Technics Premium Hi-Fi True Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds with Advanced Noise Cancelling, 3 Device Multipoint Connectivity, Wireless Charging, Hi-Res Audio + Enhanced Calling – EAH-AZ80-A (Midnight Blue)

Oh hey king, you dropped this 👑
Background:I have something of an addiction to wireless earbuds it seems, as I also own the Sennheiser Truly Wireless 3 (STW3), Sony SWF-1000XM4 (SXM4), and a couple pairs of older Galaxy Buds, so there’s no real reason for me to buy these other than “I want”. I’m part of the consumption problem.Before these, I’d rank them in that same order above from best to less best (all are mostly fine at this point). But with these, I truly feel like there’s enough things – big and small – to make them not only the best, but feel a generation ahead of the rest. Whereas STW3 and SXM4 were closer in the key quality areas, both were a big jump above any Galaxy Buds so I’d use those two as my main points of comparison, and mostly the STW3 since they were my daily drivers.I previously also owned the Technics EAH-AZ60-S, which were very chirpy and charming, but couldn’t justify keeping since they didn’t do enough things better than the current lineup.Not so with the Technics EAH-AZ80-S (AZ80)! They get all the basics right, and then still manage to surprise and impress thanks to the engineering artists formerly known as Panasonic.Style/Fit:• Style – I opted for silver, which I find to be sleek and chic–black everything electronics are just boring to me at this point. The case is the most pocketable I’ve encountered amongst the STW3 and SXM4. Unlike the STW3, the case’s charging port on the back, thank the engineering gods, so none of the awkward charging from the front. The SXM4s got this right as well, so often times I’d be jetting out the door and grab them to toss in my pocket, despite the superior sound on the STW3.• Fit – Actually quite similar in size to the STW3 as you can see in the picture. However the materials and finish make them feel more comfortable in my ears. The STW3s have a blockiness at the end to them that took some time for my ears to adjust to. The SXM4s were always huge and clunky feeling, which apparently the latest SXM5s have remedied. The Technics feel tiny and lightweight, and just slide right into the ears comfortably for hours. I’ve already taken a couple of intended and unintended naps with them.Sound Quality:• Full, wide soundstage. Just epic sounding. Hearing sounds I’ve never heard before in songs. Several times I’ve had to double check the song to make sure it wasn’t a remix or look at my sound settings because I was in a bit of disbelief.• I primarily listen to a wide variety of electronica: your EDMs, Trip Hops, Chills, etc. and rock music. So I’ve I turned off all my lights, and just listened to all my favorite songs for hours in the dark, honestly marveling at the scope, breadth, and texture of sounds. It’s pretty blissful, and not to mention just a very therapeutic and rejuvenating, a semi-meditative practice I enjoy made more engaging now.Call Quality:Yes, some of us still make calls. And we need earbuds not just for phone calls, but your Zoom/Meets/Teams (god help you) calls• Phone Calls – Clear, if not a little robotic sounding. There’s a phone number you can dial to test out your call quality, which will play back your call recording or even do an echo test in real time. Testing the microphone can also be accomplished by the Technics app, which is a nifty bit if functionality. Anyway, whereas the STW3 are more warm sounding on a call, those have a problem with clipping at the end of each syllable, creating a falling off sound effect to your voice in a call. So the AZ80s maintain clarity, but are more cold sounding.• Teleconference Calls – Good, clear audio. Could be louder though. It’s more than loud enough when connected to the computer playing music (headphone mode), so not sure why when using them to communicate (headset mode) the sound is then relatively quieter. All earbuds designed for music and calls switch between these two modes–because headset mode needs to receive *and send * audio, then the bitrate is automatically lowered to accommodate. I have some more tinkering to do. But it blocks out noise well, and thanks to solid connectivity, it’s perfectly usable for your Zooming. Speaking of connectivity–Connectivity:• Another area where I was pleasantly surprised. I can be in the bathroom on the other side of my place and even with LDAC best quality on/multipoint off it’s still playing music, although tbf with brief interruptions of static, which is totally acceptable all things considered. It’s actually astonishing given the distance of 40 ft away, and if you saw how many walls and other obstructions the bluetooth signal would have to travel through. I don’t know 100% that it’s the bluetooth signal that’s that strong, or if there’s a fairly large amount of memory dedicated to caching the song in advance and it’s preloaded, or some combo of the two. If it were purely able to pull this off by caching, you wouldn’t think it’d play the entire song but with brief interruptions of static (i.e. signal lost moments). Some engineering magic going on on here.• In comparison to the STW3s, those cut out within 15 ft of my desk, whereas the SXM4s fare much better not experiencing static until roughly 25-30 ft. The STW3s also are notorious though for behaving erratically with connections at times, which until recent firmware updates required resetting and reconnecting a not uncommon amount. Sometimes they acted temperamental and you had to cajole them into connecting.• If connectivity is high on your priority list of features, then these are for you. The AZ60s were also rock solid in their connectivity so it’s something Technics does really well. These have no issue turning on and immediately connecting.Software/Settings:• Very impressed by the level of tweaking and controls offered in the accompanying app. The UI/UX is cleanly designed and laid out, intuitive exploration and explanations abound in the app, and just about everything is customizable to your liking. It’s not just the quality of the options, but the quantity in choices itself that satisfies. It’s actually a pleasurable experience to use the app, and its welcoming design encourages you to experiment with the AZ80s• In comparison, the STW3s still unnecessarily confuse on this point. The interface is not intuitive and the customizability options are sparse. To be fair, it’s an intentional design choice for them to have the signature Sennheiser sound out of the box, so they’re not intended to broad and have a wide audience. They’re designed to just sound good and everything else is a bonus from their perspective.• The SXM4s previously were the top in customizability and options with their software, offering a host of impressive features and tweaking. The AZ80s software meets and exceeds in some areas, whereas the SMX4s software exceeds in others.• Ultimately I can fiddle with everything I need to with the AZ80s and enjoy the experience of doing so, feeling like I’m discovering more with my headphones vs painfully digging around a settings menu wondering what they intended by each option.Noise-cancelling:• Over the years this has been an increasingly important metric for a lot of people, and I’ll be honest and say that I think most do it well enough so this isn’t a deal breaker category for me. I think it’s probably not a good thing to have complete silence when going for a walk, for example. When I’m working, it’s either people I’m meeting with on a call or music going on, so haven’t had the overwhelming need for total silence. And I try to keep my brain trained on doing some of its own noise filtering.• That said, these are impressively capable with ANC. I have a busy road outside with plenty of noise, regular apartment sounds, and different random noises from the apartment itself, and as soon as I enabled ANC it was pure silence. An almost eerie amount of silence, actually. It was a bit unsettling.• The STW3s were great in the ANC department as well, but I didn’t know before what I wasn’t *not* missing. I’d slide the STW3s back and forth between blocking out noise or wind and just decide to live with whatever noise was going on. But it still covered about 90% of noise. The SMX4s were a notch above at 95%. These AZ80s are about 98-99%. I’m taking them in and out every now and again just to verify if there actually is no sound, for example someone at the door. Which actually comes at the expense of the next topic-Battery Life:• The one area it’s stumbled for me so far. Using it for a combo of work calls/music I was down to 39% battery life after 4 hrs. I do have ANC and LDAC enabled/multipoint disabled, so I’m hoping that experimenting with those settings will give a better result. I will have to charge midday though, which means not being able to use them for a lunch break gym sesh some days. That fantastic ANC comes at the cost of 1-2hrs of battery life.• That said, they do charge fast, and batteries do take some breaking in. As well as both tweaking my own preferences, and the app and OS adjusting to your listening patterns, so I’m not super worried.• The STW3s were absolute all day champs with their battery life, rock solid and dependable. The SMX4s would be up and down.Final Thoughts:I’ve listed out the most important criteria for me when looking for a new pair of headphones. Your criteria may not match my criteria 1:1. You might find that battery life is more important than connectivity, which is the only area so far I’d considered to be a potential weakness for the AZ80s, but again they do charge fast. Overall they have the best sound quality I’ve heard in a pair of headphones (I never want to take them out), rock solid connectivity, ease of use for a quick phone call or music sesh, and small enough (with a great fit) to slide easily into the pocket. They do all the big and small things well, while also having enough of a chirpy personality to do surprise and delight. And again, dat sound doe. Technics have absolutely nailed it with the AZ80s, kudos to their engineering team, and all hail the new king!

