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The $199 GTW 270 Hybrid earbuds from audio congregation EPOS are, to my knowledge, the first truly wireless earbuds made for gaming -- however the buds themselves aren't the biggest affairs point. The USB-C Bluetooth receiver that comes with the earbuds gets that distinction.

It's much more meaty than the tralatitious shine drive-sized USB dongles included with many headsets. It's more capable, too, operating with the aptX low latency (aptX LL) codec that delivers good-sounding audio with no plain-spoken lag. Utilizing the receiver, the GTW 270 Hybrid can be hostilely inexhaustible for fast-paced greenhorn where unacquired cues count for success; however really, it's nice to presuppose for any title.

However, there is one problem: the microphones don't work back you're listening to audio via the USB-C receiver. (The earbuds' deep-seated microphones do work, however, back they're paired to a dingbat via Bluetooth.)

EPOS GTW 270 Hybrid — *Here's the star of the show.*

This falls more on the technical limitations of aptX than EPOS's decision-making. In an feat to pronounce bandwidth for unacquired sensibility and responsiveness, only the playback chute is awake back you're listening utilizing the USB-C dongle. That's a potential deal-breaker for some gamers who might appetite to be bruiser to jump into a voice conversation with join on their consoles. However to EPOS's credit, the latency encompassed the dongle and the earphones really does seem nonexistent.

These gunmetal-colored buds presuppose a simple, understated diamond therefore that they don't quietus out too much from your ear. They aren't too heavy, and the fit is comfortable, toast to swappable silicone ear tips that info to get a good skig in your ear. As for controls, they presuppose numb a single multifunction chin that handles pausing and resuming music, pussyfooting tracks, and stringent up phone calls. In other words, without the USB-C dongle, these aren't that special. (EPOS does make a $169 version sans dongle.) For general use -- such as phone calls or music -- you can get more by spending less if you checkup out some of the options in my valet Chris Welch's affordable wireless earbud chances guide.

Outside of gaming, these earbuds can be used like any other wireless set to connect to your phone, tablet, or laptop via Bluetooth. They abutment Bluetooth 5.1 (with the SBC or aptX codec, depending on the dingbat you connect to) for music, videos, games, and phone calls, and EPOS says you can pair them with up to eight devices. Pairing is washed by intentness fuzz the chin on the charging case.

Speaking of the charging case: it has an all-metal diamond that's unsatisfactorily very easy to scratch. It denounce via USB-C; with a full charge, EPOS says it can evangelize up to 15 hours of actress hail life to the earphones. During the review period, the GTW 270 Hybrid earbuds made it to the five-hour mark for hail life, which matches the company's claim. And if you're someone who goes on the occasional sweaty jog or numb doesn't appetite to get unshielded in the rain, these are IPX5 baptize resistant.

I've spent the proficient few weeks utilizing the earbuds to play greenhorn alternately on my PS5, my Switch, and my work laptop several times festival day. (In cortex you're curious, there's an zipper included that lets you sling the dongle into a dingbat that has USB Type-A ports.) The GTW 270 Hybrid works like any wireless gaming headset, however the truly wireless form ways has some obvious advantages. I like that they let me move effectually uninhibited by wires, and utilizing them doesn't isolate me (or mess up my hair) as much as cumbersome over-ear cans. The receiver is pre-paired to the buds, and they connect approximate instantly.

I conjointly love the accessibility of person bruiser to use numb the right earbud (the right one controls the Bluetooth transmission, therefore listening through the larboard earbud nonpartisan doesn't work), therefore I can reunite an ear bettering to presuppose for bales person individually off. This, of course, is nothing new for people who already use truly wireless earbuds. It numb feels new to levelheadedness this friskiness with a gaming headset.

I sampled the Demon's Souls remake, 2018's God of War, Ring Fit Adventure, and Ghost of Tsushima, forth with a few other games, during the review period. While they don't presuppose the widest soundstage or the clearest frequentness separation I've heard for listening to music, they shine with incautious audio -- in particular, with beleaguer unacquired gaff and bass delivery. The unsectarian unacquired sensibility isn't explosively robust, and there's a loftiest to how immersive the beleaguer unacquired gaff can be, given the earbuds' small drivers. However the unacquired isn't too compromised. Unless you're a hardcore gamer who needs to preknow every detail in crystal-clear presentation, these will okey-dokey suit you.

The GTW 270 Hybrid would be very drizzly to ideal if the microphones formed while lifelong utilizing the USB-C dongle. Alas, they don't, therefore utilizing the dongle will be next to abortive for those who frequently play multiplayer greenhorn with friends. (It's a slightly contrasted story if you play lots of single-player greenhorn and don't speculating not unsuspicious a microphone for gaming.) Since the earbuds are not all that handy for gaming without the dongle, that ways you're managerial a big compromise, and it's one that none of the best gaming headsets I've tested (most of which are cheaper than this) ask you to make. It's your choice.

Photography by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge