It’s been three years since Technics launched its first pair of true wireless headphones, the AZ70W, and after testing the waters of the more midrange market the following year, it’s taken stock before launching its new flagship range – the EAH-AZ80.

The new noise-cancelling buds launch alongside the improved AZ60M2, but set themselves apart with a bigger driver for better sound, an improved design for a more comfortable all-day fit and better noise cancelling.

However, at $349/£269.99, they set themselves in the middle of a pretty competitive marketplace – with the likes of Bose’s QuietComfort Earbuds II and Sennheiser’s True Momentum Wireless 3 to come up against. Plus this is the sort of price we’d expect the new WF-1000XM5 to launch at, if they ever appear this year.

Can the Technics AZ80 keep up with the pack? Here’s our full review.

Design

• Dimensions: 22 x 27 x 24mm (buds), 69 x 36 x 29mm (charging case)
• Weight: 7g (per bud), 50g (charging case)
• Concha-shaped design
• 7 included ear tips

The Technics design language hasn’t made any huge departure from what we’ve seen before, and that’s no bad thing. They’re a twist-to-fit earbud, with circular outward design that looks smart when sat in the ear. The attention to detail here is also appreciated – like the Technics logo, being colour matched to the visible talk mic that sits alongside it.

This circular section doubles up as a touch sensitive panel for controls, and they can be customised for each earbud within the Technics app – plus different actions assigned depending if it’s music or calls.

The shiny finish on this panel not only looks nice set against the plastic surround, but makes it a more tactile experience too. The controls work really well from our tests, and our black and gold model look great to boot – but there’s also a silver, white and gold option too.

Beneath that outward-facing panel, Technics has had a bit of a rethink when it comes to the design of the AZ80’s earbud casing. Compared to the AZ60M2 below it, which keeps largely the same “drop shape” as 2021’s AZ60, the AZ80 has been moulded to better fit the shape of the ear.

This aim is for the AZ80 to sit a little more snugly and to rest more comfortably in the concha. There are, as before, a total of seven eartips to choose from too – which blows the usual three from their competition out of the water, and enables you to get a really good seal for the bud in the ear canal.

It’s mostly successful, and we find the fit feels better and more secure compared to the AZ60M2 – though these are still on the larger side and so you probably will begin to feel some pressure from the fit after a few hours.

Considering the size of the earbuds, the case is actually pretty compact with a top-open design that feels nice in the hand and a flat base that allows you to have them stood up on the desk next to you.

The Technics logo is etched into the lid in gold and there’s a single LED on the case to show you what the battery level is like whenever you open it.

Features and battery life

• 10mm free-edge aluminium driver
• LDAC support
• Up to 7.5 hours playback, 25 hours with case (ANC off)
• Multi-point connection to three devices
• Four microphones per bud

The AZ80 use a new 10mm free-edge aluminium driver for their sound, to improve high frequencies thanks to a more rigid design. This is joined by a new acoustic chamber and harmoniser to extend the frequency range and improve airflow while also lowering distortion.

They can really show all of these sound improvements off, too, as they support LDAC playback for hi-res quality wireless playback. You’ll need a compatible device for this though, a high-res audio player like the FiiO M11S or a phone like the Xperia 1 V for example, plus good quality music to make it worthwhile.

If you do make use of this higher resolution capabilities – just be aware of the impact on battery life. Standardly, the AZ80 will manage seven hours of playback (7.5 hours if you switch ANC off), but when streaming LDAC music, expect that to drop to 4.5-5 hours.

The case has you covered for 24-25 hours of further playback when fully charged, depending on if you’re using noise cancellation or not. Recharging the buds to full takes about two hours but you can get a fast-ish charge of 70 minutes playback with 15 minutes plugged in.

We prefer fast charges that are done in 5-10 minutes maximum, but it’s not bad if you’re caught out. There’s Qi wireless charging here too.

Technics has put a big emphasis on its Just My Voice technology, which we have seen in its headphone products before. This year it says it’s been tweaked further to improve call quality in windy and noisy environments, and to make it sound more natural.

