We named the Sonos Era 100 the best midrange option in our guide to smart speakers and right now, Woot is selling a two-pack for $410. That amounts to an 18 percent discount or $88 less than buying them at full price from Sonos. This isn't the lowest price we've seen — that happened during Black Friday last year, when a single unit sold for $199 directly from Sonos. Still, if you want a smart speaker capable of delivering good audio, the deal is worth considering as Sonos speakers aren't often on sale.
The Sonos Era 100 earned an 88 in our review, with Engadget's Nathan Ingraham calling it "affordable multi-room audio that actually sounds good." This is the replacement for the popular Sonos One and improves upon its predecessor in both sound quality and features. It has a new speaker array with two tweeters and a larger woofer. Combined, the improvements add up to better clarity and impressive bass.
The Era 100 can now tune itself based on where you put the speaker thanks to the built-in mics (previously you had to manually optimize it using your phone). Unlike the Sonos One, this generation does have line-in capabilities, but you'll need an adapter to hook up a turntable. The multi-room audio feature is simple to set up, as is pairing the speakers to work in stereo — that means if you go for this offer, it'll be easy to get the most out of the set.
As a smart speaker, Alexa comes standard so you can get help with questions, smart home control and other tasks like setting reminders or managing your smart home devices. There's also the Sonos assistant, which lets you control your music just by asking. Unfortunately, the Google Assistant is no longer supported through Sonos speakers. The Era 100 does support Apple AirPlay 2, but you'll need to access Siri through your phone, not the speaker.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/get-a-two-pack-of-sonos-era-100-smart-speakers-for-88-off-162558229.html?src=rss
We recommend the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds in our guide to the best wireless earphones for those who just want the strongest active noise cancellation (ANC) possible in a true wireless design. If you've been looking to pick up a pair, take note: A recent sale has brought the earphones back down to $249, which takes $50 off their usual price and matches the previous low we saw during the holiday season. The offer is available at several retailers, including Amazon, Walmart and Bose's own online store, and it comes as part of a wider spate of discounts on the company's headphones, earbuds, soundbars and Bluetooth speakers.
Engadget Senior Reporter Billy Steele gave the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds a score of 88 in his review last September. Again, ANC performance is the big attraction here: The earphones do a superb job of reducing external sound across the board, and Bose's app lets you lower the intensity of the ANC if it ever feels uncomfortable. (Though, as with most noise-canceling headphones, voices and other higher-pitched sounds will come through a little clearer than bass- and midrange tones.) The actual earpieces are larger than most other pairs, but they're comfortable, with soft silicone tips that don't create too much pressure in the ear.
Bose's sound signature is a bit bass-heavy out of the box, but not to the point of sloppiness, so it should particularly satisfy fans of hip-hop and pop. If you want a little less low-end, you can tweak the EQ curve through Bose's app. This model also comes with an optional spatial audio feature dubbed "Immersive Audio," which aims to give any song a greater soundstage and sense of width. Some tracks will still take to it better than others, but Steele found it to offer impressive detail on the whole.
There are some issues to keep in mind, though. The QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds lack wireless charging by default; to add it, you need to buy a $49 case cover. They also can't connect to two devices simultaneously. The built-in mic is fine for phone calls, but not good, and the six to seven hours of battery life is similarly just OK. With Immersive Audio on, the latter drops closer to four hours. Sony's WF-1000XM5, the top pick in our guide, offer a wider feature set and excellent ANC performance in their own right (though they may be less comfortable for those with smaller ears). Apple's AirPods Pro, meanwhile, still include a bevy of conveniences for iPhone owners. Still, if you want a true wireless set that focuses on ANC and spatial audio, this is a decent discount.
In other Bose deals, the over-ear version of the QuietComfort Ultra are also $50 off at $379. That pair delivers top-notch ANC as well, but it's harder to justify when Sony's WH-1000XM5, our favorite wireless headphones overall, is currently on sale for $50 less. The older QuietComfort Earbuds II are available for $199 as well, though our review found the Ultra model's spatial audio tricks to be worth the upgrade.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/one-of-our-favorite-noise-canceling-earbuds-is-cheaper-than-ever-155517532.html?src=rss
Amazon's Fire TV soundbar is back on sale for $100, bringing the price down from $120. That’s a savings of $20, or 17 percent, on the well-regarded audio device. This matches the Black Friday price from last year, so this is likely the cheapest you’ll see the soundbar until, well, the holidays.
The device can enhance your TV audio via dual speakers, with access to 3D surround sound. You also get DTS Virtual X and Dolby Audio support. It comes with a remote for adjusting the volume, but you can also plug it directly into a Fire TV and use that remote for everything. Plug and play experiences are always nice.
