry case. Again, given the target market for these earbuds, five hours is plenty for most gaming stints. You can also use the fast charging feature to grab one hour of playback on a rapid 15-minute charge.
EPOS Gaming Suite
The EPOS Gaming Suite is a desktop app you can use to manage your EPOS GTW 270 earbuds.
After downloading and installing, you can use the tool to update the firmware on the dongle and the earbuds. The updates didn’t work straight off the bat for me, but I managed to update the firmware for both elements after a few tries.
The EPOS Gaming Suite also includes an EQ with a few presets, along with the option to switch between virtual surround sound modes. Once you select an EQ mode, the sound setting saves to your earbuds until you change it again.
However, you cannot change your EQ mode on the fly from the earbuds, and there is no accompanying app at the current time. As an aside, the “eSport” preset is awful, so give that a miss.
Earbud Repairability
As you’ll find with most earbuds, repairability is likely to be low, with only certain features able to be repaired or replaced.
On the other hand, the charging carry case is solid and will keep the earbuds protect from drop damage, and the earbuds carry an IPX5 rating, which will protect against sweat and light rain. Those are two of the primary ways you can damage your hardware at least partially mitigated against.
Furthermore, don’t forget these gaming earbuds are new to the market at the time of review. While there are no repair guides currently available, given time, repair guides will be written. Earbuds aren’t impossible to mend, but they are tricky.
The GTW 270 earbuds come with a two-year warranty in the event something breaks in that period.
Should You Buy the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid Gaming Earbuds?
The big question: are the earbuds worth your hard-earned dollars?
EPOS is entering a very busy marketplace. The temptation to focus on these earbuds as purely gaming hardware is unfounded, despite what EPOS wants you to think. They sound brilliant when pitted against a wide range of music types, as well as films and podcasts.
Also, they’re comfy, as EPOS has taken over 800,000 ear scans from its parent company, Demant, and crafted them to relieve pressure on the “non-flexible parts of the ear.” Throughout this review, I’ve clocked tens of hours of usage without feeling any ear fatigue, and I have relatively small ears.
However, I can understand why EPOS is launching these with gamers in mind. At this price point, the earbud market has some strong competitors, not least the popular Jabra Elite 75t and Elite 85t, and the well-reviewed Sony WF-1000XM3 earbuds. Launching them as a unique tool for gamers might well give it the edge.
Currently, the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid earbuds retail for $200. They sound exceptional, look good, allow instant connection with your PC and Nintendo Switch. The aptX low latency audio is crisp and clear, and the Bluetooth audio is almost the same, if suffering slightly from Bluetooth’s well-known time-delay.
It’s a yes from me for the overall audio package EPOS has delivered, rather than as a specific bit of gaming audio hardware. With a few more tweaks to the overall package—think: better microphones, customizable EQ via an app, adjustments to the aptX multiplayer team-speak issue, perhaps Sidetone—EPOS could be onto a real winner.