Technics noise-cancelling headphones and earbuds review

Scroll down to read my review of the Technics headphones.

Because now I am reviewing the Technics AZ60 earbuds. I’ve not ever had earbuds before. Not the wireless ones anyway. I just know I would lose them (but read on about that!), so I’ve only ever used the wired ones that Apple provides with my phone.

So it was quite a surprise to find the Technics earbuds are way more substantial in size. They are designed to fit into the whole ear, not just hang from the ear canal like the iPhone ones. Consequently I did find them a little large for my child-size ears, and my husband commandeered them.

So this review is from my first hour – because now they’re his!

In the box you get a set of little silicon ear canal pieces to fit little to big ear lugs. It wasn’t the ear canal piece that was too big, rather the unit itself.

Then you download the Technics app and pair it to your phone. We had a dickens of a job unpairing from my phone and pairing to his. I had to leave the house and take my phone out of reach! If you’re more technically literate than us, you can just gloss over this. *eyeroll

You can choose whether to run them with noise-cancelling (ANC) or without. Running them without will give you longer before needing to recharge them. They reckon up to 7 hours, before popping them back into their dinky little charging case.

What I really like about the Technics earbuds is that they are ideal on a flight when wearing with the travel pillow as they fit inside your ears. And the noise-cancelling feature means you don’t have to have the volume up too high on a plane to hear, which is better for your ears too.

Other reviewers (who are more music officionados) love the sound quality and rate them really highly. I listen to podcasts more, so I’m not so bothered about the depth of sound.

Another cool feature is, if you can’t find them (or one), you can get it to emit a little sound. No more lost ear buds!!

I did find that when I constantly fiddled with it in my ear while my podcast was playing, it would rewind or pause it. So just get them nice and comfy before you begin.

Technics AZ60 earbuds in their charging case

Technics EAH-A800 review

I look like Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia with my headphones on like electronic plaited buns over my ears, walking through the streets of Havelock North, trialing the noise-cancelling Technics EAH-A800 headphones by Panasonic.

I chose silver (there is also black), and charged them over night so they could connect via Bluetooth to my phone, and off I went, on the short stroll (about 1 km) from mum’s to Workroom, the only cafe that was open in the Christmas break.

The first thing I noticed was the effect of the noise-cancelling. The world around me withdrew into a dull, faded sound that I was barely focused on. I could hear my feet (I was wearing rubber jandals) thudding on the footpath with every step. How heavily I walk!

There is another mode which doesn’t reduce external noise so much if you’d prefer that (maybe you’re cycling or running and need to be aware of traffic), you have that option.

I phoned my sister, just to show off, and talked to her as I walked down the road, causing mum’s neighbour in her garden to try and reply to me. An awkward, “oh sorry”, later with a friendly wave and I reached the corner.

We finished our conversation and I put a podcast on for the rest of the walk. The sound was great and again, with no outside noise distracting me, I was in my own world being inspired about some new things to work on for this blog.

These headphones will be really great to use at home if you are wanting to watch/listen to one thing while your partner/room mate/kids watches another while in the same room. Or give them a pair for gaming so you can avoid the noise!

Megan walking with Technics headphones on — Princess Leia out walking with her sound on!

On a road trip

I tried them again on our two-hour road trip from Hawkes Bay to Kinloch, a little lake side village around Lake Taupo.

I selected another podcast and husband put Genesis on the CD player (yes we still have one of those). He had Phil Collins up super loud, so while I could hear it, it was background noise to my podcast, that I could still also hear perfectly well.

They are super comfortable to wear with cushioned ear pieces and a soft head band. They’re also lightweight so it doesn’t feel uncomfortable on your head. The fact that they’re also wirelessly connected to your phone is a bonus for making calls too.

Megan with headphones on like Princess Leia — Princess Leia on the road!

On a plane

I’m not due on a plane for a couple of months, so won’t be able to test them there, but from what I’ve found with the noise cancelling, they’ll make resting that much easier for sure.

They also have a 3mm cord for plugging into airline entertainment systems, and an extra adapter with two prongs for those airline seats adapters.

Listening to music

The official info says: “With industry-leading* noise cancelling, EAH-A800 combines Dual Hybrid feedforward & feedback noise cancelling with analog & digital processing for immersive listening.”

What that means in lay speak, is the sound is clear and there’s a depth to it that is unlike my usual street walking EarPods!

Technics Specs:

The Technics EAH-A800 boast 50 hours on one charge and a quick 15-minute charge will give another 10 hours. It also has a wearing sensor, so when you remove them they stop. If you put them on again within 60 seconds your music will start again.

Multi-paring to more than one device at once, which is handy to pair with your phone and computer, game or internet TV.

They have eight microphones dotted around the ear muffs for excellent sound quality, as well as wind noise reduction. This makes them very useful for podcasting, radio interviews in noisy places (like I sometimes have to do!) In fact I just recorded podcast #13 with the founder of NZ Travel Tips and her special discounts for her members, with no microphone except the ones in the ear muffs, if you want to listen.

Read the full Technics specs here.