The soundbar also has Bluetooth, so you can connect it to your phone or tablet to stream podcasts or whatever. The only thing missing, and this is odd for an Amazon gadget, is Alexa. You won’t be able to use the dulcet tones of your speaking voice to make any volume adjustments with this soundbar.
There’s also the pigskin-encased elephant in the room. The Super Bowl is just 11 days away. If you’re looking to upgrade your home entertainment system before gorging on nachos with your buddies and playing Taylor Swift-inspired drinking games, this is a mighty fine option. Many rival products cost two to three times as much as this soundbar.
Yamaha has a new audio mixer for gamers and streamers. Nearly three years after the launch of the company’s first gaming-specific soundboard, the company’s new ZG02 adds a dedicated USB-C port for gaming consoles, a more streamlined profile and a lower price ($200 compared to the ZG01’s $300).
Yamaha wants to establish its ZG line as more straightforward and accessible than offerings from rival audio companies with gazes similarly fixed on the Twitch and Discord sets (Rode and Roland also court gamers and streamers). “While other game mixing solutions can be cumbersome and complex, the ZG02 offers a more tactile, compact and intuitive mixing experience with customizable effects controls,” Yamaha consumer audio director Alex Sadeghian wrote in a press release.
In addition to its on-the-fly sound, chat and voice adjustments, the Yamaha ZG02 includes competitive gaming “focus” modes and 3D surround sound. It has software-based mic settings and voice effects, including compression, limiter, reverb, pitch and a radio voice filter. In addition, you can assign your favorite shortcuts to its physical buttons in the (free) companion app for Windows and macOS.
The mixer supports gaming headsets with built-in or dedicated mics through an XLR / TRS combo jack on its rear (and has 48V of phantom power for condenser mics). It includes a “versatile USB interface” for Windows and macOS computers, and its console-specific USB-C port works with PS5 / PS4 and Nintendo Switch.
The ZG01 includes a USB driver that lets you route audio to two different apps (for example, Discord and OBS / Streamlabs). Yamaha also touts compatibility with the Elgato Stream Deck lineup. The $200 ZG02 is available starting today in the US at Yamaha’s website.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/yamahas-new-audio-mixer-for-gamers-has-a-simpler-interface-and-cheaper-price-140024235.html?src=rss
Sony's WH-1000XM5 headphones are some of the most popular on the market, thanks to the improved sound quality, comfortable fit and highly effective active noise cancellation (ANC). If you've been looking at buying a pair, now is a good time to act. They're currently on sale at Amazon in black, midnight blue and silver for $328, a solid 18 percent off the list price.
The WH-1000XM5 scored an excellent 95 in our Engadget review, thanks to improvements in nearly every way over our previous favorite headphones, the WH-1000XM4. Perhaps the biggest is in fit and comfort thanks to the more optimal weight distribution, synthetic leather ear cups and slightly reduced weight.
Sound quality also went up, due to the new 30mm carbon fiber drivers that deliver punchier bass. We also saw more clarity that helps you hear fine detail, along with improved depth that makes music more immersive. And Sony's DSEE Extreme sound processing recovers detail lost to compression, without any noticeable impact on sound quality.
The ANC is equally impressive. With double the number of noise cancellation microphones found in the M4, along with a new dedicated V1 chip, the M5 does a better job at minimizing background noise. And in terms of the microphone, we found that the M5 offers superior call quality over its predecessor. Moreover, you get 30 hours of listening time with ANC enabled, enough for the longest of flights.
The main drawbacks of the WH-1000XM5 headphones compared to the previous model is that they no longer fold up, and don't have the granular ANC adjustment found on other models like Bose's QuietComfort Ultra. The other issue is the $400 price tag, but at $328, they're a solid deal — and that price applies to all the main colorways.
The MicroKorg 2 has some big britches to fill. The original MicroKorg is one of, if not the best selling synthesizer of all time. It's also probably the longest continuously manufactured synth, having hit the market in 2002. Of course, technology has advanced quite a lot in the last 22 years and it was time to give what is arguably the first classic synth of the 21st century an update.
The new version that Korg announced just ahead of NAMM 2024 stays largely true to the original design. It's small, but solidly built. The mini keys might bother those with sausage fingers, but my slightly smaller than average hands didn't have much issue. I did occasionally miss my mark slightly, but that has as much to do with my terrible keyboard skills as it does the compact keybed. The keybed itself is fine. Nothing to write home about, that's for sure. But it's also not worth getting up in arms about. I've played plenty worse.
The knobs and buttons, even on this prototype felt solid. And the big rotary knob, which is kind of what gives a MicroKorg its visual identity, has very satisfying detents as you change the genre of your patch selection. While there are big signs in the Korg booth proclaiming that the MicroKorg 2 is still a prototype, the hardware already feels quite refined.
