Audio-Technica has announced its latest true wireless earbuds, the ATH-ANC300TW – and the could prove a big rival for our current favorites, the Sony WF-1000XM3.
Announced at CES 2020 in Las Vegas, the new earbuds come with noise cancelation built-in, allowing you to listen to your music without being disturbed by the sound of your environment.
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You'll have to wait a while to try them though; the ATH-ANC300TW won't be available to buy until May, and they'll set you back $249 / £209 – that works out at around AU$360 based on current conversion rates, but we're still waiting on official Australian pricing.
For US customers, that's pricier than the $230 Sony WF-1000XM3 (although they're £10 cheaper for UK buyers) – so if the ATH-ANC300TW are going to beat their biggest rivals, they'll need to offer enhanced audio quality and better noise cancelation.
True audio fidelity
Delivering high quality audio fidelity is a big concern of Audio-Technica, and judging by the specs of these true wireless earbuds, they should sound fantastic, with carbon-coated 5.8mm drivers for faithful reproduction of your music.
Audio-Technica's previous true wireless earbuds, the ATH-CKS5TW, impressed in this regard, with a bassier presentation than we'd usually expect from the brand; after all, it's well known for their neutral, audiophile-friendly sound.
The latest Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology means that Hi-Res Audio codecs like aptX are supported, so you can listen to your music at CD-like quality levels.
Qualcomm's TrueWireless Stereo Plus technology is also on offer here, which means you can stream to both earbuds simultaneously, which reduces latency and lag between the buds.
Each earbud contains two microphones (one behind the driver and one inside the duct tube), which pick up environmental noise. According to Audio-Technica, this sound is then reduced by a high-precision digital processor, allowing you to focus on your music, uninterrupted.
With the Audio-Technica Connect app, you can toggle between three different noise cancelation presets: Airplane, On-the-go, and Office/Study. The app also allows you to select your preferred audio codecs, locate the earbuds if they are lost, and check your battery life.
Battery life comes in at 4.5 hours, with an additional 13.5 hours by the wireless charging case. That's not a huge amount of juice – the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 offer an outstanding 45 hours of battery in total (and they're far cheaper).
- Check out all of TechRadar's CES 2020 coverage. We're live in Las Vegas to bring you all the breaking tech news and launches, plus hands-on reviews of everything from 8K TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops and smart home gadgets.