Estoy encantado con mi elección. Fácil tarde alrededor de 6 meses hasta encontrar los audífonos que cumplieran 100% con mis expectativas. Sobre todo en temas de confort, conectividad y calidad de audio. Anteriormente a estos tuve la oportunidad de probar los Sony WF-1000XM5 los cuales me decepcionaron bastante. Su conexión es terrible ya sea desde salir a pasear, y lo peor, en lugares muy concurridos como en un gimnasio o plaza comercial. Al menos en mi caso no fueron nada cómodos. Pero los Technics son otra historia. Hacen muy buen trabajo en cada una de sus prestaciones. Buena cancelación de ruido y el modo transparente es bastante útil cuando estás trabajando con otros compañeros. Y la calidad de audio ni se diga. Es un sonido muy detallado, con frecuencias altas claras y un bajeo bastante bueno para mi gusto. Al escucharlos es como si estuviera redescubriendo mis canciones. Sobre todo usando el codec LDAC. Leí por ahí algunos comentarios que no cuentan con mucho volumen pero tengo mis dudas ya que yo habitualmente uso entre la mitad o 3/4 de la potencia de mi celular, más allá de eso es demasiado volumen. Por último, el apartado de la aplicación también me gustó mucho. Es bastante robusta, brindandote muchas opciones de ajustes. Lamentablemente los costos de importación hacen que suban mucho de precio, sin embargo, valen bastante la pena. Los recomiendo ampliamente!!!

I had airpods for the last 4 years, these are light years ahead, its a concert in my ears and its like hearing my favourite songs for the first time! Crystal clear audio hear and understand words like never before!