Even the interface seems like its at least nearly complete. The screen itself is bright and colorful with decent viewing angles. It did get a little washed out at extreme angles under the glare of the Anaheim Convention Center's lights, but it's unlikely to cause an issue in regular use.
Terrence O'Brien / Engadget
The UI is already looking pretty nice, with some stylish animations as you change parameters. And changing parameters is a lot easier than it was on the original MicroKorg, which had two edit selection knobs and a table you needed to look up what the five knobs across the top were controlling. On the MicroKorg 2 things are much quicker. For example, pressing the button below the second knob cycles through the settings for oscillator one, two, three and the noise source. And the screen tells you what parameters are assigned to those knobs, depending on the page you've selected.
It's hardly knob per function but it could be much worse.
Terrence O'Brien / Engadget
The one area where it was obvious that the MicroKorg 2 was still in prototype stage was in the presets. There were only eight preprogrammed into the unit I tried. And the NAMM show floor wasn't exactly the ideal environment to do deep sound design.
I did kick the tires on it a bit though, and was pretty quickly able to throw together a couple of decent sounding patches. And the handful of presets that Korg did have ready to go were bright and loaded with character. They were decidedly digital but didn't feel clinical. Unfortunately the convention hall was even less conducive to testing out the vocoder and harmonizer features. It was just impossible to get a clean enough signal with all the cacophony going on around me.
Terrence O'Brien / Engadget
In general the eight-voice (or four-voice in bi-timbral mode), three-oscillator synth engine seems like a big upgrade from the original. It's got not just your standard virtual analog waves, but a selection of single cycle waveforms and even samples that can be combined to create relatively complex sounding patches.
The one thing that the original has over its successor though is price. Where you can still go pick up a MicroKorg from most music retailers for $430, the MicroKorg 2 will set you back $699 when it goes on sale later this year.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-microkorg-2-hands-on-a-stylish-update-to-an-iconic-digital-synthesizer-173034308.html?src=rss
AlphaTheta has come out of the gate swinging with its release of the Omnis-Duo all-in-one DJ controller and Wave-Eight speaker today. These two products are the first under the company’s new moniker since changing it from Pioneer DJ, although both brand names are expected to coexist for now. The launch coincides with the NAMM event this week and it’s also the 30th anniversary of the landmark Pioneer CDJ-500.
Both the controller and speaker are brimming with connectivity and battery power, making them an appealing option for mobile DJs. Rekordbox is a necessity right now, either for direct play or file prep and the app comes bundled with the Omnis-Duo controller. Serato DJ Lite support is expected later this summer and the software should already be bundled with the product. The Wave-Eight is more flexible and can work just as well with any audio source that has an RCA output.
Omnis-Duo
The Omnis-Duo ($1,499) is built to be portable, but also packs in some high-end tech. It’s a 10-pound device with fairly reserved and minimal styling that the company says you can fit in a “good-sized” backpack given its 20 x 12 x 3-inch in size. There’s a two-channel mixer flanked by two jog wheels and eight performance pads under each, although those only work for hot cues and have white LED lighting only. On top you’ll find a touchscreen display with an XDJ-style workflow and both light and dark modes. The display is flat and not angled up for easier viewing.
Omnis-Duo all-in-one DJ controller
AlphaTheta
You get essential controls for volume, EQ, playback, pitch and dedicated ones for beat jump and beat loop. There are also ones to select eight types of beat FX and six types of sound color FX from, but expect some touchscreen coordination to select which channel to apply to.
On the front edge you’ll find both 1/4-inch and 3.5mm stereo headphone jacks. The rear panel displays a wide selection of inputs for USB-A, SD cards and USB-C laptop input next to a USB-C charging port that lets you use either a power bank to top up the battery or an AC adapter. When fully charged we’re told you can expect around five hours of runtime and the system has an eco mode if things are looking grim.
As for wireless connections, there’s a novel Bluetooth input option. People can find the Omnis-Duo in their mobile device settings and connect. If they have files on the phone, the DJ should actually be able to select, load and play files in their set with effects and all. It’s not entirely clear yet, but the other option is likely just normal playback through the controller from a connected Bluetooth device. This is for one user at a time since multipoint is not supported. There's also a wireless output option for connecting to the Wave-Eight speaker using its SonicLink Bluetooth transmitter which connects to the RCA outputs.
And for Wi-Fi connectivity, you can take advantage of CloudDirectPlay to access cloud file storage through a wirelessly connected computer or mobile device running Rekordbox. Additionally, you can use Rekordbox Link Export to directly select and play tracks from a connected device running the app.
