The GTS 270 Hybrid buds ship with a USB-C dongle that provides low-latency performance when gaming and Bluetooth 5.1 for when you’re not.
Gaming headsets and wireless earbuds are two of the biggest audio products right now, but what happens when you combine them? EPOS had the same thought, apparently, and got to work on its latest creation, the EPOS GTS 270 Hybrid, a pair of wireless earbuds tailored to gaming. With the compact, comfortable nature of wireless earbuds, it’s a smart move – but has EPOS managed to pull it off? I’ve been using the EPOS GTS 270 Hybrid wireless earbuds for gaming, music, exercise and just about everything else for the past week, and here’s what I think. Wireless earbuds are the in-thing right now, with options available in a variety of shapes and sizes to suit a variety of needs, ranging from the all-ear design of RHA’s TrueControl ANC to the bean-shaped Samsung Galaxy Buds Live. Of course, ears are much like fingerprints in that they’re fairly unique, so it’s tough to find a fit that works well for everybody. EPOS got around this issue by using a database of over 800,000 ear scans and AI tech to develop an ergonomic shape that helps reduce the pressure on certain parts of your ear while maintaining a decent seal. That all sounds very technical, but the end result is a wireless earbud that’s compact, fits snuggly in the ear and stays in place no matter what you’re doing. Despite no dedicated wingtips, I’ve used the buds to go running and not felt the need to re-adjust mid-run like with many earbuds. They’re IPX5-rated too, so you shouldn’t worry about sweat or even rain damaging the buds when you’re hitting the pavement. Crucially, the earbuds are incredibly comfortable to wear over longer periods of time, which is great not only for exercise and using the buds to listen to a podcast while working, but ideal for longer gaming sessions too. You don’t get the ‘plugged’ feeling all too prevalent with wireless earbuds either – a welcome change in my books. You’ll get three sets of eartips in the box to provide the ideal fit. The idea of trying on all three sets may seem like a chore, but it’s worth it – as well as improved comfort and better-sounding bass performance, a better seal offers greater noise isolation, quietening the world around you when you want to focus on gaming, music, podcasts or whatever else you want to listen to. When the earbuds aren’t in use, they’re stored in a gunmetal silver charging case compact enough to fit into your pocket or rucksack. The EPOS GTS 270 Hybrid are designed to be used for gaming, whether on a PC, console or even a smartphone, but as we all know, there are latency issues when relying on Bluetooth – even with the GTS 270’s built-in Bluetooth 5.1 support. It’s fine for listening to music on your phone, but gamers need something more responsive. That’s why EPOS decided to bundle the Hybrid model of the GTS 270 with a dedicated USB-C dongle that provides AptX low-latency wireless audio performance across PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and any Android smartphone with a USB-C port.
