The EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid gaming headphones have a very special skill set. Skills EPOS has acquired over a very long career. Skills that make the 270 hybrids a nightmare for rivals like Sennheiser. They will find you and they will kill you.
Scratch that off. They won’t kill you. And while they are magnificent in the display of their particular skills, those skills are arguably a little too particular, too narrow in scope, to make the 270 Hybrids a true nightmarish competitor.
EPOS created the GTW 270 Hybrid Gaming Headphones to cater for a specific – but important – cohort of gamers: those of us who want to use Bluetooth audio devices with our Nintendo Switches and PS5 without resorting to tedious workarounds.
They fill that niche perfectly. Getting your 270 Hybrids up and running is really as easy as plugging in a deliciously disposable little USB-C dongle, and it works with any USB-C port, meaning you can listen to music on your laptop as well, make video calls, etc. sure.
And while you’re probably used to pairing your handset with Bluetooth headphones, you’ll still experience reduced latency if you’re listening through the dongle, which has its advantages in games and calls.
Before we get into the uses and limitations of the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrids, let’s take a moment to admire the form factor and build quality.
Equipment
The EPOS GTW 270 hybrids cost around £ 180 new. That’s a lot of money for a pair of headphones. The good news is, they look the part.
The headphones themselves are bulky but light enough to be comfortable and secure in your ear. Unlike Apple’s Earpods and countless headphones that mimic their basic design, the 270 Hybrids sit in the bowl of your ear (the conch, anatomically speaking), with no downward pointing rod.
Every ear is different, but we found the 270 Hybrids to be perfectly comfortable and secure. They are also practically invisible from the front.
The charging case you store them in is incredibly stylish. It’s finished in a reassuring matte charcoal, like a gadget from a James Bond movie. The same goes for the headphones themselves, although the outer surface is a dull steel, engraved with the elegantly simple logo of the company.
From a form factor perspective, the 270 hybrids are pure class.
Ring
In terms of sound, the EPOS GTW 270 Hybrids are very respectable, with good separation and a good soundstage. They’re balanced rather than bassy, which isn’t necessarily the popular choice for music, but ideal for games.
What matters when playing Fortnite is clarity, and the 270 Hybrids have it in abundance thanks not only to the precision of the sound profile, but the low latency dongle as well. Dual pickups also provide clear sound on your end, but not in a gaming context, which we’ll explain in the next section.
While the 270 hybrids don’t ship with the ANC, they’re good enough at passive noise cancellation because you’ve stuck them straight into your ears, making it difficult for any other noise to enter. That said, if you’re specifically in the market for headphones that will neutralize ambient sounds, you might want to look elsewhere.
Functionality
As for the battery, EPOS says the 270 hybrids can handle a five-hour charge, with an additional 15 hours from the case. We found it to be correct. In fact, we haven’t needed to charge the case since receiving the headphones a week ago, so the battery performance looks robust.
To check the battery level of the case, all you need to do is press a small button on the front to light up a number of blue LEDs corresponding to the remaining charge.
We won’t bore you with the details of the Bluetooth pairing procedure except to say that there are two: one for pairing the headphones with your phone or other Bluetooth device, and another for pairing them with the dongle. The dongle is pre-paired, however, so you may never have to consult the instructions.
One detail that we particularly like about the 270 hybrids is the presence of a physical button for the controls on the device. In our experience, gesture controls are tedious and maddening, so it’s great that EPOS has chosen to avoid them.
The autoplay feature also works well, with a few quirks. When you have both headphones, the music is played. When you remove the one on the left, the music continues on the right. When you remove the right one, the music stops in the left one until you put it back – but the track continues to play through the right earbud, that is, the one you hold in your right hand, miles from your ear, so if you don’t want to miss any of your podcast or song, you have to manually pause it.
Conclusion
As we said before, the EPOS GTX 270 hybrids are very good at what they do. The dongle works seamlessly, right out of the box, and if all you want as a gamer is to be able to play your Switch or PS5 with headphones, this is a simple slam dunk. .
But if you want to be able to hear AND speak through the 270 hybrids while playing games, you’re out of luck. While dual microphones allow you to conduct full conversations in Bluetooth mode, audio is strictly one-way in dongle mode.
This means that the 270 hybrids are not a substitute for a proper gaming headset. They’re meant for specific situations where you’re gaming on your Switch or your PS5, and you don’t want to disturb others, and you don’t want the inconvenience of cables.
At around £ 180, that’s an expensive proposition for such a small set of uses. And while they’re good for music, delivering balanced and precise sound, there are better and more sonically exciting options available at a lower price point.
That said, we are not aware of any other headphones that feature the particular skills of the EPOS GTX 270 Hybrid.
If you are looking for a high quality, stylish and fully functional gadget to turn your Switch or PS5 into a device that supports Bluetooth audio, and you don’t mind paying a premium for the privilege, you can hit the button. trigger without fear of disappointment.