Wave-Eight
The Wave-Eight speaker isn’t quite part of a bundled release, it’s just a great pairing with the Omnis-Duo, given its portability, battery power and wireless capability. This speaker has an 8-inch driver and what the company calls a “Vortex Bass Accelerator” for its output. The 28-pound build includes an extendable handle and casters for luggage-style rolling, plus a couple of convenient grab handles for local lugging.
Wave-Eight wireless loudspeaker
AlphaTheta
You can mount it on a stand with its pole socket, so it’s a proper PA speaker, and it’s IPX4 rated, so it’s good for the outdoors unless rain really starts coming down. There’s an onboard battery that should give you about eight hours of playtime on a charge and it takes about four hours or more of charging to get back to one hundred percent. Obviously you can use it as a powered-speaker all night long if there’s an outlet nearby.
What makes this speaker interesting is the removable AlphaTheta transmitter with SonicLink technology. Each speaker comes with a transmitter packed into a side panel. They have an RCA input and a USB-C cable. With one speaker, you take the transmitter out and connect it to an RCA output from your audio setup. Then return to the speaker and set it to connect wirelessly via SonicLink. Once connected that way, it should display a green light on the front panel, so you can confirm the status at a distance.
If you have a second speaker, you take that one’s transmitter and pop it into the first speaker via the USB-C port. That will transmit the audio to the second unit where you set that one to connect via SonicLink (and so on). The speakers support left and right for stereo delivery as well via a channel selector button on the back.
To make things more interesting, each speaker has a variety of audio output settings which include Music, Music (Low Cut), Flat, Flat (Low Cut), Vocal and Subwoofer modes. This means each Wave-Eight speaker can be set as a top or sub. You can set one speaker to a low-cut setting and use another one as its subwoofer accompaniment if you like.
The SonicLink is said to provide a latency-free listening experience, so there shouldn’t be any delay and you can beat match by ear from the output. Of course you can also send audio to a single Wave-Eight via a normal Bluetooth signal and expand to more speakers as you would before. This time, however, you're subject to the normal Bluetooth signal's whims in terms of potential audio delays.
Alternatively, we're told there's also an XLR wired input for the speakers, so you're not stuck with wireless connections exclusively. We’re also still curious about the Bluetooth range for these devices, but expect that it falls within the normal range of about 30 feet.
AlphaTheta has chosen an interesting combo of high-end features, wireless connectivity and battery-powered portability for its premier offering. While they may not be cheap, there’s quite a lot built into both products to balance out the equation.
The Omnis-Duo all-in-one DJ controller ($1,499) and the Wave-Eight speaker ($899) are both available starting today.
~5 hour battery life (47.52Wh rechargeable lithium-ion)
~3 hour charge time
Weight: 10 pounds
Input:
USB-A
SD Card
USB-C PC/Mac
MIC 1: Balanced ¼ TRS
MIC 2: Balanced dual ¼ TRS / XLR
Bluetooth
Output:
Master 1: XLR
Booth Master 2: RCA / RCA to SonicLink transmitter (Bluetooth, no latency)
Onboard Bluetooth output (normal with latency)
Wave-Eight specs:
28 pounds
~8 hour battery life
~4 hour charge time with power off / ~6 hours with power on
EQ modes:
Music
Music (Low Cut)
Flat
Flat (Low Cut)
Vocal
Subwoofer
*Low Cut mode is intended for use on units that are combined with a WAVE-EIGHT set to Subwoofer mode.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/alphatheta-formerly-pioneer-dj-corp-launches-its-first-wireless-dj-controller-and-speaker-090032241.html?src=rss
It’s been over seven years since Apple found the “courage” to remove the 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPhone, in turn forcing wireless headphones into the limelight. To this day, listening to hi-res lossless music on a phone usually means a hunt for a rare handset with a 3.5mm jack or accepting your new dongle life. As if from nowhere, a new breed of wired headphone has emerged, and it promises audiophile quality on any phone with no need for a dongle. Of course there’s a marketing term to go with it: True Lossless Earphones (TLE).
You might not have heard of Questyle, but the company has been making hobbyist HiFi gear for years. Last November, the company tried something different with its NHB12 Lightning headphones. The IEM-style buds incorporate a digital audio converter (DAC) capable of handling Apple Music’s top-tier Hi-Res Lossless files (192kHz/24-bit). Ahead of CES this month, the company released a USB-C version — the $350 NHB15 — bringing its all-in-one hi-res digital headphone to almost every other phone, tablet or PC.
Two days after Questyle announced the NHB15, rival company Hidizs claimed that its own DAC-packing ST2 Promodel was the world’s first hi-res digital IEM. It’s not quite a trend yet, but expect a mini wave of similar products to follow and I’m not sure it matters who was first. What’s more interesting is that, with iPhones switching to USB-C and plug-and-play hi-res options on the table, all the ingredients are there for mini wired headphone revival — although I don’t think it would last and we’ll get to why later.
