EPOS GTW 270 - Quality Gaming In A Small Form Factor
There are no shortage of gaming headsets on the market. From the cheap and cheery to the over-the-top expensive. Chances are there is a headset that suits your needs and budget. But they all share one thing in common, they are bloody big. So big, in fact, that they are generally a royal pain in the backside for work commutes and travelling. Enter the EPOS GTW 270, which takes the idea behind gaming headsets and shrinks it to earbud size. But did the shrinking process damage the quality? Well, that is what we are here to find out.
So what exactly is the EPOS GTW 270? Well at first glance it looks like any one of a number of Bluetooth earpods on the market. A small case that acts as a charger, 2 ear pieces, USB c connection into the case. All stuff we have seen before. What is new is the addition of a USB c dongle. This little beauty means that the GTW 270 can go from a standard Bluetooth sound device into a low-latency gaming set simply by plugging it in. It supports PC, PS4/5 and even the Nintendo Switch and is instantly recognised by all systems (even Windows, as long as Windows doesn’t try to do weird things with your sound devices as it does to me) and offers everything that a normal gaming headset does, just in earpod form.
Competing with a full headset is a lot to ask from an earpod system, but the GTW 270 holds up surprisingly well. For starters the sound quality is top-notch. It obviously doesn’t offer all 7.1 bells that expensive headsets offer, but it does deliver crisp, deep and clear stereo sound that is perfect for both gaming on the go and music. I used a range of different games, from Assassin’s Creed and Mario Odyssey on the Switch to Forza Horizon 5 and Wasteland 3 on the PC and the headset performed admirably at all times. No distortion at high volumes, clean sound delivery and a nice deep bass range to back it all up.
But it isn’t just gaming that the GTW 270 is good for. Honestly, it is the perfect travelling all-rounder. I have been using them for about four weeks now every day while walking and they deliver just as well with podcasts and music as they do with gaming. Conveniently I had a new Slipknot album to test them with and not even the Iowa 9 could break these bad boys. As for podcasts, voices are easy to hear and there is no distortion or crackling.
On the microphone side of things, everything works perfectly well. You would never use the GTW 270 to record a podcast, that just isn’t what they are designed for, but for team chat and phone calls they are bang on. I have been using them for work phone calls and gaming during my review period and have had no issues with people on the other end not hearing me loud and clear and honestly what more could you ask for in a set of pods like this? It is also worth mentioning the battery life is pretty much exactly what is advertised on the box. You get just on five hours from the earpods with 20 odd extra in the charging case. Not the best in class, but certainly more than enough for most people’s needs.
So who are these beauties designed for? Well in my mind they are designed for the travelling gamer, the person heading from one point of call to the next, wanting to only bring one listening device on the road. For this person the GTW 270 is nigh on perfect, meeting all their needs in one handy little box. For those of us that are more stationary in our gaming habits, they don’t stack up to a good quality traditional headset. For starters, you can’t get 7.1 sound, the comfort level is just not the same and while the GTW 270 does a good job of blocking out a lot of noise (I used them on the PAX AUS showroom floor without hassle) they don’t have the black magic that is active noise cancelling. That said, they are also 1/2 the price of headsets that include all the bells and whistles.
Knowing all this, the GTW 270 is perhaps a bit of a niche product, but it fills that niche wonderfully well. It offers all the needs (as opposed to the luxuries) of a gaming headset, is practical, high quality in both sound delivery and build and doubles up as a great set of traditional earpods to boot. EPOS have done a wonderful job here and there are sure to be many out there that fall in love with the GTW 270 as a result.
Specifications
Technical Data
- Charge time – 1 hours 30 minutes
- Operating Temperature Range – 0°C – 40°C
- Storage Temperature Range -20°C – 70°C
- Range (line of sight) – 15 m.
- Range (office use) – 15 m.
Features
- Multimedia & Music Listening – Yes
- Voice Prompts – Yes
General Data
- Wearing Style – InEar
- Color – Black, Silver, Grey
- Ear coupling – In-Ear
- Transducer principle – Dynamic closed
- Compatibility – Mobile phone, PC / Soft phone, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Tablet, PS5
- Total harmonic distortion – 2%
- Connector plugs – 4
Packaging
- Accessories included – Earbuds, ChargingCable, ChargingCase
- Package weight (incl. Complete product and packaging) – 384 gr.
- Dimensions of product packaging (L x W x H) – 180 mm. x 60 mm. x 120 mm.
- Dimensions of master carton (L x W x H) – 318 mm. x 206 mm. x 255 mm.
- Units in distributor master carton – 10
- Product Dimensions – 24 mm. + 23 mm. + 24 mm.
- Product height – 24 mm.
- Warranty – 2 years
