Technics EAH-AZ100 review: amazing in-ear earbuds

When you review a lot of the best wireless earbuds, generational updates aren't always the most attention-grabbing. It's perhaps a little too common to get your hands on a set of upgraded earbuds that fractionally improve battery life, add a new codec and call it a day a year after the original's release.

No one could accuse Technics of that sort of complacency. With the EAH-AZ100 on review here, the Japanese audio brand has looked to address almost every flaw we found in the last-gen EAH-AZ80 at review – and from my testing over the last few weeks it's found success on almost every count.

These Technics earbuds I've loved using – and the improvement is obvious. It's also a welcome recommendation from outside of the normal Sony, Bose, et al, successes. So read on to reveal why Technics' latest are a 5-star smash hit...

Technics EAH-AZ100: Price & Availability

The EAH-AZ100s were announced at CES 2025 – the world's largest tech show – with a yet-to-be-revealed on-sale date. While Technics isn't being super-precise about when the 'buds will be available, I've had them in hand for a few weeks following a preview in Kyoto in early December.

Thankfully, Technics has been far more forthcoming about pricing: the EAH-AZ100s will launch at £259 / $299 / €299. That's the exact same price that the AZ80 arrived at a couple of years ago, although Technics spokespeople indicated to me that the AZ80 would probably still be produced moving forward – though likely at a new lower price.

All of that means that the AZ100 are clearly on the premium end of the mainstream market, competing with the best wireless earbuds around. Like almost every major rival, from Bose to Sony, you can expect that price to fluctuate through sales events and seasonal deals.

Technics EAH-AZ100 review: Design

Sometimes a less distinctive design can be a very good thing (not that everyone always agrees on that front). Technics' turntables are rightly iconic, and it might have been seeking some of that same recognisability and eye-catching contrast in earlier earbuds that it made.

For the AZ100, though, it's focused on comfort and ergonomics, with results that I really appreciate. The AZ100 earbuds are smaller and lighter than the AZ80 in a way that looks obvious if you see them side by side. Crucially, their outer face has shrunk, to now just encompass the grooved circle and that gold Technics logo, rather than an additional jutting triangle of material.

Technics told me this was all down to moving one of the onboard microphones further into the ear, freeing up space, and it has an outsized impact on how stealthy the earbuds look. In short, they're smaller, easier to fit into your outer ear, and look really classy in either the black colour I've been using, or a much lighter silver alternative.

Despite that change to their outer design, the focus on a fit that sits in the concha of your ear is retained on the earbud side, and Technics has also added an extra size to the ear tips that it includes in the box. This should mean that finding the right fit is easy enough, although comfort is always a personal thing. I saw an array of rubber prototypes that attest to the many variations that were tested over the last couple of years.

The case, meanwhile, is probably the area that looks the least changed, although it is a little more rounded and less sharp on its sides (which are slightly prone to scuffing). It still has a nice brushed-metal finish on its top, with that same Technics logo, and magnets to hold the earbuds in place. On my review unit, one side has a looser grip on its earbud than the other, but such tiny blips aren't uncommon in early samples.

All this work leaves the AZ100 looking like a really mature step up from the already solid AZ80. They're smoother, will fit better for more people, and look no less distinctive – which is a pretty resounding compliment.

Technics EAH-AZ100 review: Features

The AZ80 was a big step for Technics in terms of how many features it crammed into a pair of earbuds. Headlined by the arrival of active noise-cancelling (ANC), they also offered three-device multipoint connectivity, a bit of a unique boast – but a useful one nonetheless.

That quick-swapping multipoint remains unchanged and very handy for connecting multiple devices, but in a host of other ways there are big upgrades for the AZ100. For one thing, the ANC is now adaptive, rather than static. This means you can let it automatically adjust to fluctuating noise levels around you, and the immediate good news is that it works nicely.

I've travelled on long-haul flights and trains and in the car with the AZ100, and I've also used them in various work environments. I've found the ANC to be extremely reliable throughout. One of the big tests is whether you can easily hear the earbuds adjusting things in real-time – a potential distraction – but the AZ100 is fast and subtle enough to pass.

Another area with a big improvement to offer is battery life. We found in our AZ80 review that longevity per charge with ANC on came in at around 4.5 hours, rising to 7.5 hours with the feature off. Now the AZ100 offers up to 10 hours with ANC on – a huge step up that transforms things from slightly sub-par to very impressive. You get a further 18 hours of charge in the case, for 28 hours in total before power is needed – and you can charge by USB-C or wirelessly when needed.