Photo by James Trew for Engadget
It’s worth noting that all these USB-C headphones have some sort of DAC in them, but rarely are they hi-res capable. “Hi-res” audio is a broad term, but here we’re following Apple’s own language, which is anything above 48kHz. In recent years, some HiFi companies have released USB-C cables with DACs in them that support higher resolutions. Queststyle and Hidizs are just taking it to the next logical conclusion by bundling everything together — which is what makes them more interesting to the casual (but audio curious) listener.
I’ve tried a fair few standalone DACs over my years here at Engadget and I appreciate the superior audio quality they provide, but I never found one I’d use while out and about. There are some that come close, like the fantastic DragonFly Cobalt by AudioQuest or the sleek Onyx by THX but they all require something between your phone and your headphones — by which time I’ll just reach for my best wireless set and be done. The NHB15 though, I could see myself using these on the regular.
The experience is no more complicated than connecting a regular 3.5mm set. The DAC isn’t invisible; at first you might think it was in-line, yoke-style media controls. In fact, if this had buttons on it that would both complete the illusion and add handy functionality, but for now it’s purely there to turn your music from zeros and ones into audible sound. LEDs let you know if you’re slumming it with lossy music (one illuminated) or living the true lossless life (two illuminated). It’s a minimal but effective approach.
Apple
Let’s ignore that the cheapest 3.5mm buds you can buy on Amazon are theoretically also truly lossless earphones, but TLE isn’t an entirely useless term. If it can become the equivalent of “UHD” but for USB-C headphones, with a minimum confirmed level of hi-res audio support — anything above Apple’s standard lossless (48kHz) perhaps, that’s useful enough.
Importantly, Questyle’s NHB15 does a good job with music. Listening via Qobuz, I wasn’t getting two-LEDs all the time, thanks to the variety of “lossless” configurations on the platform, but it was a fun game listening to the sound first and then turning over the DAC to reveal how many lights were on and if I guessed correctly. Mostly I didn’t, but perhaps that’s a testament to how clear these sound. The NHB15 is fairly neutral and less bass heavy than a typical pair of Beats, paired with the right amount of brightness on the higher frequencies.
For something with its own DAC/amplifier, the max volume isn’t as loud as I’d expect, but it’s plenty. Even when listening to Spotify, which offers no lossless music at all right now, these IEMs imbue a sense of space you’re unlikely to find with Bluetooth buds.
What’s harder to determine is whether these are OK IEMs with a nice DAC, an OK DAC with decent drivers attached or something in between. Handily, Questyle includes a regular 3.5mm cable in the box so you can use the NHB15s with all your devices or make the direct comparison yourself. At least for my ears, the Spotify tracks all sounded just as good over the trusty 3.5mm connection connected to my PC. And as far as I can tell, you can use the NHB15’s DAC cable with any IEMs you might already own as long as they have the 2-pin style connector so it’s a flexible idea if nothing else.
Photo by James Trew for Engadget
It’s worth mentioning that there are several competing efforts to bring wireless headphones up to par with lossless cabled options. Qualcomm’s family of codecs is the best known, with the latest AptX Lossless having the technical power to do a pretty good job even if there aren’t a lot of phones or earbuds (and you need both) that support it.
Then there’s the first wave of MEMS-based headphones, the newish kid on the block. These “solid state” drivers aren’t designed specifically for wireless headphones but California-based xMEMS is selling its technology on the promise it delivers a HiFi experience regardless of boring things like codecs. The first products to market show some promise, but we’ll likely have to wait until next year until we see MEMS-based headphones reach their full potential.
The question remains, then, who might want these? The average person paying for a regular music service doesn’t need a hi-res DAC. The average audiophile might be interested, but then it’s competing with dedicated mobile DACs and BYO headphones and for this crowd, convenience isn’t as much of a selling point. The only conclusion is that they are meant for me, the lazy audiophile. I don’t mind cables if the trade off is better, louder sound, and that’s what these do.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wired-headphones-apple-hi-res-lossless-184534388.html?src=rss
It’s been over seven years since Apple found the “courage” to remove the 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPhone, in turn forcing wireless headphones into the limelight. To this day, listening to hi-res lossless music on a phone usually means a hunt for a rare handset with a 3.5mm jack or accepting your new dongle life. As if from nowhere, a new breed of wired headphone has emerged, and it promises audiophile quality on any phone with no need for a dongle. Of course there’s a marketing term to go with it: True Lossless Earphones (TLE).
