Abstract

• Technics AZ100 earbuds retail for $299, providing top-tier music playback with a deal with match.
• The earbuds ship very good sound and name high quality, supporting numerous Bluetooth codecs and Dolby Atmos.
• The earbuds have customizable contact controls by way of the Technics Audio Join App, strong battery life, and three-device multipoint Bluetooth assist.

Whereas the model would not get pleasure from the identical title recognition as Bose or Sony in relation to wi-fi buds, Technics has been steadily catching its competitors. The Technics AZ100 is the corporate’s new set of flagship earbuds, and if you have not been paying consideration, it’s time to start out.

Value and Availability

The Technics AZ100 is the highest of the corporate’s line of earbuds, and retails for $299. That places these into the identical value vary as top-tier competitors from Bose, Sony, Apple, and others. On the one hand, this exhibits Technics is critical, however on the opposite, it exhibits how powerful this class might be.

You may have two choices for the end of the AZ100: the usual black, and a silver choice, which is the mannequin I used to be despatched to check for this assessment.

Smooth Design and a Give attention to Discovering the Proper Match

Whereas a gram right here or there could not sound like a lot, it provides up if you’re carrying that weight in your ears. That goes to say that the AZ100 weighing in at 5.9g per earbud in comparison with 7g on the AZ80, is extra substantial than it sounds. These earbuds are additionally smaller, making for a neater time discovering the correct match.

Technics has made getting the match proper a significant a part of the design of the AZ100, as we’ll have a look at much more in a while. For now, the necessary half is the sheer variety of ear ideas: 5 completely different units starting from small to massive. That is truly down from the seven units included with the earlier flagship, however nonetheless lots to go round.

Throughout testing, I ended up utilizing the AZ100 with a couple of completely different units of ideas, and was equally snug with all of them. I ended up swapping ideas for sound-related causes, so it was a pleasing shock to see the earbuds keep put regardless of altering sizes.

Excellent Sound and Name High quality

Like many earbuds, the motive force within the Technics AZ100 measures 10mm, however that is the place most similarities finish. These earbuds use a “Magnetic Fluid Driver,” which makes use of magnetic particles suspended in a liquid—a approach borrowed from the corporate’s a lot higher-end in-ear screens.

The earbuds assist the usual SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs, however that is not all. Sony’s LDAC codec is supported as nicely, for higher-res wi-fi sound high quality. You additionally get the LC3 codec, which nonetheless is not a standard inclusion, at the same time as value tags begin pushing greater.

Whereas listening to Fleetwood Mac’s I Walk a Thin Line, I observed a stunning quantity of heft to the low finish that I do not sometimes anticipate from in-ears. This tune particularly will use no matter area it may well within the stereo area, and it will get lots out of the Technics.

That weighty low finish returned within the refrain of Queens of the Stone Age’s The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret, nevertheless it did not get in the way in which of the multilayered guitars. Regardless of a number of layers of thick fuzz guitar, the top of the tune by no means will get overly busy by way of frequencies.

The Technics don’t all the time depend on sheer weight to ship their sonic potential, both. The explosive ending of Wilson Pickett’s model of Hey Jude sounded somewhat skinny right here, because it virtually all the time does, however that did not rob the tune of its impression.

The AZ100 earbuds additionally assist Dolby Atmos sound, and it is handled with an incredibly regular hand. Relatively than the full-on impact it typically comes throughout as, I discovered Atmos added a candy however refined stereo width to the correct tracks.

Whereas you should still want to show to Sony or Bose for the final word in active noise cancellation (ANC), it is actually not open-and-shut. Specifically, the noise-canceling is great, whether or not you crank it to full or permit the Adaptive mode to care for it for you.

The Ambient mode, which is the Technics tackle the Clear mode, is efficient, however not notably clear sounding. You get the sensation that you simply’re listening to all the pieces round you thru headphones, which you might be.

Name high quality is nice, and I had practically an identical outcomes with check recordings from each indoors and outside.

AZ100 Microphone Pattern: Indoors

AZ100 Microphone Pattern: Outdoor

The Customizable Controls are Sensitive

Contact controls are roughly a reality of life in relation to earbuds. Whereas I am not a fan, personally, I understand the world has moved on. I could have to make use of contact controls, however I desire once they’re simply customizable.

The Technics Audio Join App (obtainable for iPhone and iPad in addition to Android) gives loads of customization, however not all the pieces is ideal. You possibly can customise virtually all the pieces all the way down to what a double-tap on either side does, however the earbuds themselves typically acknowledge single faucets as doubles, and so forth.

One different space the place the app was surprisingly finicky was the ear tip choice course of, which is why I attempted the AZ100 with so many tip sizes. I sometimes use the medium ideas that ship on most earbuds, however right here the Technics app ultimately settled on medium-large after making an attempt all the pieces from small to massive.

It was value it as soon as I heard the sound and the noise cancellation, nevertheless it was a little bit of a journey getting there. You may as well use the app to tune the earbuds’ EQ, however I used to be so proud of the default sound of the AZ100 that I largely left this function alone.

Another notable function is Technics’ three-device multipoint Bluetooth assist. This provides a tool to the everyday multipoint restrict, and whereas it is considerably of a novelty, it positively has its makes use of.

The battery life within the Technics AZ100 is improved over that of the AZ80, however the general life is not particularly spectacular. You possibly can anticipate as much as 10 hours on a single cost, assuming you are utilizing both ANC or the Ambient Mode, with the case including a couple of extra fees for a complete of 28 hours.

You get two strategies of charging the case right here: a USB-C port on the underside of the case, or Qi-certified wi-fi charging. This should not come as a lot of a shock in higher-end earbuds lately, however I am all the time nonetheless blissful to see wi-fi charging supported.

A full recharge of the case takes round two hours, however for those who pop the earbuds within the case whereas it is charging, a 15-minute cost will get you roughly 90 minutes of playback time. For full stats, you should use the Technics Audio Join app, however there’s a small LED on the case to offer you a fast overview of cost standing.

Ought to You Purchase the Technics AZ100?

Over time, I’ve examined loads of headphones, IEMs, and earbuds, so I wasn’t anticipating to be totally blown away by the sound high quality of the Technics AZ100. Whereas I wasn’t jaw-on-the-floor astonished by the sound, I am unsure that I’ve heard many earbuds which might be higher sounding in any goal manner. Music playback is the strongest a part of an altogether excellent package deal.

Noise-canceling is the place Bose and Sony nonetheless pull the most important beneficial properties over the Technics, however even there, the lead is shrinking. I solely emphasize this relying on how you employ your earbuds: In case your important use case isn’t any music, ANC-only, there is not any level to the Technics. That mentioned, for those who’re enjoying music all day, the additional sonic oomph from the AZ100 is value a minor tradeoff in ANC efficiency.

With fantastic-sounding drivers, a strong number of wi-fi codecs, and surprisingly refined Dolby Atmos assist, the Technics AZ100 earbuds are clearly geared toward listeners who prioritize music. If that sounds such as you, then you definitely may need simply discovered your good earbuds.