Premium Hi-Fi True Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds with Advanced Noise Cancelling, 3 Device Multipoint Connectivity, Hi-Res Audio + Enhanced Calling Wireless Earbuds - EAH-AZ80-K (Black)

This long winded review needs to be prefaced with the fact that I firmly believe products should be reviewed on the pretense their marketing and price point set, not personal preferences. For instance, if I value sound quality over other features but there are better sounding buds at a similar price point, that does not warrant knocking these down in score as these are ANC buds that are focused on a unified user experience and a diverse use case portfolio. It just so happens that these are the best earbuds you can buy for pretty much any purpose, barring some extreme outliers. Fitting the example above, I DO value sound quality over every other feature. ANC is an obstacle instead of a selling point to me and I lean heavily into a purist mindset. As many others have noted, I wouldn’t consider myself an audiophile, but rather a fidelity enthusiast. My main genre is alt rock and melancholic metalcore. Perspective is critical. I dislike reviewers that neglect to give theirs, as a grandma that’s only ever heard Bose portable speakers will give anything a 5/5. I’ve listened to a majority of the top players. Bowers and Wilkins pi7’s and Pi8’s (extensively), B&O Beoplay EX’s (extensively) AirPod Pro’s, Max’s, Noble Audio Fokus Prestige’s, Between 3ANC’s. I’ve listened to planar magnetic audeze’s, and moondrop blessing 2’s for good measure. I’ve not heard senheisers offerings, Sony’s newest XM5’s, or the coveted devialet Gemini II’s, which I’ve heard edge these out for some. I have heavy doubts about that. Here’s why. These have aluminum drivers in them. I’m no engineer, but the consensus is that metal drivers have a higher capacity for speed and therefore end up leaning toward use cases with brighter sounding speakers. This is critical for me as crashing cymbals are a cornerstone of my genre. The frequency range for these drivers is 20-40khz. Producing frequencies below 20hz to me is senseless as such a small device is not fit to try to create inaudibly low frequencies. Frequencies that low only serve to add immersive tangible rumble, which would take attention away from audible sounds. Frequencies above 20khz are inaudible as well, but serve a different purpose. Once again, not an engineer, but the consensus from others with far more knowledge than me is that a driver competent and accurate enough to move at such high frequencies will have an easier time producing multiple frequencies within the audible frequency range at once. Now this isn’t true for all drivers. Take the denon Perl Pro’s for instance, which have the same frequency range but lack in accuracy at the high end. At the end of the day, this is just a manufacturer rating for what these will actually be capable of producing. Whether or not the driver will do this accurately is dependent on the engineering prowess of the manufacturer. There are a million tricks in the book in the digital age. For instance, raising the decibel value of distant sounds to increase the perceived level of detail, which I believe the Bowers and Wilkins Pi8’s do. Tuning to eliminate the more straneous and populated frequency ranges, like the lower-mids, to allow drivers with sub par accuracy and inadequate speed to sound remotely good. I stand on business when I say I see nothing but crisp and true to form audio from these buds. In actual use, these sound nothing short of angelic. Their base tune is clearly aimed at a ‘dynamic’ listening experience (corpo talk for a v shaped tune), which works perfectly for me. -The bass is deep where I want it deep, but never disrespecting the other instruments. Bass drums thump with grace and rumble is ALWAYS controlled, never feeling overwhelming or out of bounds. These buds know their limits and don’t try to go too low, which was a problem for the Pi7 S2’s as well as (especially) the Fokus Prestige’s. On the other end, the Pi8’s lack the well represented mid-bass these have, making the Pi8’s feel empty. -The mids are a difficult beast to tackle for any single driver unit. These do not perfect the art, but once again stay within their bounds. They appear carefully tuned to avoid mashing anything up, while still representing the mid frequencies with diligence. Nothing is lost from them, but nothing stands out either. -Highs are where these excel. Barely imperfect, they can smile sparkle shine a little too much if the wrong track is playing. Other than that, it’s a luxurious and crisp experience that is rarely, if ever, laborious on the ears. The Pi8’s would fail this test in a heartbeat, as they’re far too bright without an intense retune. On the other end, the Between 3ANC’s lacked vocal clarity from their muddled high frequencies. I theorize that they weren’t prepared for the endless tweaking a multi-driver in ear setup requires and botched the highs as a result. In essence, these earbuds fill in the weaknesses of the other major players in the market, making them a safe bet. They feature a competent and rapid driver that gives them an excessive amount of clarity while being able to perform as though they have more than one driver. Sure, the Pi8’s edge them out in accuracy in the lows, but with their lack of mid bass, it becomes a moot point. The between 3ANC’s might double their battery life, but 12 hours of mediocre vocals is 12 hours wasted. The Beoplay EX’s might have a wider soundstage, but uninspired tuning that ends up sounding thin anchors them down. Not to mention their lack of raw strength when the bass would be absolutely crashing on the AZ-80’s. ANC is moderately good and impressive for their market position. They’re noticeably