TechnicsReference Class Hi-Fi Wireless Earbuds, Dolby Atmos with Head Tracking, Adaptive Noise Cancelling, 3 Device Multipoint, 10-hr Battery, Wireless Charging, Improved Fit - EAH-AZ100-K (Black)

I am an avid follower of the bluetooth earbud market and have tested out a variety of different earbuds to find the pair that I truly felt was best. I previously owned the Technics AZ80, so I was very excited when the AZ100 was announced. I've spent a week with these earbuds, and I'm happy to share that they solved all of the primary issues with the AZ80s.**Sound:** I should name that it took me a bit to get to my desired tuning level. Out of the box, I felt that these buds were a bit too bassy and the vocal were veiled (kind of felt like they were in the back of the room). However, the EQ in the app is SUPER responsive and now these sound incredible and have really opened up (my EQ is +0, +0, +2, +5, +5, +5, +3, +3). Now these are the best sounding earbuds I've heard. The soundstage is wide, the bass has a great thump, and the details on these is incredible. You can clearly hear every instrument and pick up on new nuance from songs you've heard hundreds of times.**ANC + Transparency:** The ANC on these is excellent. It completely blocks out the busy streets of Manhattan. I didn't find the Adaptive mode to work great, so I just have ANC set to max in the app. It's probably only second to Bose now. I thought the AZ80 had a great transparency mode, but the AZ100 is much more natural sounding and gives that feeling of not wearing earbuds. Of course, fit is important here.**Calls:** The Voice AI works great (but you have to turn this on). You can make calls from anywhere with these, the call quality is second to only Huawei (who lags Technics in every other regard)Other aspects of these buds I love is the fit is snug but comfortable, I've worn these for 7 hours with no pain, the touch controls on the buds is entirely customizable, the battery life is market-leading, and the case is so small you can carry it anywhere.If you want the best buds on the market today, this is it!

I am a slightly reformed earbud junky. I have owned or own almost every credible earbud in the last five or so years. I use both an Android and an Apple phone, an iPad Pro, and a Dell XPS laptop so I am ambidextrous when it comes to devices. I owned the first gen Technics buds and I mostly really like them. Like the Sony buds, they were a bit big but it was a hell of a comeback for the Panasonic owned HiFi company. My current daily drivers are the Sony 1000XM5’s and the Apple AirPod 2 Pros. I love them both. However, the Sony’s are still a bit big and the multi connectivity, while present, isn’t the best. The AirPods are awesome but aren’t great for non Apple products. So, after putting this purchase off for many months, I finally pulled the ripcord and got these. They are awesome. Here is the breakdown:Sound: This is how I start every review on buds because sound is the main purpose of any bud or headphone. The sound here is amazing. This is a single 10mm liquid filled driver that is new technology in a bud. It creates deep sound that is a bit bass leaning. You get strong separation between the low, mid, and high tones. The sound here crushes the AirPods and is equal to the Sonys in my opinion. There is support for LDAC and LE Bluetooth codecs. However, these sound amazing without the high end codecs which is good for Apple fans. Those that love lossless audio though will be glad to have these on board. The sound is almost enough to recommend these but read on because there are many more reasons.Active Noise Cancellation (ANC): This is one area I think these buds don’t wipe out the competition. The Bose buds and the Apple AirPods are both a bit better. These are on par with the Sony buds for me. Good but not the best. There are a lot of adjustments in the app but I just leave them on adaptive. I think these will be great for a plane trip as these do a great job on low end noise. Sudden sharper noise gets through though. I do love that these don’t make you feel ear pressure that some buds give you with it on. Overall, while not class leading, the ANC here is still very good.Form Factor: These won’t be to everyone’s liking but they are pretty dynamite. These are smallish stemless buds that have a nice soft finish inside the buds with a nice metal finish on the outside. The look and feel great. I find them comfortable for long periods.Call Quality: The class leading AirPods are still the best, but these run a close second. Technics embedded AI that can identify your voice, enhance it, and cancel out noises around you. Some reviews I read say that this process can end up making you sound a bit robotic but I haven’t had anyone comment on it and I have been asking. Very good calls all around here.The case: I always rate the case in earbud reviews because you frankly interact with the case more than the buds. This is a solid case overall. The brushed metal design is great. It is a good slender case that is similar in size to the Sony buds but metal not plastic. There is a single LED and it does support wireless charging. It is a great case with one nitpick. I wish the magnets were a bit stronger. In a purse or a gym bag, you may find buds flying around.All the other stuff: Battery life here is closing in on class leading. As long as you aren’t using the hifi codecs often, you will get over ten hours of use. Awesome. Connectivity is stable and fast. I have these connected to both of my phones and they connect to both immediately upon pulling out a bud. Further, these easily pass back and forth between the devices as needed. I was on one call today and got another on my work phone. It was ringing me to let me know I had the other call. Awesome. There is Spatial Audio here that sounds great especially for a movie. Lastly, the Technics app deserves a nod here. It is a really great app. Where the Sony app gives you everything, it is very convoluted. This app gives you sound customization, ANC control, and more but without being difficult to use. Oh, and there is a Find My component to the app that allows you to make sounds if you lose your buds or see where you last had them with location data. All so good.I will just say this about what Technics has done here. If these aren’t the best all around buds on the market, they are darn close. I am a huge fan and strongly recommend buying them.