The AZ range are getting a third iteration with the new Technics EAH-AZ80. They are Technics’ flagship series of true wireless earbuds and are priced to compete with fellow flagship at S$469. With such pricing, you can expect the Technics EAH-AZ80 to have all the top of the line specs such as ANC, transparency mode, wireless charging, multipoint connectivity and more.
Unboxing
Here’s what you’ll find in the box:
- Technics EAH-AZ80
- Charging case
- Ear tips – XS (2 types), S (2 types), M (pre-installed), L, XL
- USB-A to USB-C cable
- User manual
Build quality and features
Technics EAH-AZ80 is available in two colours – (1) black, and (2) silver. The unit I have is the black colour option. Technics EAH-AZ80 retains some of the design elements from its predecessor, EAH AZ70W – featuring a flat brushed metal finish on the touch surface of the earbuds. From a top view, the earbuds now have a teardrop shaped compared to a rounded look on the EAH AZ70W, which provided more surface area to adjust the fit in my ears.
As for the case, it has a relatively compact shape and size, sporting a brushed metal top along with with the “Technics” brand embossed. The rest of the case has a matte finish with a nice grippy texture to it. The overall build quality of the case and earbuds is top notch. No rattling heard when shaking the case, and the plastic used all feels high quality. I also find the design to feel premium.
Technics EAH-AZ80 is rated at IPX4 water-resistance rating so you should be able to use this during your workouts.
Controls
With the Audio Connect app, you can customise the controls to the way you want it be. The default settings is just fine for me, but some may find putting volume up/down on a single earbud a little weird so it’s good that you can customise it.
Technics EAH-AZ80 utilises touch controls that are responsive, even when activating triple taps. There isn’t any haptic feedback, but you get a small prompt tone to indicate the taps. There are also wear sensors on the Technics EAH-AZ80 which enables the auto play/pause feature (which can be turned off if you don’t like it).
Audio Connect App & Transparency mode
The Audio Connect app has a clean and simple user interface which made it straightforward to use. Most of the common settings that people tend to play with are found on home page. You also get quick icons on the footer for easier access.
You can fine tune the strength of both the Noise Cancelling and Transparency sound modes. You can also perform calibration of the noise cancellation if you dig deeper in the settings.
Ambient Sound is Technics’ transparency mode, which I found the Technics EAH-AZ80 to be very good. There are also two modes in Ambient Sound – (1) Transparency, and (2) Attention Mode. Attention mode elevates the mids and dials down on the low end to make people’s voice stand out. I find the output to be quite unnatural so I stuck with using Transparency mode. The implementation is natural enough, you do hear slightly elevated wind noises and with an emphasis on highs. Having said that, other environmental sounds are not overly elevated. Voices remain natural sounding with warmth and depth. AirPods Pro are still the leader in this aspect. But I like how you can adjust the level of transparency on Technics EAH-AZ80 to get an output that feels the most natural to you.
Lastly, as with all flagship earbuds companion apps, you can adjust the EQ to one of the presets or create you own curve with the 5-point chart.
Fit and comfort
Technics EAH-AZ80 are fairly chunky sized but they are comfortable to wear thanks to its ergonomic curves, which cradle along the contours of my ears. They nestle nicely in my ears, with the ear tips locking in the fit and seal.
The overall fit is unobtrusive and does rely on the ear tips to get a good “grip” in your ears. Thankfully, Technics provided 5 sizes of ear tips, with the smaller ones even getting two different shapes. The large sized ear tips worked the best for me.
Sound quality
The Technics EAH-AZ80 offers a well-balanced sound signature oozes richness and detail. Bass is full, punchy, and defined. There is some elements of sub-bass extension, it is subtle but still gives you the rumble where the song intends to. Midrange is clear and detailed, vocals are forward with natural warmth for a lush velvety feel. Treble is clean with a doze of sparkle to give it more shine at times. Those who are used to brighter treble tuning may find the highs on the Technics EAH-AZ80 to be slightly reserved.
Overall, I find the tuning of the Technics EAH-AZ80 to be one of my favourites among all the true wireless earbuds I have tested to date. It is rich and strikes a solid balance in all frequencies for me, without needing to boost any of it. But of course with the Audio Connect app, you can adjust the sound profile easily with custom EQ. Sound staging is intimate with distinct imaging for an enjoyable listennng experience.
ANC performance
The ANC on the Technics EAH-AZ80 is solid, and is definitely at flagship tier of performance. You can adjust the level of noise cancellation, and for my test I used the highest settings. Low frequency noises such as engine rumble on buses are eliminated easily, so this will surely handle airplane white noise with ease too. High pitched noises such as rail squeals and car horns are muffled to a good extent. If you have music playing at a decent volume you generally won’t hear it leak through anyway. I’d say the performance as close as the Apple AirPods Pro 2.
Microphone quality
Microphone performance of the Technics EAH-AZ80 is slightly above average. There is a setting called JustMyVoice, which introduces advanced noise reduction to focus on speech. It is enabled by default, and it kind of makes my voice sound a little processed with a hint of echo. It does however, handle noise fairly well, but I wouldn’t say it is the most effective. With JustMyVoice disabled, my voice sounds more full and natural, but the microphone will let in all the background noise, making it unusable if you are outside.
Battery life
If you’re playing music mainly on AAC codec, the Technics EAH-AZ80 will last up to 7 hours on a single charge with ANC turned on, and 7.5 hours if ANC is turned off. If you playback with LDAC, then battery will be shortened to 4.5 and 5 hours with ANC turned on and off respectively. You can charge the Technics EAH-AZ80 wired via USB-C or wirelessly with an Qi-wireless charger. There is a quick charge feature which gives you 70 minutes of playtime with just 15 minutes of charging.
Pairing, connectivity, and latency
Technics EAH-AZ80 has the latest Bluetooth 5.3 technology and it pairs to my iPhone was very quickly as a single unit. During my time of testing, I did not experience any connection issues. There were also no audio-video sync lag when watching videos from the YouTube app on my iPhone 11.
You can use either the left or right earbud if you just want to wear one for usage. One of Technics EAH-AZ80 standout features is its multipoint pairing. Multipoint isn’t new per se, but Technics EAH-AZ80 can connect up to 3 devices at a time compared to the average 2 devices which most earbuds have. If you happen to use your earbuds across multiple devices then this feature would be handy.
Conclusion
If the top of your priority in a pair of true wireless earbuds is sound quality then the Technics EAH-AZ80 should definitely be on your list. The sound quality is the most refined since the AZ60 made its debut. Other key features such as ANC and Ambient Sound also offer flagship level performance. Combined with the Audio Connect app, and you have a very well-rounded offering in the Technics EAH-AZ80. The only stumbling block here is its asking price of S$469, which is more that what Bose, Sennheiser, or Apple is charging.