A powerful pair of noise-cancelling headphones, the EAH-A800 persuade in all areas. They arrive stacked with options, the ship high-quality sound, noise-cancelling is superb, and the battery life is sensible. The Technics are noise-cancellers of a really excessive calibre.
Professionals
- Large battery life
- Excessive-quality sound
- Spectacular noise cancellation
- Nice wi-fi connection
- Snug to put on
Cons
- Sony over-ears supply extra rounded efficiency
Availability
- UKRRP: £299
- USATBC
- EuropeRRP: €349
- CanadaTBC
- AustraliaTBC
Key Options
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Acoustic Management ChamberControls stream of air inside the driver for exact bass and spacious sound
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Bluetooth multipoint pairingConnect to 2 gadgets without delay
Introduction
Technics’ newest over-ear headphones had been teased at CES 2021, and their arrival a yr later has are available a fruitful interval for premium headphones.
Bose launched its QuietComfort 45 in the direction of the tail finish of 2021, Bowers & Wilkins is prepping the PX7 S2, and Sony has introduced out the WH-1000XM5.
And there isn’t a lot room to manoeuvre for the reason that likes of Philips and Cleer Audio look to undercut these above with their extra reasonably priced ANC efforts.
Proper from the off, the Technics EAH-A800 might want to get their elbows out and begin scrapping. However the place will they emerge in that battle – close to the highest of the pile, or with a bloody nostril?
Design
- Nice consolation
- Trendy look
- Mixture of contact controls and bodily buttons
Accessible in black and silver finishes, the A800 look superficially just like their predecessors. Nevertheless, study slightly nearer and also you’ll uncover that a lot has modified.
The hinges that join the earcups and headband supply extra rotation and leeway to regulate the match. The padding on the earcups is much less substantial and takes a special form – much less of a pointed oval and wider. For an individual with greater ears corresponding to myself, the match higher encompasses my ears, and the padding doesn’t pinch my earlobes. These modifications assist make the EAH-A800 extra snug to put on than the EAH-F70N.
The scarf is longer, which makes the A800 greater, too. The width of the band is thinner, with extra padding on its underside, cushioning the highest of the pinnacle extra adequately. The clamping drive is tight and safe, adjustable by means of the headscarf, so the cans keep rooted.
I’ve worn these headphones for stretches so long as three hours on a number of events, with just a few changes required to alleviate any discomfort. At 298g, they’re heavier than the F70N and most of their competitors, however they’re not headphones that weigh on the pinnacle; they really feel comparatively mild of their building.
The A800 are additionally collapsible, so if you wish to maintain them secure and guarded, they are often carried within the accompanying exhausting case.
The association of the buttons on the proper earcup has been re-jigged. Quantity management is not a toggle, however buttons with tabs to establish them. Betwixt the amount buttons is the playback button, the place a faucet stops and begins playback, a double-tap skips ahead and a triple-tap jumps again. With the tabs on the amount buttons, I discovered it fast sufficient to function the headphones with out having to fumble for them.
There’s not a noise-cancelling button, with onboard controls for ANC moved to the contact sensor on the proper earcup. The sensor needs to be activated within the Technics Join app earlier than it may be used, and default controls are a double-tap to allow Ambient Sound mode and a double-tap to revert again to noise cancelling.
Aesthetically, I like Technics’ method. The pearlescent aluminium end on the petal of the earcup is enticing, and the engraved Technics emblem speaks to its premium really feel. These are headphones you’ll need to exhibit.
Options
- Thorough noise cancellation
- Beneficiant battery life
- Loads of customisation within the app
The Technics look nice, are comfortable to put on – however are they nice at noise cancelling? Very a lot so, and I’d contemplate them among the many high tier of noise-cancellers.
There’s a caveat, although: the Technics aren’t followers of headwear. The earpad cushions don’t like beanie hats or something that would have an effect on the world of contact between the pinnacle and earpads, which may cut back the noise-isolating seal.
Whip off the hat and issues get very quiet. All I may hear of automobiles, vans and buses had been the splutter of their engines and “whooshes” as they went previous, whereas practice journeys existed in a snug zone of silence, with most noises obscured.
Individuals’s voices had been dealt with simply superb, too. With music on they had been muddied sufficient that I couldn’t make out what two folks subsequent to me on the tube had been conversing about; and the howl of the wind on the Jubilee line was tamed successfully. The extent of suppression is sweet sufficient that music wanted to be at solely 50% quantity throughout most journeys.
In comparison with the QuietComfort 45, the EAH-A800 masks persistent noises higher, such because the air-con on a practice. In comparison with the WH-1000XM4, the EAH-A800 conceal the varied bumps in the course of the journey slightly extra successfully, too. The Bose and Sony are barely higher ANC options general; however, the Technics persuade (so long as you’re taking that hat off).
And the Ambient Sound mode isn’t half-bad, both. It’s clear and pure in tone, and whereas not all sounds get by means of, there’s loads of element to gauge the place issues are – and, fortunately, there’s no apparent change to how music sounds. Just like the EAH-AZ40 true wi-fi, there are two ambient modes within the Technics Audio Join app: Clear, which lets sounds in; and Consideration mode, which focuses on voices. Consideration mode sounds extra synthetic, however it isolates voices pretty properly.
Battery life is incredible, and method forward of different headphones I’ve examined at this worth. On one event I used the A800 for 90 minutes, switching between ANC and Ambient Sound, they usually had been nonetheless at 100%. Used for 3 hours they usually solely dropped by 5%. Cheaper headphones, corresponding to Cleer and Urbanista fashions, have typically led the best way for battery life, however the Technics are the primary premium cans I’ve come throughout that obtain comparable ranges of endurance.
