Never mind the AirPods 4: Audio-Technica’s new ANC earbuds are just $99
A-T’s affordable buds want to take on AirPods 4 – and there’s noise-cancelling
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Apple’s new $179 / £179 / AU$299AirPods 4brought ANC to Apple’s more affordable true wireless earbuds (or you could have the $129 / £129 non-ANC set). But Audio-Technica just unveiled an even more affordable noise-nixing rival: the new ATH-CKS30TW+ true wireless earbuds are just $99 / £89 / AU$199.
These new buds have active noise cancelling with hear-through and talk-through options, IP55 dust and water resistance, plus very decent battery life. And they come in the lightest charging case Audio-Technica has ever made, making them even more portable.
Audio-Technica ATH-CKS30TW+ earbuds: key features and specs
The drivers here are a quite large 9mm and promise to deliver impressive bass. There are five equalizer presets – Bass Boost Deep, Bass Boost Beat, Dynamic, Vocal, and Clear – and there’s an Apple-esque Soundscape function that can replace the outside world with soothing sounds from nature or other ambient audio to help you “concentrate, meditate and rejuvenate”.
Battery life is a claimed 7.5 hours or 6.5 with ANC enabled (versus 5 in AirPods 4), and the charging case takes that up to 17.5 hours with ANC and 20 without. The app enables you to adjust the touch sensor features, find missing earbuds, switch into a low latency mode and change presets.
Bluetooth is the only slightly disappointing 5.1 (so no scope forAuracast, since that requires 5.2 or later) and the supported audio codecs are AAC and SBC – so no higher-resolution wireless codec support such as aptX or LDAC. Then again, these are budget-friendly buds vying to be some of thebest budget wireless earbudson the market, so it’s a very acceptable compromise.
Each earbud weighs 4.5g (0.16oz) and the case is 28g (0.99oz); Audio-Technica promises that the buds fit securely even when you’re exercising or dancing.
There are four colors to choose from: Black, Beige, Translucent Black and a sage-like Evergreen. All four are on sale now from Audio-Technica’s own website and the usual retailers.
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Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir,Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock bandUnquiet Mind.
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