GTW 270 Hybrid is a Superb Sounding Earbud
Over a year and a half ago, I told you about EPOS’ GTW 270 Hybrid. At the time, I was impressed with the sound, I loved the metallic case used for charging and pairing, and they were surprisingly comfortable. For gaming on the go, they are absolutely wonderful. Not to mention, the earbuds are water and sweat-resistant, which is perfect for a sweaty dude like me.
All that being said, I had gripes. I found them a tad pricey, and at the time they lacked an adequate mic for console and PC gaming. Fortunately, EPOS has since rectified two of my main beefs. I am happy to report the GTW 270 Hybrid just got better.
Recently EPOS relaunched its gaming high-end earbud. It’s the same earbuds except for this time, the microphone is usable while connected to the low-latency USB-C dongle and they received a significant price cut. GTW 270 now costs $150. Previously they were $200. With this price cut combined with the added flexibility that the mic now offers, the GTW 270 are certainly a much more attractive option than they were a year ago.
If you already own a pair, no need to worry, EPOS has you covered. All you need to do is update the firmware using the EPOS software and just like that your mic is now functional while connected to the dongle.
No, you don’t get $50 bucks back…
The target audience for the GTW 270 Hybrid continues to be mobile gamers. If you’re looking to take your Nintendo Switch on the go, they are perfect. Likewise, I love them for mobile gaming. They hook up to my phone with no issues at all and like I mentioned in the review, they sound great for gaming, listening to music, or streaming your favorite show.
I used them with my PS5 during the review period and they mostly work as advertised, but they won’t overtake my Astro A50’s anytime soon. That being said, if you are in the market for a new headset and you don’t want to break the bank, the GTW 270 is an ideal and less intrusive option.
The mic is not compatible with the Xbox Series X, so I was only able to test the updated mic on my PS5. Simply put, it works but it certainly isn’t the best mic I have used. I did experience some distortion and crackling noises on start-up. At first, I thought I did something wrong. Yet after a minute or so, that annoying static noise started to disappear.
I could also hear a lot of background noise when the mic wasn’t muted. I could hear noise in the other room loud and clear. There is no volume control or mute button on the earbuds, so everything needs to be adjusted within the PlayStation audio settings. It is kind of a pain. It’s not a deal breaker but more of a hassle than anything. It took some tinkering with the audio settings but eventually, I got everything up and running as it should.
Overall, players could hear my voice clearly and likewise, I could hear other players with no issues at all. They do certainly sound great, which I already touched on in my review. For 150 bucks, these aren’t a bad set of earbuds at all and you do get superb sound. But if you are looking to play online and chat with your friends, I would look for headphones that have a more reliable sounding mic. For gaming on the go; however, the GTW 270 Hybrid is super solid.
***GTW 270 Hybrid was provided to COG for the purpose of this review***