You might not have heard of Questyle, but the company has been making hobbyist HiFi gear for years. Last November, the company tried something different with its NHB12 Lightning headphones. The IEM-style buds incorporate a digital audio converter (DAC) capable of handling Apple Music’s top-tier Hi-Res Lossless files (192kHz/24-bit). Ahead of CES this month, the company released a USB-C version — the $350 NHB15 — bringing its all-in-one hi-res digital headphone to almost every other phone, tablet or PC.
Two days after Questyle announced the NHB15, rival company Hidizs claimed that its own DAC-packing ST2 Promodel was the world’s first hi-res digital IEM. It’s not quite a trend yet, but expect a mini wave of similar products to follow and I’m not sure it matters who was first. What’s more interesting is that, with iPhones switching to USB-C and plug-and-play hi-res options on the table, all the ingredients are there for mini wired headphone revival — although I don’t think it would last and we’ll get to why later.
Photo by James Trew for Engadget
It’s worth noting that all these USB-C headphones have some sort of DAC in them, but rarely are they hi-res capable. “Hi-res” audio is a broad term, but here we’re following Apple’s own language, which is anything above 48kHz. In recent years, some HiFi companies have released USB-C cables with DACs in them that support higher resolutions. Queststyle and Hidizs are just taking it to the next logical conclusion by bundling everything together — which is what makes them more interesting to the casual (but audio curious) listener.
I’ve tried a fair few standalone DACs over my years here at Engadget and I appreciate the superior audio quality they provide, but I never found one I’d use while out and about. There are some that come close, like the fantastic DragonFly Cobalt by AudioQuest or the sleek Onyx by THX but they all require something between your phone and your headphones — by which time I’ll just reach for my best wireless set and be done. The NHB15 though, I could see myself using these on the regular.
The experience is no more complicated than connecting a regular 3.5mm set. The DAC isn’t invisible; at first you might think it was in-line, yoke-style media controls. In fact, if this had buttons on it that would both complete the illusion and add handy functionality, but for now it’s purely there to turn your music from zeros and ones into audible sound. LEDs let you know if you’re slumming it with lossy music (one illuminated) or living the true lossless life (two illuminated). It’s a minimal but effective approach.
Apple
Let’s ignore that the cheapest 3.5mm buds you can buy on Amazon are theoretically also truly lossless earphones, but TLE isn’t an entirely useless term. If it can become the equivalent of “UHD” but for USB-C headphones, with a minimum confirmed level of hi-res audio support — anything above Apple’s standard lossless (48kHz) perhaps, that’s useful enough.
Importantly, Questyle’s NHB15 does a good job with music. Listening via Qobuz, I wasn’t getting two-LEDs all the time, thanks to the variety of “lossless” configurations on the platform, but it was a fun game listening to the sound first and then turning over the DAC to reveal how many lights were on and if I guessed correctly. Mostly I didn’t, but perhaps that’s a testament to how clear these sound. The NHB15 is fairly neutral and less bass heavy than a typical pair of Beats, paired with the right amount of brightness on the higher frequencies.
For something with its own DAC/amplifier, the max volume isn’t as loud as I’d expect, but it’s plenty. Even when listening to Spotify, which offers no lossless music at all right now, these IEMs imbue a sense of space you’re unlikely to find with Bluetooth buds.
What’s harder to determine is whether these are OK IEMs with a nice DAC, an OK DAC with decent drivers attached or something in between. Handily, Questyle includes a regular 3.5mm cable in the box so you can use the NHB15s with all your devices or make the direct comparison yourself. At least for my ears, the Spotify tracks all sounded just as good over the trusty 3.5mm connection connected to my PC. And as far as I can tell, you can use the NHB15’s DAC cable with any IEMs you might already own as long as they have the 2-pin style connector so it’s a flexible idea if nothing else.
Photo by James Trew for Engadget
It’s worth mentioning that there are several competing efforts to bring wireless headphones up to par with lossless cabled options. Qualcomm’s family of codecs is the best known, with the latest AptX Lossless having the technical power to do a pretty good job even if there aren’t a lot of phones or earbuds (and you need both) that support it.
Then there’s the first wave of MEMS-based headphones, the newish kid on the block. These “solid state” drivers aren’t designed specifically for wireless headphones but California-based xMEMS is selling its technology on the promise it delivers a HiFi experience regardless of boring things like codecs. The first products to market show some promise, but we’ll likely have to wait until next year until we see MEMS-based headphones reach their full potential.