handicapped with the bass depth when it is on. Transparency is good barring a windy day. Robotic, but aren't they all (unless you're using AirPods). The fit is unparalleled. They are so comfortable that I’ve had to turn off the automatic power down function so I can find them with their audible ‘find my’ feature when I inevitably fall asleep with them in and wake up lost in a daze. The app is fantastic and aside from a lackluster amount of eq bands, has all the customizability I’ve been able to fathom. Nothing is inconvenient about them after a quick button function adjustment. Being able to set a ‘hold’ function to turn OFF ANC is huge for me. Battery is good not great. I think I was spoiled by the between 3ANC’s, which stayed on green without a single charge session from delivery to return. But they’ve never died when I needed more time. They’re great at conserving their battery when the auto-power off function is enabled. The case is what drains the most noticeably, but it’s small size makes it impressive nonetheless. As a complete package, they’re a safe bet with consistent and reliable functionality, a high quality material set, a combined good battery good life, impressive ANC, and excellent sound quality. From an enthusiast perspective they’re an all round jack of all trades that won’t beat every single competitor in all categories, but won’t let you miss out on the fun in any regard. They’re my favorite audio reproduction device I’ve ever used. I’ll be buried with these. Edit: These will be willed out to my first born, and I’ll be buried with the AZ-100’s. Direct sequel review is being formulated.

Background: I have something of an addiction to wireless earbuds it seems, as I also own the Sennheiser Truly Wireless 3 (STW3), Sony SWF-1000XM4 (SXM4), and a couple pairs of older Galaxy Buds, so there's no real reason for me to buy these other than "I want". I'm part of the consumption problem. Before these, I'd rank them in that same order above from best to less best (all are mostly fine at this point). But with these, I truly feel like there's enough things – big and small – to make them not only the best, but feel a generation ahead of the rest. Whereas STW3 and SXM4 were closer in the key quality areas, both were a big jump above any Galaxy Buds so I'd use those two as my main points of comparison, and mostly the STW3 since they were my daily drivers. I previously also owned the Technics EAH-AZ60-S, which were very chirpy and charming, but couldn't justify keeping since they didn't do enough things better than the current lineup. Not so with the Technics EAH-AZ80-S (AZ80)! They get all the basics right, and then still manage to surprise and impress thanks to the engineering artists formerly known as Panasonic. Style/Fit: • Style – I opted for silver, which I find to be sleek and chic–black everything electronics are just boring to me at this point. The case is the most pocketable I've encountered amongst the STW3 and SXM4. Unlike the STW3, the case's charging port on the back, thank the engineering gods, so none of the awkward charging from the front. The SXM4s got this right as well, so often times I'd be jetting out the door and grab them to toss in my pocket, despite the superior sound on the STW3. • Fit – Actually quite similar in size to the STW3 as you can see in the picture. However the materials and finish make them feel more comfortable in my ears. The STW3s have a blockiness at the end to them that took some time for my ears to adjust to. The SXM4s were always huge and clunky feeling, which apparently the latest SXM5s have remedied. The Technics feel tiny and lightweight, and just slide right into the ears comfortably for hours. I've already taken a couple of intended and unintended naps with them. Sound Quality: • Full, wide soundstage. Just epic sounding. Hearing sounds I've never heard before in songs. Several times I've had to double check the song to make sure it wasn't a remix or look at my sound settings because I was in a bit of disbelief. • I primarily listen to a wide variety of electronica: your EDMs, Trip Hops, Chills, etc. and rock music. So I've I turned off all my lights, and just listened to all my favorite songs for hours in the dark, honestly marveling at the scope, breadth, and texture of sounds. It's pretty blissful, and not to mention just a very therapeutic and rejuvenating, a semi-meditative practice I enjoy made more engaging now. Call Quality: Yes, some of us still make calls. And we need earbuds not just for phone calls, but your Zoom/Meets/Teams (god help you) calls • Phone Calls – Clear, if not a little robotic sounding. There's a phone number you can dial to test out your call quality, which will play back your call recording or even do an echo test in real time. Testing the microphone can also be accomplished by the Technics app, which is a nifty bit if functionality. Anyway, whereas the STW3 are more warm sounding on a call, those have a problem with clipping at the end of each syllable, creating a falling off sound effect to your voice in a call. So the AZ80s maintain clarity, but are more cold sounding. • Teleconference Calls – Good, clear audio. Could be louder though. It's more than loud enough when connected to the computer playing music (headphone mode), so not sure why when using them to communicate (headset mode) the sound is then relatively quieter. All earbuds designed for music and calls switch between these two modes–because headset mode needs to receive *and send * audio, then the bitrate is automatically lowered to accommodate. I have some more tinkering to do. But it blocks out noise well, and thanks to solid connectivity, it's perfectly usable for your Zooming. Speaking of connectivity– Connectivity: • Another area where I was pleasantly surprised. I