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

Packaging and Accessories

It may not be clear because this is my first Audio-Technica review here, but I have had many of the company's products, and nearly all of them were purchased, too. I have had hands on the ATH-CK3TW, the ATH-CKS5TW, and now the ATK-ANC300TW to round off the three tiers of the company's TWS earphones. Packaging has been similar for all three, as we see a plastic wrap over the box to kick things off. The box is predominantly white with the company logo on the front and the product name with a render of the earphones underneath. Marketing features are seen on the front, back, and sides, along with specifications and a contents list. Two seals on the top and bottom keep the contents in place during transit.


We see the use of a two-piece packaging with the top lid lifting off to reveal a piece of foam for further protection to the actual items underneath, which are in turn placed in a snug finish inside a black plastic blister inlay. There is a cutout to accommodate the charging case, which we will take a closer look at on the next page, and this top layer also contains the eartips that are installed in place over plastic inserts with labels alongside. Audio-Technica provides a set of silicone ear tips is sizes XS, S, and L, which leads me to believe the earphones come with size M silicone tips pre-installed. There is also a set of Comply memory foam tips that will provide a better fit with more isolation, but potentially at the expense of a hotter experience with worse ventilation, and some people are allergic to silicone as well.


The bottom layer is where we see the final set of accessories, including a whole bunch of paperwork consisting of a caution guide (online copy here) and a handy quick start guide (online copy here) going over setup, pairing, and controls. Mention is also made of a mobile app compatible with these earphones for further customization we will cover in more detail later. The product page also has a longer, more detailed user manual for those interested. Last but certainly not least is a 30 cm long USB Type-A to USB Type-C charging cable. It is black and has the Audio-Technica logo on the plastic housing over the metal connectors.