Water resistance remains at IPX4, making these safe for workouts and use in the rain, and Technics has again doubled down on the idea that they can be practical in all walks of life.

It's added a really interesting microphone feature that it's calling 'Voice Focus AI', which amounts to AI-driven noise-cancelling for its microphones. What's unique is that, as well as filtering out background noise from around you to make you easier to hear, it'll also do the same for the other end of your call, cleaning up their audio to make them easier for you to hear.

This sort of feature would normally only benefit whoever you're talking to on a call, so to have it affect both ends of a conversation is impressive. Its results aren't quite perfect, with some clipping of words and a fairly obviously artificial feeling to the sound, but there are scenarios where it can be hugely useful. Plus it can be turned off in the easy-to-use Technics app as you desire.

Finally, spatial audio is also integrated for those who enjoy it. It's Dolby Atmos, the most widely adopted version to market, meaning that head-tracking adjustment is also possible.

There's also Bluetooth LE support so Auracast is on the cards (if it ever actually appears anywhere).

Technics EAH-AZ100 review: Performance

There's plenty to cover about the AZ100 before they actually get in your ears, then, but perhaps the most crucial endorsement of all is that once they're in you can expect excellent sound. It's a marker of Technics' confidence that, at its global press event in Kyoto, it had a station set up with both AZ80 and AZ100 earbuds to listen to at leisure, making direct comparisons far easier than at any other launch event I've ever attended.

It's confident for a reason – it's easy to hear and feel the difference in sonic performance between the AZ80 and AZ100, which mostly comes in the form of oomph. The biggest of Technics' many technical boasts this time around has been reserved for the new implementation of a "magnetic-fluid driver", carefully and painstakingly redesigned and slimmed down from the far more expensive EAH-TZ700 wired in-ear monitors.

This uses tiny chambers with magnetically active fluid inside them to anchor the driver of each earbud, and Technics says it allows for beefier bass without the risk of distortion that usually comes with it. It's a more eye-opening bit of technical design than I'm used to seeing, although from a listener's perspective things are a little simpler.

The AZ100 feel like they have a beefier personality than the AZ80 out of the box – songs are fuller and a little richer, without compromising on detail. The AZ80 earbuds were studiously balanced, and that balance hasn't been abandoned, but it feels fair to say these are a little more mainstream – and I don't mean that as a negative.

The soundstage offered up remains wide enough to please, if you're in a listening environment where you can actually appreciate it, and I've been impressed by the number of genres the earbuds have coped with. Bill Evans' delightfully delicate jazz tinkles beautifully, Justice's electronic cacophony has the boom and crackle I need from it, and a bit of Mozart confirms that even the most densely layered tracks can be picked apart.

For those who crave a little more nuance, the Technics app ensures that EQ controls are a few taps away – with the same going for your noise-cancelling, AI microphone feature and more. It's slick and simple, the best combination a control app can offer.

That new design also makes for a more comfortable fit, in my experience. The reduced weight means they're easier to forget about in your ears, while that concha design does indeed sit nicely in the ear – although I almost never find earbuds too uncomfortable, which is a necessary disclaimer.

Technics EAH-AZ100 review: Verdict

I've been hugely impressed by the Technics EAH-AZ100. These earbuds are comfortable and easy to use, sound excellent, and represent a clear step forward compared to the hardware that preceded them.

On this evidence, Technics' already long-established audio excellence has an even brighter future in wireless audio – and I'll be fascinated to learn if it has plans for some premium over-ears too.

No earbuds have ever permanently displaced the AirPods Pro from my pocket as my default personal-use option, but the Technics AZ100 have done just that. These are true 5-star earbuds in every regard.

Also consider

Since Technics has gone big on its adaptive ANC, it's only fair to point at the earbuds that have most impressed on this front – the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, which are class-leading. They can be pretty ferociously expensive at full price, but are now fairly frequently discounted to well below the price of the AZ100.

Our top pick for wireless earbuds is still Sony's WF-1000XM4, though, and despite a new generation being likely to appear at some point relatively soon, they remain a phenomenal investment. They've got an interesting new design and lovely, precise sound – and for a lower price.