Quick Summary
Audio-Technica ATH-CKS30TW+ promise big bass and effective ANC for a low price.
At £89 they're more affordable than some of the best budget earbuds.
If you're a big fan of big bass, Audio-Technica may have just the buds for you. The new Audio-Technica ATH-CKS30TW+ earbuds promise to deliver subterranean bass and also include multi-mode noise cancellation for a competitive price.
The earbuds are built around proprietary 9mm drivers with acoustic ducts to control airflow and deliver bass that’s powerful without being over powering, and Audio-Technica promises "detailed mids and sparkling highs" as well as low-end thump. There are multiple presets to emphasise vocals, clarity, bass and beats, a low latency mode for gaming, and there's ANC too.
With a sub-£100 price tag these earbuds are more affordable than some of the best budget earbuds such as the Nothing Ear (2). They're also considerably more affordable than another recent set of AT buds, the Audio-Technica TWX7.
Audio-Technica ATH-CKS30TW+: key specifications and pricing
The Audio-Technica ATH-CKS30TW+ deliver 6.5 hours of play time per bud, rising to 7.5 hours with ANC off; with the charging case those figures rise to 17.5 hours and 20 hours respectively.
The adaptive noise cancelling here is complemented by hear-through and talk-through functions that enable you to communicate with the outside world, and you can control playback via the built-in touch sensors. They have adjustable sensitivity and customisable volume steps that you can set via the companion smartphone app.
The earbuds are IP55 rated for water and dust resistance so they should be a good option for gyms and the great outdoors, and the built-in Out of Range Alert and Product Locator means they shouldn't go missing if you misplace or drop them.
There are four colours to choose from: the "evergreen" shown in our photo, matte black, light beige and translucent black.
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The new Audio-Technica ATH-CKS30TW+ earbuds are available now with an RRP of £89.
Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).