Audio-Technica raise the bar with their ATH-ANC300TW true wireless in-ear headphones, a comfortable set of earbuds ready for whatever listening duties you throw at them.
As the headphone market grows ever deeper, the attraction towards owning a few pairs grows ever greater. If you’re a musician or audiophile you’ve got your headphones that never leave the house – maybe you even have a workhorse pair and a separate pair for mixing. For a pair that’s primed for wide use, no wires, and on-the-go work, it’s hard to go past the ANC300TW true wireless in-ears from Audio-Technica, having tried them out.
They solve all of the issues you’d normally associate with a wireless in-ear headphone – factors like comfort over long use times, clunky bluetooth, shoddy active noise cancelling, and a compromise in sound quality for portability and size. The ANC300TWs are easy to use, sound great, and are adaptable to a broad range of uses. But let’s take a closer look.
First impressions
The ANC300TWs come in a case that’ll handily fit into a jacket pocket or the palm of your hand. The case itself has a USB-C charging port and three LEDs indicating the level of charge – the headphones themselves will run for 4.5 hours on a single charge, plus the case can hold an additional 13.5 hours of charge if you’re on the go. Design-wise the case is sleek, with a magnetic lid that closes with a reassuring snap when stowed.
The headphones automatically turn off and charge when they’re in the case, plus they’ll turn on and pair with your device as soon as you take them out. You can turn these features off with the Audio-Technica Connect app if you’d like, but I personally found them too convenient to say goodbye to.
5.8mm drivers, although small, provide an excellent sound quality. Teeing up a playlist I usually use as litmus test for headphones and speakers, the bass response was especially impressive for a pair of headphones so small.
The housing looks slightly chunky on first impressions, but the feeling soon fades. The buds grow into a curved, comfortable shape that looks top-heavy but fits in your ear nicely – even a few good shakes of the head couldn’t get them to fall out. A single button on top of each earpiece attends to all your hands-free needs (answering calls, changing songs, etc), placed so that you don’t have to push the earbud halfway to your brain to press the button – a slick design choice.
Quietpoint ambient noise reduction is well-respected at this point, but still amazes on use. Through the Connect app you can even choose between three noise cancelling modes – Airplane, On the Go, and Office/Study – and they’re extremely well engineered. On the Go, for instance, will dampen sharper background noise such as cars, beeps, and the like, whereas Airplane is perfectly suited for shutting out low, consistent ambient noise.
We may not be allowed to fly right now, sure, but it’ll suit a train trip perfectly.
Easy to pick up, hard to put down
Thanks to a Bluetooth 5.0 upgrade, the ANC300TWs are snappy to connect to whatever device you’re using, be it phone, computer, or what have you. The single hands-free button covers enough functionality that you’ll be able to forget your phone during walks or trips to the office fridge, but the Connect app does provide plenty of deeper customisation for anyone that way inclined.
My initial response that these in-ears looked a little thicc turned out to be totally unfounded – after using them over a couple of days for hours on end you’ll forget they’re even there. Extra Small, Small, Medium, and Large earbud sizes come in the packaging, so finding a size that suits your particular ears shouldn’t be a sweat.
There’s even a pair of memory foam buds, if that’s your preference.
As mentioned, the noise cancelling capabilities of the ANC300TWs are stupendous, so it’s easy indeed to float off into your own world when using them.
Adaptable on the fly
The real strength of these headphones is in how broad-spectrum their use is. They’re ideal for practically any situation outside of critical listening, or whenever super high fidelity audio is required (when you should really be using over-ears or monitors, anyway). From background listening, to taking calls, to heading out on a run, these pocket rockets should have you covered.
A quick hear-through function, available as the headphones’ default button-press, ensures you’ll be able to drop out of your noise-cancelled world and into a conversation at any time. For some unfathomable reason this feature is still relatively rare on the headphone market, so any pair of (especially wireless) in-ears with hear-through is a massive tick from us.
All in the ATH-ANC300TW true wireless in-ear headphones are about as good as it gets for their slice of the market, and now their price has been dropped from $349 to $299, there’s never been a better time to grab some for yourself.
If you’re looking for a pair of in-ears that are cosy enough to take with you anywhere, able to carry you through work and leisure alike, sound great, and are a pleasure to use, look no further than the ATH-ANC300TW.
Find out more about the ATH-ANC300TW headphones here.
