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-K (Black)

One of the best

The best earphones I have bought

Despues de 2 años con ellos puedo decir que son increibles. Incluso despues de tener los AZ100 sigo regresando a los AZ80. Tuve por mucho tiempo un problema con el case que quedaba parpadeando la luz roja y no funcionaba, lo que hice fue arreglarlo con "contact cleaner" bastante y secar bien con los earbuds afuera y el case apagado y se arreglo totalmente. Esta era mi unica queja e iba a poner un rating de 3 estrellas, pero, al ser un problema de suciedad y mantenimiento creo que no tengo mucho de que quejarme. El sonido es increible, son comodos, y la cancelacion de ruido funciona bastante bien, con AAC la bateria facilmente dura 6 horas de constante uso, lo cual es menos de la mitad de los AZ100, pero sigue siendo un muy buen número. En general estoy contento con mi compra Sobre el sonido, no esperes un bajo aplastante, o algo muy "audiofilo" lleno de detalles, soundstage y claridad. Son buenos, decentes, balanceados y tiene sus deficiencias en los agudos. Es un sonido refinado, que aprendes a apreciar. si quieres un sonido mas comercial, saturado y sobre todo mas enfocado a los bajos, los Oneplus buds 3, Nothing Ear 2 o Sony xm5/xm6 son una opcion que te sorprendera más.

I’ll be returning these, which is disappointing. The sound quality is fantastic, the multipoint connectivity works flawlessly, and the app offers great features. Switching between devices like my phone and laptop is quick and seamless. Unfortunately, the right earbud has a constant high-pitched 'tinnitus' sound that is unbearable. I previously bought a pair from JB Hi-Fi but had to return them because the left earbud had the same issue. Hoping it was a one-off problem, I ordered this pair from Amazon, but the issue persists. The noise makes it impossible to wear them without music playing. The hunt continues for another Bluetooth earbud.

Wow. I have been getting earbuds and earphones for years, and been a loyal Sony fan for years. In 2020, I bought the WF-1000XM3, which were great but didn't stay in my ears that well, and then, 2 years later, they decided to start acting weird before one earbud just straight failing in its ANC, rendering it useless for my daily commuting and gym. I then bought another pair of WF-1000XM3s before I wanted to upgrade, and eventually got the WF-1000XM4s. Not even a year later, these "new" XM4s not only are less comfortable (bulky out of my ears), but one earbud just decided to stop charging properly (i.e., left earbud goes from fully charged 100% to 5% in 10-15minutes). Absolutely ridiculous given the money I spent. I was planning to buy the new WF-1000XM5, but with the crappy quality, build, and my history with Sony, I finally decided to abandon the brand altogether and try something new. After numerous review videos, reading, comparing, I landed on these Technics AZ80. And just WOW, absolutely knocked it out of the park. Firstly, the size of the case and earbuds themselves are smaller than the Sony's premium earbuds, so that is already a plus keeping it in my pocket with my wallet. The brushed-metal finish is a very nice touch, less fingerprints. The earbuds fit much smaller and closer than the Sonys, and are comfortable in my ears. The ANC may not be as good as the premium top Sony earbuds, but these cancel noise VERY well for my daily commute. The sound and bass, along with the app, absolutely shocked me to how much I can configure the sound to get what I want (I lean towards a basshead). Finally, the battery is stellar and when I run low, a quick 10-15min charge in the case gives me a HUGE boost in battery time. I think I charged it once in my work week (3 days commuting). And on top of it all, the way it seamlessly connects to multiple devices via bluetooth (my phone, my work laptop, my PC), I didn't realize how much I was missing this feature in my life going from the WF-1000XM4 from Sony. This is a gamechanger! All in all, 9/10 earbuds and I am going to be keeping my eye on this Technics brand and will be MORE than happy to spend money and buy their future, newer, top-of-the line earbud models because this is EXACTLY what I wanted and EXACTLY what I hoped to find as a replacement for the headache that so-called "premium Sony" earbuds have caused me over the last 5 years.

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!