can be in the bathroom on the other side of my place and even with LDAC best quality on/multipoint off it's still playing music, although tbf with brief interruptions of static, which is totally acceptable all things considered. It's actually astonishing given the distance of 40 ft away, and if you saw how many walls and other obstructions the bluetooth signal would have to travel through. I don't know 100% that it's the bluetooth signal that's that strong, or if there's a fairly large amount of memory dedicated to caching the song in advance and it's preloaded, or some combo of the two. If it were purely able to pull this off by caching, you wouldn't think it'd play the entire song but with brief interruptions of static (i.e. signal lost moments). Some engineering magic going on on here. • In comparison to the STW3s, those cut out within 15 ft of my desk, whereas the SXM4s fare much better not experiencing static until roughly 25-30 ft. The STW3s also are notorious though for behaving erratically with connections at times, which until recent firmware updates required resetting and reconnecting a not uncommon amount. Sometimes they acted temperamental and you had to cajole them into connecting. • If connectivity is high on your priority list of features, then these are for you. The AZ60s were also rock solid in their connectivity so it's something Technics does really well. These have no issue turning on and immediately connecting. Software/Settings: • Very impressed by the level of tweaking and controls offered in the accompanying app. The UI/UX is cleanly designed and laid out, intuitive exploration and explanations abound in the app, and just about everything is customizable to your liking. It's not just the quality of the options, but the quantity in choices itself that satisfies. It's actually a pleasurable experience to use the app, and its welcoming design encourages you to experiment with the AZ80s • In comparison, the STW3s still unnecessarily confuse on this point. The interface is not intuitive and the customizability options are sparse. To be fair, it's an intentional design choice for them to have the signature Sennheiser sound out of the box, so they're not intended to broad and have a wide audience. They're designed to just sound good and everything else is a bonus from their perspective. • The SXM4s previously were the top in customizability and options with their software, offering a host of impressive features and tweaking. The AZ80s software meets and exceeds in some areas, whereas the SMX4s software exceeds in others. • Ultimately I can fiddle with everything I need to with the AZ80s and enjoy the experience of doing so, feeling like I'm discovering more with my headphones vs painfully digging around a settings menu wondering what they intended by each option. Noise-cancelling: • Over the years this has been an increasingly important metric for a lot of people, and I'll be honest and say that I think most do it well enough so this isn't a deal breaker category for me. I think it's probably not a good thing to have complete silence when going for a walk, for example. When I'm working, it's either people I'm meeting with on a call or music going on, so haven't had the overwhelming need for total silence. And I try to keep my brain trained on doing some of its own noise filtering. • That said, these are impressively capable with ANC. I have a busy road outside with plenty of noise, regular apartment sounds, and different random noises from the apartment itself, and as soon as I enabled ANC it was pure silence. An almost eerie amount of silence, actually. It was a bit unsettling. • The STW3s were great in the ANC department as well, but I didn't know before what I wasn't *not* missing. I'd slide the STW3s back and forth between blocking out noise or wind and just decide to live with whatever noise was going on. But it still covered about 90% of noise. The SMX4s were a notch above at 95%. These AZ80s are about 98-99%. I'm taking them in and out every now and again just to verify if there actually is no sound, for example someone at the door. Which actually comes at the expense of the next topic- Battery Life: • The one area it's stumbled for me so far. Using it for a combo of work calls/music I was down to 39% battery life after 4 hrs. I do have ANC and LDAC enabled/multipoint disabled, so I'm hoping that experimenting with those settings will give a better result. I will have to charge midday though, which means not being able to use them for a lunch break gym sesh some days. That fantastic ANC comes at the cost of 1-2hrs of battery life. • That said, they do charge fast, and batteries do take some breaking in. As well as both tweaking my own preferences, and the app and OS adjusting to your listening patterns, so I'm not super worried. • The STW3s were absolute all day champs with their battery life, rock solid and dependable. The SMX4s would be up and down. Final Thoughts: I've listed out the most important criteria for me when looking for a new pair of headphones. Your criteria may not match my criteria 1:1. You might find that battery life is more important than connectivity, which is the only area so far I'd considered to be a potential weakness for the AZ80s, but again they do charge fast. Overall they have the best sound quality I've heard in a pair of headphones (I never want to take them out), rock solid connectivity, ease of use for a quick phone call or music sesh, and small enough (with a great fit) to slide easily into the pocket. They do all the big and small things well, while also having enough of a chirpy personality to do surprise and delight. And again, dat sound doe. Technics have absolutely nailed it with the AZ80s, kudos to their engineering team, and all hail the new king!

