We’re still a little way off from knowing all the details – including, crucially, prices – but here’s what Yamaha has shared so far.

There will be three new headphone and earphone ranges released “towards the end of 2020”, with a total of eight models, two will be headphones (YH series), three will be in-ear models (EP series) and three will be true wireless in-ear models (TW series).

The top of the line of each of these categories shares such features as active noise cancellation, Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, aptX codec support and USB Type-C charging cables.

The YH-E700A headphones are over-ear models. They seem to be designed for travel (when we’re allowed to do such things again), since they come with a “flight adaptor” (that would be a two-prong device suitable for airplanes) for their analogue audio cable, along with a carrying case. 

Their “Advanced Active Noise Cancelling” technology avoids the techniques which Yamaha says “can often ‘colour’ or degrade sound”. Yamaha’s proprietary take “analyses and removes background noise while keeping the music signal pure and untouched.” They also feature “Listening Care” technology: “encouraging lower volume listening by intelligently adjusting sound frequencies to maintain the full-range sound” when played back at lower levels. And “Listening Optimizer”, which apparently uses microphones to “constantly measure your ear canal and listening condition” and adjusts the sound accordingly.

For the Bluetooth connection, they use the newest version of aptX, aptX Adaptive, which can slide dynamically between bitrates to preserve connection stability. Battery life is rated at 35 hours.

The YH-E500A headphones support aptX HD, and if I’m reading things right, while they have standard active noise cancelling, it doesn’t work when the analogue cable is in use.

The three true wireless earbuds are the TW-E7A, TW-E5A and TW-E3A. The top of the line model has standard ANC. All three models can use AAC and aptX as codecs and all are IPX5 rated, which makes them sweat and rain proof. Their runtimes are 5 to 6.5 hours, with three additional charges available from their carry cases.

Finally, the three sets of earphones – the buds are tethered together by wire – are the EP-E70A, EP-E50A and the EP-E30A. The EP-E70A gets Advanced ANC and aptX Adaptive, the EP-E50A gets standard ANC and aptX HD, while the EP-E30A has neither ANC nor aptX.

We look forward to more details once known, and of course, look out for StereoNET reviews of the new range.

For more information, visit Yamaha.