Assessment Technics Az100 Earbuds: Audiophile and Multitaskers unite

It may be surprisingly discouraging to observe a big pair of headphones. The objective is to make enhancements, the place doable, with out sacrificing something that individuals have preferred in regards to the earlier set. There Technics discovered with the EHAZ100 headphones of $ 299.99, which he introduced at CES 2025. I used to be relatively taken with the final set of the corporate, Az80, resulting from their wealthy sound and the distinctive capability to a He was mating with three gadgets as lengthy. The brand new buds look to extend these strengths with an much more dynamic audio, an extended battery life and a extra succesful cancellation of energetic noise.

The method even rethink the essential sound. Contained in the A100 are new “magnetic fluids” drivers – and sure, there may be truly liquid there. The technician places an oily substance (blended with magnetic particles) between the driving force’s magnet and the vocal coil and says that this strategy, derived from its $ 1,200 screens, helps to lower the distortion and improve the readability past what the az80s they had been succesful. The identical is true for the response to the bass, with AZ100 able to digging even deeper for a extra impactful blow. Regardless of the brand new strategy, there is no such thing as a world of distinction between Az80 and AZ100: each provide implausible particulars and presence between musical genres, though newer buds have extra depth and bass for my ears. Nonetheless, I would not improve only for that.

Luckily, the refinements are extending to the outside design. AZ100 usually are not as bulbous as their predecessors. Lose the seen entrance of the microphone that has added a technical fashion word, which suggests they turn out to be a bit of extra boring and unwritten. However I’ll take the smaller enclosure each time. They’re extra comfy in my ears than Az80. The very pocket transport housing is barely smaller than earlier than, however it is just seen in the event that they stitches facet by facet. As for the sturdiness, the water resistance of the headphones stays unchanged at IPX4.

If something in regards to the sound signature proves to be disagreeable, you may select between a number of totally different EQ preset or it can save you three customized modes. I’m not somebody who consults the frequency graphs when analyzing the headphones, however I listened to sufficient pairs to separate the wheat from the gossip. They’re ranked there with my sound high quality favorites, comparable to Sennheiser Momentum True Wi-fi four. And I believe they transcend Airpods Professional 2 and Galaxy Buds three Professional, that are sufficient on their very own. Accepted Bluetooth codecs embody LDAC and the brand new LC3 / LE audio protocol, so AZ100S ought to ultimately work with Auuast.

Technically it additionally rises aboard the house audio practice. The accompanying utility of Earbuds now has a Dolby Imaginative and prescient change (with elective head monitoring) that may make your songs sound extra expansive and immersive should you favor it. I discovered that some folks actually get pleasure from the sort of impact on sure songs – even whether it is cast/virtualized – whereas others like me are joyful to disregard it. However in case you are a fan, now it’s there on Az100 and you should use it with any type of help on the cellphone.

This Technics utility stays complemented on the stage the place different settings they usually exceed far past customizing controls or adjusting all the noise within the transparency mode (very crunchy and pure). You may optimize the noise cancellation to your particular surroundings with a slide within the app. Would you like the Multipoint connection to modify routinely everytime you play music on any of your gadgets? That is there. You may also check because the microphone sounds by recording fragments in your individual voice. It’s a lot and could be overwhelming for non-technologies, however I respect how a lot it’s technically loopy.

ANC efficiency is respectable – selecting the recommendation for the proper ear for one of the best seal is crucial right here – though it’s not approaching the Domnesc champion, Bosescomfort Extremely Calebuds. They’ve a superior ANC and value much less, however they can not match the sound. The standard of the calls can be very strong; Ai Voice of Technics does an admirable job by isolating the voice of any background ruck. The appellants instructed me they had been a robotic within the strongest out of doors exams, however they might nonetheless work out what I used to be saying.

The three -way multipointe of the methods stays a particular trick of AZ100. I’m not a multitasker wizard and I hardly ever discover myself juggling greater than two gadgets. However should you typically have a 3rd one helpful, it really works as introduced. (Simply bear in mind which you could’t use LDAC when you find yourself on this means, in all probability because you push in opposition to Bluetooth limits.) And you’ll pay attention longer: Az100 can proceed to play as much as 10 hours on a single charge with ANC activated. The case provides one other 28 hours.

Like their predecessors, the AZ100 headphones at Technics give precedence to the audio efficiency, additionally managing to offer a singular capability that Airpods and Galaxy Buds are lacking – regardless of the advantages of the respective ecosystem of those two opponents. However now they’re smaller, extra comfy and last more. If you do not want the unconventional multipune with 3 ways, that value of $ 300 could appear terribly steep. However it’s more and more uncommon to say “these headphones do one thing most I am unable to” and, not less than, for now, that is nonetheless legitimate for the emblematic buds of the methods.

Photograph by Chris Welch / The Verge