The question remains, then, who might want these? The average person paying for a regular music service doesn’t need a hi-res DAC. The average audiophile might be interested, but then it’s competing with dedicated mobile DACs and BYO headphones and for this crowd, convenience isn’t as much of a selling point. The only conclusion is that they are meant for me, the lazy audiophile. I don’t mind cables if the trade off is better, louder sound, and that’s what these do.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wired-headphones-apple-hi-res-lossless-184534388.html?src=rss
I’ve come to expect certain things from Audio-Technica earbuds and headphones. First, there’s the company’s warm, soothing sound profile that’s easy to listen to for hours at a time. It’s usually good, but not necessarily great, though the company typically combines it with a solid overall experience thanks to features and performance. That all holds true on the ATH-TWX7: a $199 set of wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation (ANC) and a host of handy tools that rival more expensive competitors. Some work better than others, but the company has done well over the years to expand its capabilities, even though the ATH-TWX7 lacks one basic item.
Design
Despite their stickbud appearance, the ATH-TWX7 looks more refined than most similarly-priced earbuds. Audio-Technica opted for a mix of black and silver (or white/silver or gray/silver) that makes the earbuds look similar to high-end headphones. The main housing is quite small, which translated to a more comfortable fit in my ears. The case also has a unique teardrop shape that allows the earbuds to sit at an angle rather than standing up or laying completely flat while charging. There’s no real benefit here, but it is a departure from the norm worth pointing out.
Audio-Technica did something for the onboard controls on the ATH-TWX7 that’s rare in earbuds. It uses both touch and physical buttons for playback, calls, sound modes and to summon a voice assistant. Typically you see this on headphones where the playback controls are touch and the noise cancellation and transparency modes are assigned to a button, but I don’t recall seeing both on earbuds like this before. Granted, I’ve been reviewing audio gear for several years at this point, so I hesitate to proclaim Audio-Technica as the “first” to do so.
To help you find the ideal fit, Audio-Technica includes two different types of ear tips. One is labeled “soft,” and it’s designed to be more comfortable, while the standard option is meant to offer a more secure fit. I expected the “soft” version to be foam, or at least partially foam, but they’re almost identical. One is slightly thinner, but they both seem to be the same silicone material you see in most earbuds, and neither really feels softer than the other.
The last thing I’ll point out in terms of the ATH-TWX7’s design is its ingress protection (IP) rating. These are only rated IPX4 against water splashes and they’re not built to withstand spray jets or submersion. That’s probably enough for workouts, and while it’s about average for mid-range earbuds, slightly more expensive models venture into IPX7 territory.
Software and features
Photo by Billy Steele/Engadget
When I reviewed the ATH-CKS5TW earbuds in late 2019, Audio-Technica’s app was so limited there was really no reason to ever fire it up. Unless it was to install a firmware update, it didn’t offer anything useful and even the onboard control customization was restricted. I’m happy to report that’s no longer the case as the A-T Connect software now offers a much more robust list of settings and reconfigurable tools than before.
The app's home screen is devoted to options for changing the music codec, EQ and sound mode, as well as showing the battery life for each earbud. Tapping the image of the ATH-TWX7 takes you into the detailed settings, divided into Audio and System sections. All of this is standard fare with access to everything the onboard controls offer in the app, including the ability to remap the touch and physical buttons as you wish. But despite letting you set an automatic power off timer when there’s no audio, the ATH-TWX7 doesn’t have automatic pausing when you take them out of your ears. That’s a big omission in 2024 when almost every set of wireless earbuds does this.
I will point out a couple of things that are pretty novel. First, under the Call Microphone settings, Audio-Technica goes a step further with an in-app call test so you can hear what you’ll sound like before you dial. This is in addition to features like Natural Mode for quiet locations or Noise-Reduction Mode for windy or loud environments. The latter isn’t very original, but will still come in handy. You can disable the touch controls and just rely on the tiny physical buttons on the earbuds. What is a bit innovative is the ability to tweak the sensitivity of those panels, set to medium by default with low and high options if you need ‘em.
The inclusion of both touch and physical buttons gives you a lot of flexibility in terms of how you set those up. Everything on the ATH-TWX7 is reconfigurable, which means you can move things from the buttons to the touch panels and vice versa, or add things that aren’t there by default. In addition to options for playback, calls, voice assistant and noise cancellation settings, you can add Talk-Through, Low Latency Mode and Check Battery Level. Audio-Technica didn’t reinvent the wheel in terms of what these earbuds can do, but the greater customization gives you way more options for assigning tasks in a way that makes the most sense for you.
Sound quality and noise cancellation
Photo by Billy Steele/Engadget
Nearly every set of Audio-Technica earbuds and headphones I’ve ever tested has a similar sound profile. It’s a warm, inviting tone that’s pleasant to listen to for hours on end, mostly because the dynamics aren’t exhausting. The ATH-TWX7 is more of the same, for better or worse, with some exceptions.