I've now been through two sets of these earbuds, and am likely about to get a third—but not by choice. Pros (when they're working): • They sound awesome. Very dynamic. The eq is effective at punching up the sound if you desire. Really enjoyed the sound upgrade from my old buds, the Jabra Elite 7 Pros, especially with bigger, bassier EDM. • They're definitely on the larger side, but the fit was great and the variety of different silicone tips (7 in total) should accommodate most people. • The microphone voice quality is good to great, and the multipoint Bluetooth works reliably. • The noise cancellation is just fine. I don't expect anything in this category to be amazing, and it's not the highest priority for me. Cons (a story about them not working): They've completely broken on me twice now. I had my original pair for about a month, after which the left earbud suddenly became extremely muffled and low volume. Almost as if the speaker driver completely failed. I opened a warranty claim with Panasonic—which is a process that's a bit of a pain itself. Once you finally receive an email response to the online service ticket, you are personally responsible for covering shipping to Panasonic's service center. After about a week, they shipped me a brand new pair. At this point I was just kind of annoyed to have had to pay shipping costs to fix these [high-end, expensive] earbuds after just over a month of ownership, and to have been without them for the few weeks that this whole warranty process took, but I was relieved to have a new replacement pair and figured it would be a one-off experience. After about two months with the new replacement pair, the seemingly EXACT same issue happened, this time with the right earbud instead of the left. Muffled. Quiet. Unlistenable. I chatted with customer service, explained the entire situation, asked if this is a known issue with the product, and asked what could be done about it this time. Panasonic's solution (summarized): pay to ship the unit back to their service center, again, and wait for their response, again, all while I'm without my [high-end, expensive] earbuds in the meantime...again. I asked if, given the full situation, there was a more customer-accomodating solution. They said there was not. So, I can't speak to how prevalent this issue that I've now experienced twice is (because Panasonic wouldn't tell me), but if you're willing to take the chance, and they DON'T break in you: congrats, you've got yourself a great, functional, luxury set of earbuds. Otherwise, I'm left unimpressed at Panasonic customer service and disappointed to have had this experience with earbuds in this price range. The few service experiences I've had with other brands in this space (mainly Sony and Jabra) have been much more customer-friendly.

