Audio-technica Launches ATH-ANC300TW True Wireless Earphones
Everyone's doing true wireless earphones, including lots of pop-up brands of uncertain reputation. But few feature active noise cancellation and support for high-quality codecs. Audio-Technica, a highly reputable brand, includes both of those in its forthcoming ATH-ANC300TW earphones.
A note on terminology. "True wireless" means that there are two separate earbuds, without a wire between them, that connects to a source device with Bluetooth. Also, Audio-Technica likes to call its earphones "in-ear headphones". I'll stick with earphones.
On the surface, the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC300TW earphones follow the usual arrangement of such things. There are two small earbud-style earphones, each carrying a 5.8mm driver with "diamond-like carbon coated diaphragms", a small amplifier and a Bluetooth receiver.
Audio-Technica characterises their "sound signature" as "ideal for a great variety of genres". The company expounds on what it means by sound signature here.
These are premium earphones, so they employ the Qualcomm TrueWireless Stereo Plus chipset for an improved connection between the earphones and your phone. Audio-Technica adds that the earphones support the optional aptX Bluetooth audio codec – which is available on a lot of premium Android phones – and the optional AAC codec – which is preferred by iPhones. Both offer higher quality than the standard SBC Bluetooth codec. Bluetooth version 5.0 is used.
The earphones are rated at 4.5 hours of playback and can be charged three times in the included charge/carry-case for up to 13.5 hours additional operating time. The case itself charges via USB Type-C. They come with four sizes of silicone tips for maximum compatibility with different ears.
What sets the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC300TW earphones apart from the competition is not just the active noise cancellation, but the fact that they include three different noise cancellation profiles. I haven't seen that before, even in full-blown over-ear noise-cancelling headphones. Audio-Technica describes them thus:
Airplane" targets constant low-frequency noise, such as the sound of an airplane engine. "On the go" is highly effective for suppressing sounds on the street. Lastly, "Office/Study" responds to noises that appear in quiet settings such as offices and libraries.
The Audio-Technica ATH-ANC300TW earphones also have a "hear-through" mode so you can have a conversation with someone without removing them from your ears.
Available from June 2020, they're expected to be priced at $399 RRP in Australia.
StereoNET is reviewing these as you read this, so stay tuned!
For more information, visit Audio-technica.
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Marc Rushton
StereoNET’s Founder and Publisher was born in England and raised on British Hi-Fi before moving to Australia. He developed an early love of music and playing bass guitar before discovering the studio and the other side of the mixing desk. After writing for print magazines, Marc saw the future in digital publishing and founded the first version of StereoNET in 1999.
Posted in: Headphones
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