Introduction

Around the same time as our first ever Audio-Technica review, I had been contacted by my old Audio-Technica PR rep to see if I would like to take a look at the company's true wireless ANC (active noise cancellation) earphones I had covered at CES 2020. Fast forward a few months of patient waiting on their behalf and I am finally set up with not only the tools for frequency measurements, but true wireless (TWS) earphones at that. Thanks to Audio-Technica for sending TechPowerUp a review sample!


This was originally going to be a quick-look article, but I was keen to experience first hand how active noise cancellation affects the frequency response of earphones. Such TWS ANC earphones have also never been more popular than now, with work-from-home slowly transitioning out of fashion as the pandemic is (hopefully) on the decline. People have made use of ANC earphones and headphones when working in less-than-ideal conditions at home, in shared quarters with others or even the usual venues of an airplane for those still flying like yours truly. I have flown over 15,000 miles in the past year already and could probably write a book on the unwanted chatter and noise heard throughout. Audio-Technica is not necessarily a brand you would think of for such applications, however, but the company wants to change that. Today, we see whether their marketing is backed up by real-world performance, as we begin with a look at the specifications in the table below.

Specifications