Design and features:These headphones can be used wirelessly with Bluetooth devices or can be cord connected. When cord connected they have medium-high sensitivity so they can provide satisfying volume levels when used with home audio equipment and even lower-powered portable audio devices. The GW100 has an integrated microphone and volume, music player function, and call connect/disconnect controls for use with paired Bluetooth devices. Additional features include support for digital voice assistants (types unspecified) when Bluetooth paired to devices that have those features, and earcups that swivel for ease of carrying and storage. This model comes with a detachable 45-inch long standard audio cable and a USB charging cable.
Sound quality: We found the GW100 delivers sound quality that falls in the Very Good range - it reproduces music and voice very well although it does have some noticeable sonic quirks. The overall sound can best be summarized as open, but somewhat bassy and grainy. In Bluetooth mode the bass (as in bass drums, bass guitars, stand-up bass, etc.) has good impact and goes fairly deep, but is somewhat prominent and boomy. The midrange (voices, guitars, horns, etc.) is even, but somewhat grainy, slightly congested (think sonic traffic jam) and dark (there is an opaqueness that covers up fine detail), and the bass somewhat crowds the lower midrange. The treble (cymbals, the upper range of violins, etc.) is extended, but a bit prominent and smeared (sounds that should have a delicate shimmer sound blurred). This model does a decent job of recovering the room ambience of a recording (the sense of the acoustic space in which the audio program that's being listened to was recorded). The sound also has a good sense of liveliness and is open--sound-wise it seems like you don't have anything covering your ears. When cord connected the overall score is roughly the same, but the sound is a bit different - it's less bassy, the midrange and treble are more even, and the sound is not dark.
Comfort: We found that these headphones produce a sense of moderate pressure on the ears. As typical of on-ear models the ear pads might feel hot after prolonged use. Users with smaller heads may find that when they lean far forward the headphones feel unstable and shift forward, possibly to the point of falling off. When the audio cord is used the sound of it rubbing on clothing may be faintly heard through the earphones.