I’m sorry, but I don’t understand why people think these have great sound. The bass is pathetic for a 10mm driver, and they also lack any crispness at all frequency ranges. Other than that, they are the best earbuds I’ve tried. I have tried the following: Bose QuietComfort Ultra Jabra Elite 10 EarFun Free Pro 2 SAMSUNG Galaxy Buds 2 Pro Denon PerL TOZO Golden X1 realme Earbud T300 TOZO NC9 (9mm driver; Frequency response range: 14Hz - 20kHz) I keep coming back to my $36 TOZO NC9’s as my favorite all-round earbuds; and countless people agree with me. They get down to 14Hz with just a 9mm driver which is very noticeable when watching TV and movies. These Technics lack rumbling bass and also lack clarity and crispness at higher frequencies. The bass also isn’t overpowering with the TOZO NC9’s. It’s always right regardless of what you’re listening to and they don’t even have an equalizer. They always sound good. These don’t, no matter how much you play with the equalizer app. With that said, these Technics have a lot going for them. They have FANTASTIC noise cancelling (the best I’ve tried). You can even adjust what frequencies they tune out more or less with the app (lower or higher frequencies). They fit REALLY WELL. I can wear them for 5 hours and they don’t hurt my ears. The battery life is also pretty good, but not awesome. The app is great and you can customize almost every touch input for each earbud. There are too many other things you can customize to list, but it is more than any of the other earbuds I have tried. They also don’t collect information on every input you make on your phone and sell your user information to China like “realme Earbud T300” say in the user agreement which nobody reads. The build quality of both the earbuds and the charging case is superb! The most important things to me when it comes to earbuds are 1) ANC: I primarily use my earbuds for watching TV because I watch TV in my bedroom where I have an air filter on full blast all the time and a window-unit A/C that runs 8 months out of the year. They create a LOT of white noise!! It’s almost like being on an airplane. So, noise cancelling is very important to me. 2) Fit: I also need them to fit well. If I can’t wear them for more than 2 hours before they begin to hurt my ears, then they are useless to me. These fit VERY well. 3) Battery Life: I sometimes watch TV for more than 5 hours when I’m trying to fall asleep and it’s nice to keep them in as long as possible to drown out the white noise in my bedroom even if I’m not listening to anything. 4) Sound Quality: When you’re trying earbuds that cost $100-$300, you typically get very good sound quality, so I have put that as #4. But these are so pathetic, especially for the price, it was a deal breaker. I don’t use my earbuds for phone calls, so I can’t speak to that aspect of these earbuds. I’m not going to carry around earbuds that cost $150-$300 and risk losing them just so I can talk wirelessly on my phone. That’s what $40 earbuds are for. Earbuds this expensive stay at home for me. I just keep coming back to my $36 TOZO NC9’s as my favorite earbuds, even if they were $150. The ANC isn’t as good as these Technics, but it’s still very good and better than many other earbuds I’ve tried for over $150. I can fall asleep with them in and wake up 8 hours later and they still don’t hurt my ears. The battery life is amazing! They last at least 7 hours with the ANC on. I have still not found earbuds with better sound quality than the TOZO NC9’s. The bass rumbles but is not over-powering and the mids and high frequencies are very clean but not harsh. I guess I’ll try the new Technics AZ100’s for $300. They still only go down to 20Hz but people appear to like the sound quality better. If it weren’t for the poor sound quality and decent, but not great battery life, the AZ80’s would be the best earbuds I’ve tried for my purposes. Update 3 days later (4/16/2025): Amazon had one of their 24 hour "super sales " on the EarFun Air Pro 4's for $60. These are FANTASTIC earbuds for almost any price and people agree with me based on the reviews. I thought I couldn't wear "teardrop" style earbuds because my left ear is shaped different than my right ear (and apparently almost everyone's else's ears). So, every pair of "teardrop" style earbuds I have tried hurt my left ear after 2-3 hours. The Technics "full in-ear" design still fits better, but these EarFun Air Pro 4's aren't bad, even for me. But most importantly, they have the sound clarity and bass the Technics lack. With that said, I wouldn't recommend the EarFun Air Pro 4's for audiophiles who want pure, unaltered sound. It sounds like EarFun plays around with the sound processing to make them sound "fun," as the name implies. I got the same impression from the "full in-ear" design EarFun Free Pro 2's that I returned because they didn't fit very well and didn't have great ANC. The ANC for the EarFun Air Pro 4's is pretty much as good as the Technics (which is the best I've tried) and they are also very customizable with the app like the Technics. The only small problem I have with the EarFun Air Pro 4's is they want to collect as much information about you off your phone as possible (including access to your pictures!) which is probably how they keep the price so low. You can deny access to most information they want to collect off your phone, but the default is "get as much user data as possible so we can sell it to whomever we want." This is VERY COMMON with earbuds that appear to be too good for the price. You are paying extra for Technics earbuds in part because they don't collect any more information about you than they need to make the app work. And they don't sell your data to everyone in the world. Keep that in mind when trying and buying earbuds if you care about privacy. The "realme Earbud T300" earbuds are the worst abusers of data privacy I have ever seen. Apple doesn't support their app because their abuse of user data is so extreme they want to collect information about every button you push on your phone and transmit it to a company in China and India. I'm going to keep these EarFun Air Pro 4's because they are so cheap, I can take them with me everywhere and not worry if I lose them like I would the AZ-80's. But I'm still going to try the Technics AZ100’s for $300. If the AZ-100's have similar sound quality as the EarFun Air Pro 4's, they would be keepers.

