EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid Closed Acoustic Wireless Earbuds Review – As someone with several earrings, over-ear headphones soon begin to bug me the more I use them. This unfortunately includes the official PS5 Pulse Headset. Enter the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid Closed Acoustic Wireless Earbuds, which, while boasting a higher price tag than the Pulse Headset and a few shortcomings, still make a good case as a headset alternative.
EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid Closed Acoustic Wireless Earbuds Review – Decent In-Ear Alternative to the Pulse Headset With A Larger Price Tag
Much like all earbuds, the space it occupies is small, ranging in at just under one inch for each dimension (0.94 in. + 0.91 in. + 0.93 in., specifically). The body of the earbud feels substantial relative to the space in your ear, filling up the inner space rather nicely.
The earbud fits in enough to not warrant constant adjustment to keep it in place but not enough to feel a constant pressure on your ear. In fact, I regularly forget that they take up space in my ears. A lot of the time, I get surprised when the low battery jingle goes off, reminding me that they’re there.
What the GTW includes in-box goes above and beyond, ensuring that you will always be able to keep these earbuds charged. Alongside a standard USB-C charger, the GTW also includes an adapter cable. The cable allows you to connect your USB-C dongle into a standard USB.
The dongle connects to absolutely everything right away. The support stretches across the board from consoles to PC and mobile devices (even Nintendo Switch, if you’re so inclined). Ease of access plays a key role in how well this product feels to use.
Naturally, the GTW box also encloses three additional sizes of ear tips to help fit into different ears. These help make this headset more accessible to a nice spread of ear sizes.
When it comes to battery life, the GTW 270 earbuds last about four hours of constant use, which includes both incoming and outgoing sound. These also come with a charge case.
The headphones take about 45 minutes or so to recharge completely, and the charge case takes about an hour and a half to fully charge. The charge case can fully charge the earbuds five times before the case needs recharging.
Clear But Far From Bombastic
As opposed to other models of this headset, the GTW 270 allows for the use of its microphone when utilizing the dongle to connect to devices. When compared to the Pulse headset, your voice sounds a little more crisp and clear, but it also sounds a little like you’re on speakerphone.
I kind of like how the voice sounds coming from this microphone, but my friends stand about 50-50 between liking how I sound through the GTW or how I sound on the Pulse headset.
Audio quality feels much more casual with these earbuds. Sounds come through clearly and vividly, but the volume only goes up so far. From what I figure, its volume only reaches about half of what the Pulse does.
One minor oddity keeps coming up: broken audio when connecting the earbuds. Once the device says “dongle connected,” about six seconds go by where all sound comes in choppy. After that initial period, the connection stays clear and constant.
While not all that uncommon, the GTW only includes one button on the right earbud. With different button combinations, it allows you to play and pause audio or calls, skip forward or backward in a tracklist, or mute yourself. All other setting changes come through the devices they connect to.
The GTW attempts to create a 3D audio effect when gaming. While not as specific as the Pulse Headset, the effect works rather well in a semi-casual environment. I know where I need to aim when I spin around. In most circumstances, that’s all you need.
Staying Connected
The range of these earbuds impresses me. Many other third party brand headsets tend to lose signal in my house after maybe 20 feet with a wall between the headset and my PlayStation. These earbuds keep connection as far as the Pulse Headset does.
The website indicates that these earbuds offer a connection range of 49 feet. My house only gets to that distance from my PlayStation when I get to the attic. Still, I hit my biggest connectivity issue when I go into my kitchen, which is about 25 feet away. At that point, the connection needs to pass across 25 feet, through essentially three walls, and then through a fridge.
If I stand at the proper angle, I still stay connected. This may not be fantastic for some to read, but it manages to keep a connection a few feet further into my kitchen than the Pulse Headset does. Combine that with my ears not hurting after using them, and they easily take the spot of my primary headset.
Channeling Signal to One Side
One aspect of these earbuds that I desperately wish were different is how they handle connecting to the device and how the two buds communicate with each other. The right earbud maintains the complete connection and then sends a signal to the left bud to fulfill its role.
I tend to watch or listen to other stuff while I play games (Trophy hunting gets tedious). Since these earbuds do not let in much outside sound, I use just one. If the right one dies, then you’re stuck waiting for it to charge. I can’t rotate them out like with other earbuds.
Ultimately, the left bud is rendered useless if the right one runs out of charge. Considering the premium build and feel of both the charge case and the buds themselves, this feels like a shortcut that cuts too much off.
The strength of this product comes with how well these two earbuds connect with each other. Whether you have a large head or a small head, these earbuds will still communicate the way they should. The communication distance between them is around two feet when spread away from each other in a straight line.
Once the earbuds move away from each other on any other axis, then the left earbud ceases communication.
A Couple Choices Short of A Premium Product
The EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid Closed Acoustic Wireless Earbuds offer up a fine performance for a multipurpose in-ear headset. A few things keep it from being a game-changer. Managing the signal for both buds through only the right bud leaves less flexibility, considering the $150.00 price tag on this set. Combine that with sound quality that, while crisp and clear, isn’t bombastic or earthshattering, this product isn’t what everyone may want in a headset.
On a personal note, these earbuds are now my primary headset for everything, whether I go on my phone, PS5, or PC. They do almost everything I want, and they don’t hurt my ears while doing so.