EPOS is highest identified for its gaming headsets, and it tries to hold that enchantment over to its first pair of true wi-fi earbuds, the GTW 270 Hybrid. Those $199 earphones are ostensibly designed for gaming, and come with a USB-C adapter so you’ll use them together with your Nintendo Transfer, PlayStation 4, and different different USB units. They aren’t designed for voice chat, even though, in order that they fall brief at the gaming finish of the spectrum. As earphones that concentrate on the listening revel in, even though, they provide just right sound high quality and a fashionable, at ease design.
Design
Contents
The GTW 270 earpieces are graceful, with rounded black our bodies that have compatibility snugly on your ear with out fins or different stabilizers (particularly if you select the correct measurement eartip from the 4 integrated pairs). The again panel of every earpiece is a flat, metal grey floor bearing the EPOS emblem. The splash of grey provides some character with out making them glance excessive or in particular orientated towards gaming. The earpieces are rated IPX5 for water resistance, that means they must cling as much as rain and sweat, however you shouldn’t submerge them.
A tiny button sits close to the highest of the left earpiece, going through ahead. This serves as the only bodily keep watch over. One press performs or pauses song, or accepts calls. Two presses skips ahead a monitor. 3 presses reverses a monitor. Urgent and conserving it brings up your telephone’s voice assistant. There are not any quantity controls.
The number of one of these small button is a wonder, particularly when there’s such a lot actual property at the again of every earpiece to function a touch-sensitive panel. The button is usually a little arduous to find while you get started the use of the earphones, and a 2d button at the proper earpiece could be a great addition for quantity keep watch over on the very least.
The integrated charging case feels relatively great, because of its aluminum construct. It’s a bit of flip-top oblong field with a suite of 5 energy LEDs at the entrance, at the side of a standing/pairing button underneath. A USB-C port for charging sits at the again. Just like the earphones themselves, the case seems fashionable, and doesn’t exude any explicit gamer power.
With the exception of the case, you get a USB-C adapter that streams aptX Bluetooth audio to the earphones. It’s a small, oblong black dongle with a USB-C plug going through sideways on one finish, giving it an L form. It comes with a silicone sleeve with a string loop so you’ll stay it dangling like a telephone appeal. Most current telephones, at the side of the Nintendo Transfer and Transfer Lite, lack any hollow for charms or lanyards, so you could have to get inventive to find a place to retailer it, as there isn’t any hook at the charging case.
In keeping with EPOS, the earphones can last as long as 5 hours on a rate, and the case supplies an extra 20 hours of listening time. That is in step with different true wi-fi earphones, however just a little at the low aspect.
Connection Choices
The earphones can paintings at once with any telephone, pill, or pc that helps Bluetooth. The USB-C dongle expands that enhance to the Nintendo Transfer and Transfer Lite, and provides high quality aptX audio streaming to any Android telephone that doesn’t recently enhance it. It additionally works with the PlayStation 4 and PCs, and features a male-USB-A-to-female-USB-C extension cable so you’ll use a typical USB-A port with the dongle on the ones methods (that is along with the male-USB-A-to-male-USB-C cable integrated for charging the case). Whilst now not formally supported, I effectively examined the dongle with a PlayStation 5 and it labored with none issues.
Whilst the earphones can hook up with a paired Bluetooth tool or to the dongle, they may be able to’t hook up with each directly. This can be a neglected alternative, as a result of with the ability to take calls or concentrate to song whilst additionally taking note of audio in your Transfer would were an excessively helpful characteristic.
Whilst there is a integrated microphone for making calls, it isn’t supposed to be used in aggressive gaming. As in, the microphone does not paintings in any respect when used with the USB-C dongle for aptX streaming. Over a Bluetooth connection to a telephone, the microphone sounds moderately transparent, however it nonetheless has that far-off, speaking-into-a-bucket sound many true wi-fi earphones have.
Audio Efficiency
The earphones can take care of bass capably, even though they received’t rattle your head. The bass synth notes and drum hits in our bass take a look at monitor, The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” get cast low-frequency reaction, and don’t distort even at most quantity ranges. It’s a cast thump that isn’t thunderous, however sounds tough for true wi-fi earphones.
How We Check Headphones
The outlet acoustic guitar plucks in Sure’ “Roundabout” get quite a lot of resonance to sound complete and rounded, at the side of sufficient high-frequency finesse to carry out just a little of crisp string texture. When the monitor correctly kicks in, the bassline settles just a little within the background, whilst the vocals get many of the consideration. The bass isn’t misplaced within the combine, even though, and the guitar strums and drums all to find sufficient presence to make the monitor sound balanced.
The Crystal Manner’s “Born Too Gradual” sounds superb during the GTW 270 because of robust bass and high-mid frequency reaction. The screaming vocals and guitar riffs sit down squarely within the middle of the combo, whilst the backbeat receives sufficient low-end presence to pressure the monitor. As soon as once more it is a complete, balanced sound that gives a just right quantity of thump, whilst lending sufficient crispness to make the higher-frequency tools simply discernible within the combine.
The USB dongle labored neatly with the Nintendo Transfer and Transfer Lite in checking out. I plugged it into every gadget and put within the earphones, and the 2 hooked up inside of seconds. The Monster Hunter: Upward thrust demo used to be superb during the GTW 270, with the sounds of nature lilting thru with quite a lot of element. Whilst the earphones themselves don’t have any simulated encompass, the sport’s stereo supplied a just right sense of area and directionality.
Expensive, Top rate Earphones for Nintendo Transfer Enthusiasts
The EPOS GTW 270 earphones set themselves except the gang with a USB-C adapter so you’ll use them together with your Transfer and a few different platforms with out Bluetooth. The gaming sides really feel secondary, even though, from an adapter that may’t safely tuck into the charging case, not to with the ability to use the microphone when taking part in. Principally, this isn’t actually a gaming headset, however a cast pair of wire-free earphones you’ll use with a couple of additional units. If that isn’t a large promoting level for you, you’ll recuperate sound high quality and battery lifestyles for the same value with the Jabra Elite Lively 75t or the Harman Kardon Fly TWS.
Professionals
The Backside Line
The actual wi-fi EPOS GTW 270 earphones include a dongle for streaming audio out of your Nintendo Transfer. They sound, really feel, and glance just right, however they are now not designed for voice chat.
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