Technics quotes 50 hours with noise cancelling and streaming in AAC. With LDAC Bluetooth, which permits higher-quality streaming, it’s a hefty 40 hours – 10 greater than the WH-1000XM4 or Bowers & Wilkins PX7, and practically double that of the Bose QuietComfort 45. Quick-charging (in case you want it) brings 10 hours from a 15-minute topup, whereas a full cost from useless takes three hours.
Bluetooth help is SBC, AAC and LDAC, so Android customers with appropriate telephones will get one of the best expertise. I’ve seen zero connectivity points strolling round central London – simply easy streaming all the best way.
The A800 include Alexa in-built, and calling her up is so simple as saying her identify (music will pause as she waits in your request). The headphones gained’t react in case you whisper (I’ve tried), however even a barely hushed request is picked up by the Technics’ microphones.
The Technics Join app (Android and iOS) is full of comfort and customisation. The homescreen shows the headphones’ very important statistics (battery life, streaming codec, noise cancelling energy), and there are equalizer presets (Bass+, Vocal, Treble+, Dynamic or off), in addition to the choice of making your most popular sound by means of a five-band EQ.
The Connection mode mirrors Sony’s Headphone app, providing a selection over prioritising sound high quality (LDAC) or the connection (the place it’s mounted to SBC). There’s multipoint help for connecting the headphones to 2 gadgets concurrently. Enabling multipoint doesn’t seem to end in LDAC being disengaged, however I’m double-checking with Technics on this.
Extra customisation is feasible with the contact sensor operation, noise-cancellation optimisation, altering the degrees of background noise diminished throughout calls, or conducting a check for name high quality – useful, earlier than these Zoom or Microsoft Groups calls. There’s even a ideas/hints part, if assist is required.
Sound High quality
- Sharp, detailed top-end
- Large dynamic vary
- Clear and spacious presentation
The Technics rating extremely in numerous areas, however their general efficiency could be rendered moot in the event that they didn’t sound good – so it’s a very good factor that they do.
They share comparable sonic traits with the EAH-AZ40 true wi-fi, which implies that out of the field, their sense of dynamism is slightly diminished. Activate the Dynamic EQ (which I used for almost all of this evaluate), and the dynamic vary is prised open and expanded.
In contrast with the F70N, the A800 put in a stronger efficiency with bass. Voices come by means of with extra readability and inflection, whereas treble is offered with better element and sharpness. This serves to deliver out devices higher, such because the shaking of the tambourine in Jon Batiste’s Naima.
The brand new 40mm dynamic driver succeeds in delivering extra oomph to the bass areas and enhancements to readability, they usually sound extra spacious than the older mannequin when listening to Ben Salisbury’s Plainsong from the Devs soundtrack.
Tonally, the Technics wade within the waters of neutrality, not fairly reaching the musicality of Sony’s over-ears whereas additionally falling wanting providing the extent of sharpness of the Bose. They discover themselves in a contented midway home, and I’ve all the time discovered the top-end to be parlayed in a distinctively brighter and sharper style than on Sony headphones. The string orchestration in Nancy Sinatra’s You Solely Dwell Twice all the time sounds clearer to my ears, whereas the snare drum that opens The Smashing Pumpkins’ Cherub Rock sounds slightly extra concise and simply identifiable among the many guitars and drum kicks.
The mid-range is evident and loaded with element, voices having a big presence within the soundstage. The readability of these voices is, maybe, slightly emotionally chilly; held up towards Sony headphones, the A800 lack the smoothness and richness these over-ears ship.
What holds the Technics again from five-star glory is that the WH-1000XM4 and WH-1000XM5 are a greater all-round pay attention. The Sony supply deeper bass, a soundstage that’s wider and digs out extra element – the vinyl crackle in the beginning of Kendrick Lamar’s Alright is rather more evident on the Sony. The A800 additionally lack the each the XM4 and XM5’s thump within the low-end, together with their power and pleasure.
I wouldn’t put them as much as the extent of the WH-1000XM5, however the variations are much less a chasm and extra a fissure, and in some areas they higher the Sony. It’s the identical story because it was between the F70N and the WH-1000XM3, and thus the Technics earn the identical rating.
Newest offers
Do you have to purchase it?
For battery life that gained’t give up The much less you must cost, the much less cash you’ll spend on toting the battery. That appears like a money-saver to us.
There’s higher sound for much less The Technics don’t sound as musical because the Sony do, and the XM4 mannequin is cheaper, too.
Ultimate Ideas
The Technics EAH-A800 supply a high-quality efficiency in all areas. The design improves upon the older mannequin, noise cancellation is robust, and the sound is a step up, partly due to the EQ choices accessible within the app. The wi-fi connection is great, and the battery life is incredible. They’re the mannequin of consistency by way of efficiency.
If I needed to roll the die between the A800, Bose and Sony, the Sony could be the set of headphones I’d need – they’re cheaper, too – however the Technics could be my second selection. Its options are quite a few and useful, and there’s loads of customisation on supply to tailor the efficiency. They pose some robust competitors towards Sony and another contender that’s ready within the wings.
Trusted Rating
How we check
We check each headphones we evaluate completely over an prolonged time period. We use trade commonplace exams to check options correctly. We’ll all the time inform you what we discover. We by no means, ever, settle for cash to evaluate a product.
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Examined for a number of weeks
Examined with actual world use
Examined with a spread music genres
