Technics EAH-AZ100 earphones review – magnetic fluid driver delivers awesome sound

Technics is a respected name in audio circles and its latest offering – the EAH-AZ100 wireless earphones maintain that reputation thanks to a proprietary magnetic fluid driver that creates a clear and crisp sound.

The company has poured six decades of experience into the EAH-AZ100 earphones so they not only produce excellent sound but also offer impressive active noise cancellation, transparency mode and clear voice calls.

The earphones and the case are quite small. The case is smaller than the palm of your hand so it’s no hassle to carry them around.

The earphones themselves are about medium size – not the largest or the smallest – and offer a comfortable fit that locks into your ear without having to jam the tip too far into your ear canal.

There are five pairs of silicon tips that come with the EAH-AZ100 earphones including the mid-size pair already installed.

Audio quality is stunning with remarkable clarity and detail. We heard quite a bit of depth to the sound as well that was consistent even at higher volumes.

Bass is a precise addition on the slightly conservative side to preserve its accuracy and so as not to overpower the audio and muddy the clearer notes. The reason for the high audio quality is the magnetic fluid driver.

It uses the magnetic fluid to reduce distortion and produce an accurate low frequency response for solid bass production.

What we loved was the spatial audio optimised for Dolby Atmos.

Dolby Head Tracking takes that even further and can respond to your head movements.

It’s like being at a concert with the sound all around you but appearing to originate from in front of you so when you move your head the sound space always responds and adjusts the sound field with you always at the centre.

 The Adaptive Noise Cancellation onboard does a great job eliminating background noise and adjusts the amount of cancellation required based on the level of noise and individual shape of your ear.

The EAH-AZ100 earphones can tell the difference between a noisy train carriage and your office and eliminate the low to mid-range and human vocal range noises.

And when you want to hear your surroundings and the people around you there is transparency mode.

The One-touch Conversation Mode takes transparency mode a step further and pauses music and focuses on the voices it can hear so you can easily talk to people without the need to remove the earphones.

The EAH-AZ100 earphones support Bluetooth LE audio standard and Auracast so you can share your audio experience.

And you also get low latency audio watching movies and playing games thanks to the compatibility with the LC3 codec.

A new feature is Voice Focus AI which utilises three microphones and an AI noise reduction chip to analyse background sounds and compensate for the incoming sound to make the call clear for you and the person you’re talking to.

This was an important feature for us – and for many customers – as we are on the phone quite often and we didn’t want to have to fumble around when we received a call or needed to make a call.

The earphones work with the Technics Audio Connect app so you can personally tune the sound, check for firmware updates and locate the earbuds if you’ve misplaced them.

Battery life is a strength with 10 hours of playback even with noise cancelling activated and a there’s a further 28 hours of charge in the case which can be recharged with a cable via USB-C or wirelessly with a compatible Qi charger.

The Technics EAH-AZ100 earphones are available now in black or white and are priced at $499.

VERDICT

At $499 we expected a lot from the Technics EAH-AZ100 earphones and they easily live up to those expectations and can hold their own with other brands in this price range. Technics is on a winner with the EAH-AZ100 – they are worthy investment to anyone who values excellent audio.