BACKGROUND: I love sound. An 11.1 home theater system is my reference, and due to my love of movies, deep, rumbling bass is my preference. Music requires more precision in a subwoofer (sealed vs vented enclosure typically), but if I can only have one, my bias is towards theater use. I also prefer "bright" speakers over more neutral or warm, so Klipsch is a favorite of mine. So, the bronze on black Sennheiser Momentum 4's tugged on my heartstrings a bit. COMPARABLES: I've previously had Samsung buds (Buds Live and Buds2 Pro) due to their integration with their phones, but was looking for better sound. I've had Sennheiser wired buds before and loved them, but was also interested in the Technics AZ-80's due to stellar reviews. I also looked into the Denon PerL Pro's, but they didn't make it into my cart due to their large "dinner plate" design. They get rave reviews for sound quality, but I draw the line on aesthetics somewhere. SOUND: So, the shootout was between the Technics and Sennheisers and neither is a clear winner. The Technics sound a bit more natural and "cleaner" while the Sennheisers sound more punchy and lively. Both sound great, but if I had to pick one for overall sound for every application, I'd lean toward the Technics. They just sound clean and detailed. The Sennheisers are more customizable however. The app really let's you tinker with the sound profile, especially after you set up an account (a must for all the extra features). Out of the box, Technics sound better, but with adjustments, the Sennheisers close the gap. The Denons require tinkering as well to get them fine-tuned to your ears. FEATURES: The Sennheiser app is much more robust than the Technics app. Here it's not close - Sennheiser is a clear winner. Changing settings, customizing the eq and sound profile, and adjusting parameters is pretty straightforward here while a bit less so in the Technics app, which is a bit less intuitive to use. The ANC is ever-so-slightly better on the Sennheisers, but not enough to make a decision on that alone. FIT AND FINISH: Both sets look the business, but the Sennheisers are lower profile and fit more securely in my ears. Every ear is different, so this is a "try before you buy" situation, but for me, the Sennheisers were a clear winner for fit. The Technics case is petite in comparison however. It slips in a pocket and feels svelt while the Sennheiser case feels enormous. The cloth texture is a unique and premium touch and I'm a fan... But the size is noticeable. The charge port is also on the front, which I don't like whereas the Technics puts it in the back where it should be. The charge light is also better on the Technics, both in form and function, having a light on the outside and inside of the case showing battery and charge status. The Sennheisers only have a light on the outside of the case, partially obscured by the charge cable if plugged in. Technics case is a clear winner. VERDICT: Both of these buds are great, and each have their pros and cons. I like the fit and app of the Sennheisers way more than the Technics, but the Technics case is better and the sound is better out of the box. Technics' Three point pairing is an added bonus, but only at normal sound quality, which makes the feature moot for me. Technics seem to have a bit better quality control with less reported issues, but I'm hoping firmware updates have sorted out most of the kinks by now. For me, the Sennheisers simply fit my ears better and the app made it overall a much more pleasant experience. With some tinkering, I might be able to fine tune the sound a bit more and make them the winner in that department as well. The Klipsch (or Duracell) color scheme is pretty sweet on the Sennheisers, but the silver on the Technics is slick as well.

