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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-10-02 · 8 min read · Independent comparison
• August EP650 — biggest strength: it's a complete over-ear headphone with 50mm dynamic drivers, aptX Low Latency, multipoint pairing, NFC-style quick connection, a wired 3.5mm option and an EQ app. It works out of the box with phones, laptops, tablets and consoles.
• August EP650 — biggest trade-off: 15 hours of battery life per charge (2-hour charge time) and a 10-metre Bluetooth range. That's a normal headphone figure, not a marathon one, and it's a headphone — not a TV transmitter.
• Avantree Oasis Plus 2 — biggest strength: aptX Adaptive support, HDMI ARC passthrough, optical/RCA extraction, up to 164ft / 50m range, and a 6dB optical volume boost. It feeds headphones and a soundbar at the same time when Bypass is on.
• Avantree Oasis Plus 2 — biggest trade-off: it makes no sound on its own. You need a TV with the right ports (HDMI ARC, Optical TOSLINK or RCA) and you need your own Bluetooth headphones or speaker to hear anything.
• Who each is for: August EP650 → someone who needs one pair of headphones for commuting, calls and late-night gaming. Avantree Oasis Plus 2 → someone whose TV audio won't reach their headphones, hearing aids or soundbar.
The EP650 is a self-contained wireless headphone. Its 50mm dynamic drivers, 60Hz–20KHz frequency range and 50-ohm impedance point to a warm, bass-forward tuning — the kind of sound that flatters movies, games and pop rather than analytical listening. The earcups are over-ear with rounded shape and soft padding, and the whole thing weighs 235g, which is light enough that the "all-day wear" claim isn't pure marketing. The frame is ABS, metal, PU and sponge, so it's built to survive a backpack more than a studio shelf.
What makes it genuinely useful is the feature stack, not the sound signature. aptX Low Latency keeps audio and video in sync when you're watching TV, YouTube or gaming on a compatible transmitter or phone — that lip-sync problem where dialogue arrives half a beat late simply doesn't happen. Multipoint pairing lets it hold two devices at once, so you can be listening to your laptop and still take a call on your phone; the music pauses and resumes when the call ends. There's a 3.5mm jack for wired listening when the battery is flat, an inline remote for volume/track/call control, and a free August Audio EQ app (Android and iOS) if the default tuning isn't to your taste.
Buy it if you want one pair of headphones that covers commuting, office calls over Skype or VOIP, handheld gaming (Xbox and Switch work; PS4 doesn't), and wired backup when the battery dies. Skip it if your real problem is a TV that has no headphone jack and no way to send sound to your existing cans — the EP650 is the thing at the end of the chain, not the adapter in the middle of it.
The Oasis Plus 2 is a different animal entirely. It's an HDMI ARC audio extractor and a Bluetooth 5.3 transmitter in one box, bundled with the HAX06. Its job is to take audio out of a TV and put it somewhere else — into wired Optical or RCA, or out over Bluetooth to headphones, earbuds or a speaker. If your TV only has HDMI and you've been staring at the back of it wondering where the sound is supposed to come from, this is the device that answers that question.
The headline spec is aptX Adaptive support. When it's paired with headphones that also handle aptX Adaptive, you get high-quality audio with the codec adjusting to conditions, and Avantree rates the wireless range at up to 164ft / 50m — far beyond the 10m you'd get from a typical headphone-to-phone link. That range matters if you like to move around the house while the TV stays put, or if you're hard of hearing and want the volume under your own control from the sofa.
Two practical details stand out. First, Bypass: with it ON, HDMI ARC and the Optical/RCA outputs run simultaneously, so a soundbar and a pair of headphones can both be fed at once — useful in a household where one person wants the room audio and another wants private listening. With Bypass OFF, HDMI is muted and only Optical/RCA stays live. Second, the volume boost: optical connections are notorious for arriving quietly with no way to turn them up, and this unit raises optical volume by up to 6dB to compensate.
Buy it if you have a TV with HDMI ARC, Optical TOSLINK or RCA outputs and want to stream that audio to your own Bluetooth headphones, hearing aids or soundbar — especially if the TV has no headphone jack at all. Skip it if you don't have a compatible TV port, or if you were hoping this was a pair of headphones. It isn't. It also needs both the transmitter and your Bluetooth device in pairing mode for that first connection, and Avantree explicitly asks you to check your TV's ports before buying.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for private TV listening without buying new headphones → Avantree Oasis Plus 2. It sends your TV's audio to the Bluetooth headphones you already own.
• Best for HDMI-only TVs → Avantree Oasis Plus 2. Extracting HDMI ARC to Optical or RCA is the entire point of the box.
• Best for long wireless range → Avantree Oasis Plus 2. Up to 164ft / 50m versus the EP650's 10m.
• Best for battery life and portability → August EP650. 15 hours per charge, 2-hour charge time, 235g, folds into a bag.
• Best for calls and multipoint → August EP650. Built-in microphone, on-ear controls, two devices paired at once, VOIP-friendly.
• Best for wired fallback → August EP650. A 3.5mm jack means it still works when the battery is empty.
• Best for tuning the sound to your taste → August EP650. The August Audio EQ app adjusts bass, mids and treble.
• Best for low-latency gaming on a phone or laptop → August EP650. aptX Low Latency is built into the headphone itself.
• Best if you want one purchase that just works out of the box → August EP650. The Avantree needs a compatible TV and your own headphones to do anything.
If I had to pick one, I'd pick August EP650 — but only because it's a finished product that works the moment you unbox it, with sound, a mic, multipoint and a wired option. In my opinion it's the better buy for most people reading a headphone comparison, because it replaces something you'd otherwise have to buy anyway.
That said, if the actual problem is "my TV won't talk to my headphones," the EP650 is the wrong answer and the Avantree Oasis Plus 2 is the right one. I'd buy the Oasis Plus 2 specifically when the TV is HDMI-only, when the listeners are hard of hearing, or when a soundbar and headphones need to run together. Two different jobs, two different winners — just be honest about which job is yours. Either way, check the current price on Amazon before you commit, since that's the one variable that can flip the decision.
aptX Adaptive is a Bluetooth audio codec that adjusts its bitrate and latency based on what you're doing and how strong the connection is, aiming to balance sound quality against stability. Headphones that support it can take advantage of a transmitter like the Avantree Oasis Plus 2, which lists aptX Adaptive support for high-quality audio at up to 164ft / 50m. The August EP650 uses aptX Low Latency instead, which prioritises sync between audio and video rather than adaptive bitrate.
Do I need the Avantree Oasis Plus 2 if I already own Bluetooth headphones?
Yes, if you pair it over Bluetooth to a compatible TV or transmitter, or use the 3.5mm jack for a wired connection. Its aptX Low Latency support is specifically there to keep audio and video in sync when watching TV or videos. The limit is the 10-metre Bluetooth range, so you'll want to stay in the same room.
For private listening with headphones you already own, the Avantree Oasis Plus 2 is the more capable option — Bypass ON lets a soundbar and headphones run at once, and the 6dB optical boost helps if your TV's optical output is quiet. If you want an all-in-one solution and don't mind staying within 10 metres, the August EP650 handles TV audio on its own with aptX Low Latency and 15 hours of battery.
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