Audio-Technica's cheap noise cancelling earbuds are 'built for bass lovers'

Audio-Technica ATH-CKS30TW+
(Image credit: Audio-Technica)

According to Audio-Technica, whose inexpensive and decidedly cubist ATH-SQ1TW earbuds still hold a dear place in our hearts – and a coveted spot in our best budget earbuds buying guide – the Japanese audio expert's been on "a 15-year quest for super deep bass" and the new ATH-CKS30TW+ earbuds are the result. With a frequency response of 5Hz to 20,000Hz these earbuds go low, too. For clarity, humans can only hear from 20Hz up; anything lower than that we feel as vibrations in our bodies.

The ATH-CKS30TW+ buds are built around proprietary 9mm drivers with "acoustic ducts" to deliver tight low frequencies, and you can tweak the sound via AT's app where you'll find a new 'Bass Boost – Deep' option to pushes those bass frequencies further. There are also four preset listening modes for beats, dynamics, vocals and clarity, and there's active noise cancellation with hear-through and talk-through functions. 

Audio-Technica ATH-CKS30TW+: specifications and pricing

Battery life is a very acceptable 6.5 hours per bud or 17.5 hours via the charging case, and turning off ANC increases that to 7.5 and 20 hours respectively. There's IP55 equivalent water and dust resistance, customizable touch controls and Bluetooth multi-point for easy pairing. Voice assistants are Apple's Siri and Google Assistant.

There are four color options: black, beige, a sage-y green and a translucent black option, and all four versions are available from today for €99 / £89. We haven't been notified of US pricing yet but we’d expect it to be around $99.

We haven't had the chance to test these earbuds yet but we'd expect them to share sonic characteristics with other AT earbuds such as the ATH-TWX7, which launched earlier this year. We liked their sound – like other AT buds they deliver a slightly warm tone (this is a company that made its name creating excellent turntable cartridges, after all) that's nice to listen to. But we didn't like the comparatively short battery life and felt that the earbuds weren't as loud as we'd have liked. Even with the volume up and noise cancellation on, we sometimes struggled to hear our music when we walked beside busy roads. Hopefully that isn't the case here: the newer buds have bigger drivers and are likely to be more powerful as a result.

As always, when we know, so shall you. Watch this space. 

You may also like

Carrie Marshall
Contributor

Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind.

Read more
Technics EAH-AZ100 earbuds in black, on a beige background, held in a hand
Technics' intriguing new flagship wireless earbuds boast 'Magnetic Fluid' injected between the driver magnet and voice coil
Final ZE3000 SV ANC earbuds
One of the most underrated headphones makers just launched new cheap ANC wireless earbuds, and I'm really looking forward to these
Technics EAH-AZ100 in-ear headphones, one facing up and the other facing down, on a white surface
5 best headphones and earbuds of CES 2025
Technics EAH-AZ100 in-ear headphones on a white surface
Technics EAH-AZ100 review: premium true wireless earbuds that bridge gap between 'good' and 'great'
Black 1More SonoFlow headphones laying on table near laptop and phone.
These new cheap ANC headphones from a reliable brand look like wildly good value – 90 hours of battery, Hi-Res Audio, spatial sound… all for $50
Honor Earbuds open, in early testing
The top 3 ground-breaking earbuds innovations we saw at MWC 2025
Latest in Wireless Headphones
Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Premium Noise Canceling Overhead Headphones in black on orange background with price cut text
Save $100 on the Sony WH-1000XM4 - our best headphones for most people
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Bluetooth Headphones in cappuccino color on cyan radar background with price cut sign
These excellent cheap Sony headphones are now just $38 at Amazon
Black 1More SonoFlow headphones laying on table near laptop and phone.
These new cheap ANC headphones from a reliable brand look like wildly good value – 90 hours of battery, Hi-Res Audio, spatial sound… all for $50
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra on a blue background with text saying Big Savings.
Save $80 on the Bose's best noise-cancelling headphones in the Presidents' Day sales
Sony headphones on a coloured background
Sony’s next flagship wireless headphones just edged closer to launch – here’s when they might land
PowerBeats Pro 2
The Powerbeats Pro 2 are my new favorite workout headphones, but not because of their heart rate monitor
Latest in News
Perplexity Squid Game Ad
New ad declares Squid Game's real winner is Perplexity AI
Frank Grimes confronts Homer Simpson in The Simpsons' Homer's Enemy episode
Disney+ adds a new continuous Simpsons stream, so you no longer have to spend ages choosing an episode
Helly and Mark standing on an artificial hill surrounded by goats in Severance season 2 episode 3
New Apple teaser for Severance season 2 finale suggests we might finally find out what Lumon is doing with those goats, and I don't think it's anything good
Foldable iPhone
Apple’s first foldable iPhone could beat the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 in one key way
Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals' next update will add two new hero skins for Iron Man and Spider-Man mains this week
Nvidia Isaac GROOT N1
“The age of generalist robotics is here" - Nvidia's latest GROOT AI model just took us another step closer to fully humanoid robots