**4 months milestone update - still working great! Still prefer this pair over the Apple AirPod. Still wear these while working out. Music still sounds natural and powerful in my ear! Original review- Priced at $299 (I bought these at $279), are the Technics AZ80 better than the Airpod Pro ( MSRP $249)? In many aspects, yes! I truly believe that the AZ80 has great hardware and good software, making these an amazing pair of premium audio earbuds. I personally own a pair of Apple AirPod Pro 1 (short as AirPods Pro below), which I have been wanting to replace. My review should have some some comparison between the AirPods Pro and the AZ80. 1. 10mm drive & Technic’s audio technology: the sound is incredibly clear. Sound stage is wide, with instruments in each song can be clearly identified. Warm bass that is amazing straight out of box, and there are plenty of room to customize EQ With the in-app EQ, while it is very simple, it enables customizable profile to tailor the sound. Even though the Technics Connect app seems to have fewer EQ presets than competitors, I found them to be enough for my needs. I stick to Vocal and Dynamic depending on my needs. There is one minor issue: I can feel and hear slight pressure change when I run with the AZ80. Not a major issue for me since I focus more on weight training workout. With its close-back design and large 10mm driver, these are not great if you want to use these for running. The IPX4 rating also is only suitable for moderate workout in mild terrain and weather. 2. Amazing ANC: natural and effective. No in-ear pressure feel. Natural transparency mode. Many review sites often compare earbuds next to each other. In my experience, they are simply great on their own. I like that I can customize the strength of the ANC, increasing the ANC in noisy spaces such as the train cabin, or decrease it when at home. Very little white noise when ANC is at max strength. I have above average hearing, and I can only hear the white noise if I intentionally pay attention to it. 3. Small case: as shown in the picture, the AZ80 case is amazingly designed. Not that much bigger than my AirPods. Wireless charging capable, with a USB-C port, premium metallic material look, and great ergonomic in hand or pocket. 4. Great ergonomics: It comes with multiple eartips to choose from. The earbuds are not intrusive in my ear canal. The AZ80 simply sit in my ear, similar to the AirPods Pro. I have some issues with the AirPods Pro falling out of my ear during workout due to the size and design, as well as the minor moisture and oil in my ear during working out. These feel more secure than the AirPods Pro. 5. Great connectivity: Using my iPhone, connecting to either the AirPods or AZ80 are similar simple and convenient. The AZ80 takes 1 sec longer to connect than the AirPods Pro, but it does not require any interaction to switch between devices once multi-point is setup. To switch devices, I simply play audio or video on the other device. AirPods Pro is great when I first got it, but recently it has major issues with connection, device switching, and battery life, despite being on the latest hardware. Lastly, 6. Microphone quality. AirPods Pro does have Apple’s industry leading software to create amazing sound quality. I personally prefer the AZ80 as it seems to have better microphone hardware and software. My voice sounds natural, although lack a bit of warmth. With the Technics’ JustMyVoice feature at maximum strength, the person on the other side of the call cannot hear any noise, music, or chatter near me. The clarity of my voice does get cutout if my background noise is larger than me, but that’s the same across competition. P.S. I personally identify as a gear fanatic who likes to do extensive research before any purchase. Before buying two pairs of these premium earphones, one for my partner and the other for myself, I looked extensively into other options such as the Sony 1000XM5, Sennheiser MTWS 3, 4, & sport, Apple AirPods Pro 2, Beats Fit Pro, Bose QC Wireless Ultra, and Jabra Elite 10, as well as Technics’s own AZ60 & AZ60 Mark 2 I believe these earbuds to be simply amazing and cannot be overlooked if you have been shopping for something like the Sennheiser MTWS 4 or Bose QCW Ultra.

These are bad on several aspects. I'll go over good and bad on my journey since August of last year (2025). I listen to music while woodworking and mowing, so I have no real opinion on the noise canceling. Good: I listen to audio books and a dramatized Bible. Voices and other atmospheric noises are very rich. I love it. The build quality is also nice. Bad: oh man, where do I start? Let's talk audio first. It's just not loud enough. You always feel like the volume is down. ----physical: The finish of the case shows scratches super quick. I work in the courts so I'm definitely not abusing it. Another thing is battery life. I'm not going to swear by it, but after I updated the firmware it seems like my battery life went down about 30-40%. -----software/app: So bad. I love the find my earbud thing, but in order for that to work, the app has to remain active in the background and has a notification bar you can't clear. I loathe that. The initial "fit test" is also dramatically wrong lol. I have huge ears and it wanted me to put in smalls. Eventually it went with mediums after a few tests. -----support: Okay, here's the absolute worst part to it. First, so if you're looking at these and do bite, remember this part. The serial number is on the bottom and (mine was at least) 11 digits including letters and numbers on two rows. My earbuds case started blinking red so I went for help. The support section for this is virtually garbage. I ended up going through chat. We went through some generic "try me" to fix it. Didn't work. So he ended up saying it