Softer, acoustic-driven styles are excellent, with crisp details in drums and guitars that lend texture to tracks like Zach Bryan’s “Heavy Eyes” and Charles Wesley Godwin’s “Family Ties.” The ATH-TWX7 also does well with jazz and synth-heavy pop, rock and instrumental tunes. Hip-hop is nice as well, but the earbuds start to struggle with hard rock, metal and more chaotic, bombastic genres. Better Lovers’ “30 Under 13” is still the gritty, raucous hardcore I know and love, but everything sounds flat and has less energy than on other earbuds. The sound on this album and other metal selections like Gojira’s Fortitude is more compressed than with other genres, with less space for everything to open up – especially guitars that typically soar around in your head.
Like a lot of ANC earbuds, the active noise cancellation on the ATH-TWX7 does well with constant noise, but struggles with things like human voices. This model had no trouble combatting the roar of the noisy heating unit in my Las Vegas hotel during CES, and the same goes for white noise machines and fans at home. It’s not Bose-level sound blocking, but it’s definitely above average.
Sound quality in Hear-Through or transparency mode is also quite good. There’s a nice, natural element to it that doesn’t seem as compressed or muted as some of the competition. However, the ATH-TWX7 doesn’t pipe in your voice like the AirPods Pro, so the overall effect isn’t as if you aren’t wearing earbuds at all. I assumed the Talk-Through feature would assist with this, but instead that tool simply lowers the volume or mutes content. Confusingly, despite offering two options to let in your surrounding sound, this tool doesn’t let you simply pause. It’s Hear-Through adjacent rather than a truly helpful setting for a quick chat. Because your voice isn’t beamed back to your ears, you’ll still feel the need to speak up, which means you’re more likely to get shouty if you aren’t careful.
Call quality
Props to Audio-Technica for the easiest way to check call performance ever on the ATH-TWX7. Thanks to that in-app call test, you can get an idea of how you’ll sound before answering or dialing in, which is way better than hoping you sound okay to your caller. I also found this helpful in assessing which setting worked best for where I was at the time, even if I was at home.
Noise-Reduction Mode lives up to its name, but it also sacrifices some voice quality. Natural mode sounds the best, but it picks up background noise easily. If you’re in a quiet spot though, the ATH-TWX7 gives you above-average voice performance that’s noticeably clearer than the typical speakerphone-like quality most earbuds offer.
The ATH-TWX7 also seems to struggle a bit with automatic switching via multipoint Bluetooth, but only when it comes to calls. If I was hopping from my phone to my laptop for music or some other audio, the changeover was quick and seamless. However, if I was listening to something on my MacBook Pro and got a call, there were a few times the earbuds had trouble swapping over to it. Since this is the most likely scenario in which I’d need that auto switching, this was disappointing. Best case scenario was for me to tap to change the audio from my iPhone to the ATH-TWX7 after answering, but that’s not really an ideal workflow.
Battery life
Photo by Billy Steele/Engadget
Audio-Technica promised up to 6.5 hours on the earbuds themselves with two additional charges in the case. It doesn’t specify if that’s with ANC on or off, but during my tests I had no trouble hitting the stated figure while blocking background noise. That’s doing a mix of music and calls, with the occasional few minutes of Hear-Through mode and leaving the ATH-TWX7 to automatically turn off twice. I could reliably eke out 30 minutes more than the company claimed, and a few minutes extra is always a good thing.
The competition
In the $200 price range, an apt comparison for the ATH-TWX7 are Sony’s LinkBuds S. An honorable mention on our best wireless earbuds list, these have similar battery life and the same IPX4 rating, but are more comfortable to wear and have some trademark Sony features. Those include support for DSEE Extreme upscaling in addition to Quick Attention Mode that’s handy for quick chats in the office, coffee shop or airport. What’s more, the LinkBuds S can automatically pause when you speak and an adaptive sound mode can be configured to change settings based on activity or location. Plus, they’re available for $200 at full price.
iPhone owners will be more satisfied with the second-gen AirPods Pro over the ATH-TWX7. Currently available for under $200, the 2022 version of the earbuds are the best option if your life is intertwined with iOS, iPadOS and macOS. New features like Adaptive Audio bring automatic adjustments to your day and Apple’s take on transparency mode continues to be the best in the business. Lastly, they’re more comfortable for a longer period of time than the ATH-TWX7.
Wrap-up
There’s plenty to like about the ATH-TWX7. A robust set of features brings a lot of convenience to your day. But a few of those tools could still use some fine-tuning and the lack of automatic pausing in 2024 is a head scratcher. Still, the audio is mostly good, albeit inconsistent at times, and transparency mode is better than most. Add in the solid call quality and the in-app voice test and the ATH-TWX7 are a worthy consideration, especially at this price. Too bad it falls short of being a more complete package some of the competition offers for a slightly larger investment.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio-technica-ath-twx7-review-good-earbuds-with-frustrating-flaws-160054450.html?src=rss