There are a total of four microphones in each bud to help with this – a feed forward and feedback microphone, the talk mic and a mic for voice detection.

IPX4 splashproofing is included to allow you to take these to the gym if you wish. Technics is very much pushing these as a “one headphones fits all” approach – so whether you need them for work, leisure or workouts, they’ve been designed that they should have what you need.

This is bolstered by the industry-first three-point multipoint connection. The Technics AZ80 will switch seamlessly between up to three devices as and when you need them to, without needed to pair and repair all the time.

We tried this with an iPad, iPhone and MacBook and the headphones switched seamlessly between all through without hiccup. Just place both buds in your ears and hold both touch panels for a few seconds to trigger the pairing mode.

Performance

The Technics AZ80 waste no time in telling us exactly what they’re all about – a confident yet refined listen, explicit in their handling of detail and timing, and that play nicely with just about every genre we’ve thrown at them.

The tonal balance has been carefully crafted here. There is a cautious lean towards the low end, but never to the detriment of clarity. Listen to the Can I Kick It? by De La Soul and the bass guitar intro is full-bodied and assertive, yet retains plenty of the strings’ texture too – you can not only hear, but almost feel the leading edges of the notes as they are played, such is their attention to detail.

Feed them something like Mask Off by Future though, and you see just how well the bass is handled. The sub-bass rumble that runs beneath the whole track reaches nice and low but always stays controlled, never making more of itself than is intended or impressing itself upon the midrange, like you can hear in lesser buds.

That means vocals enjoy superb levels of clarity and insight. From Hello by Adele to Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah, the AZ80 offer up lashings of detail, which is extended to the rest of the midrange. We might pick out the slightest bit of finer detail in the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II, but it’s very close indeed.

There’s a precision here too, yet not to the detriment of energy. Listen to Aerials by System of a Down and you are almost propelled into the manic main of the track from the building, brooding intro. If these don’t get your foot tapping your way to full air guitar by the end of the track, nothing will.

When things get a little intense, the AZ80 can make sense of things without missing a beat either, but then also bring things right back down again, such is their dynamic adeptness. Loud, soft, fast, slow – the AZ80 will make sure that every turn of your music is as explicitly relayed as you can expect at this price.

The treble does perhaps play things a little safe – and that brings with it both good things and bad. For example, the sibilance and harder edges of Jeff Buckley’s vocals in Hallelujah are softened considerably, so you would barely notice them, where the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II serve them up for all to hear.

However, Adele’s notes in the higher register don’t sound quite as clear and twinkly as they do on the Bose. There’s always a balance to be struck between treble detail and comfort, and in this respect, the AZ80 do play it a touch safe, which can dampen down a bit of enthusiasm in some songs. There are EQ controls within the Bose app if you want to play around here though – we kept it on Direct (no EQ) for testing.

Stereo imaging is good in these buds though. Hunter by Björk has all manner of instruments and sound effects in its mix and they’re all presented well across a relatively wide soundstage, with enough space for each element to have its moment without feeling hemmed in or squashed.

As far as noise cancelling is concerned, it’s more good news. The slightly pricier Bose still have the edge when it comes to absolute quiet, but it’s a really good showing here from the AZ80. The ANC is adaptive via the Technics app, and at 100% with your music on, it’s really just you and your music.

Call quality is good too. Our callers said we sounded clear and direct – perhaps a little more tinny than we’ve heard on something like the AirPods Pro 2 but still a good performance. Even in a busy restaurant, we were easily heard with some noise creeping in when we spoke. However, when we weren’t talking the background noise was all but inaudible to our caller.

Verdict

There’s no two ways about it – Technics has done a great job with the tuning of the EAH-AZ80, and they present themselves as a real contender in this busy part of the market.

They still can’t scare off the biggest contenders when it comes to noise cancellation, but from a music perspective they are confident, detailed and expressive, and only that play-it-safe treble takes a bit of shine from an otherwise assured performance.