was I warranty and would be repaired or replaced. He gave me a link and ended the chat. That brought me to some 2000s form I filled out. It needed a serial number. I didn't know how to find it. The text on the bottom? The ink literally matches the finish of the case. So if you get silver, take pics because it gets banged up pretty fast. So I tried the app. Not on there. I didn't have the packaging. So finally I went on chat again and asked if that number I saw above the little qr code might be it. They didn't know, but tried it. Success! So I had the agent give me the link to the warranty repair form (I still never found it in the website, so remember that chat agents have it handy!) and filled it out. When you fill it out, it assigns you number that HAS TO BE PRINTED ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE BOX! Guess what? You have to pay shipping there. Maybe I'm spoiled by Amazon 😂 but that was the salt in the wound. Ultimately, the voice and atmospheric sound is phenomenal. But even with YouTube, I just always felt like it wasn't loud enough. That, paired with the scratches, difficult service, and lackluster case, I do not recommend these. Get something else. Seriously

EDIT: I DO NOT RECOMMEND THESE EARBUDS TO THOSE LOOKING FOR DURABILITY AS I HAD DROPPED THE CASE OUT OF MY POCKET, LANDING A HALF FOOT AT MOST TO THE SMOOTH HARDWOOD FLOOR AND I AM COMPLETELY UNABLE TO USE THE CASE TO CHARGE MY EARBUDS AND THE LID IS SO LOOSE THAT IT COULD POP OFF AT ANY MOMENT! I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING REMOTELY CLOSE TO THE CHEAPLY AND VERY HALF HEARTED ATTEMPT TO DROP ANY EARBUDS FROM THAT SMALL HEIGHT, LET ALONE NEARLY $200 EARBUDS!! Former review: I have owned quite a few of the Technics TWS Bluetooth earbuds from the MAH-AZ40, AZ-40M2, AZ-60 and being a previous owner of the well crafted and highly immersive AZ-80 models, as well as having tested and used the most known and popular Bluetooth earbuds from Sony, Apple, Anker, etc. I unfortunately didn’t get to use these earbuds due to my initial inspection of the earbuds themselves right after I had removed the earbuds from the packaging, I noticed that they weren’t as described in the listing, but being a prior owner of the same model earbuds, I can give a very in depth review of this product and how I believe that it stands out in the vast market of Bluetooth earbuds. I picked this product over other brands simply because when it comes to the clarity and very precise instrumental separation, having a clear and detailed without being overly rattling with the bass, (which can be customized in the companion app with using either the two preset “bass and super base+” modes, as well as the built in 5-EQ equalizer to allow you to tailor the audio to your own preferences) the midrange and vocal range is also very pronounced and a lot more refined than its predecessor and most of the other competitors, and it’s highs are perfectly tuned for awesome treble clarity that makes every song feel so good, even when you’re using the standard default sound preset, it’s a night and day difference between the MAH-AZ80 soundstage and its competitors. I can’t say for certain about the pair I had currently received as I am not going to use them since they came used, but the other pair works well for both Android OS and iOS, with Bluetooth 5.3 ,SBC/AAC and the LDAC codecs, (which the latter can be used for Android OS/iOS devices primarily using the AAC codec) The comfort is truly top notch, and allows for hours of listening without any ear straining or pain, so I would definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a great experience without having to worry about pain in your ear canal. It goes without saying the comfort is one of the best I’ve ever experienced, to the point where you can practically sleep with them in your ears. Battery life is very good and I noticed that the company has actually understated the listening time. It states that you can get around 5.5 hours of listening with ANC enabled and 7.5 hours without, but I don’t really use ANC so I did notice that I have averaged over 8 hours of listening time with ANC off, so kudos to Technics. The Bluetooth connectivity was seamless and very easy to set up, and you can practically use them right out of the box. Value for money is the weakest point of these earbuds. They are worth every penny in my honest opinion, but in the vast range of different devices out there with similar capabilities at around half of the cost, (though you’ll find them to be not quite as good as the AZ80) I believe they should rethink their pricing strategy, and if you have the money then I would highly recommend you give these beasts a try, and I almost forgot about the call quality of the earbuds, and I am very impressed, it has a “just my voice” technology that artificially reduces background noise and you can also enable it for the person on the other line as well. Multipoint connectivity is a big upgrade here as it allows you to connect to three different devices simultaneously and is very responsive and reliable. I’d give these buds an overall 9.5/10 (CHANGED TO NOT RECOMMENDED AND CHANGED MY RATING FROM THE ABOVE TO A 3.5/10 due to the very low impact drop and the complete inability to use either the case or the earbuds now and customer support is virtually nonexistent! If the price were a bit lower I’d have given them a full ten stars, and I had also removed a star from my rating due to receiving the current buds in a condition that was not as described, so I will be returning. I hope you found this useful and hope that it was of some help. Thanks for your time and I hope you and your loved ones have a safe and wonderful weekend! (I will be uploading my video and photo review soon so I apologize for the inconvenience!)