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Technics AZ80 Review: My Favourite True Wireless Earbuds in 2023

Nov 14, 2023 725195 0 Comment

Technics has released their latest flagship true wireless earbuds. The EAH-AZ80 retails at S$469 in Singapore, replacing the Technics AZ70 to be their most expensive TWS to date. This, together with the rest of the models from AZ40M2, AZ60M2, offer a wide price range to suit the budget of all consumers.

Compare Technics AZ80 to AZ70 and AZ60

I still have the Technics AZ60 (first gen) and the AZ70, so I did a close comparison of the audio quality with the new AZ80. The AZ60 was one of my go-to earbuds because its sound signature of a light V-shaped tuning makes music sound more punchy and exciting. It dethroned the AZ70 because the AZ70 has less bass though its strength is on the midrange. The AZ70 also has a chunky charging case that is more bulky to bring out, and a larger set of earbuds. After all, the AZ70 was the first true wireless model from Technics, hence an overall more conservative design approach. But for this review, I took them out to listen again, and its sound tuning is still enjoyable and works well for listeners of vocal genre.

Compare AZ80 to Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3

The Sennheiser MTW3 is another of my favourite earbuds to use, but now with the Technics AZ80, I have a new favourite. The difference is subtle but it depends on the type of music you listen to. I find that the MTW3 is still better to deliver a fuller bass, but at the expense of midrange, which turns out to be a little less clean than the AZ80. In the treble area, the MTW3 might seem to sound bright, but again, the boomy lows create a veil over the treble transience. For that, the Technics AZ80 lets me enjoy the space of the treble sparkle a little better. Again, depending on your genre, the MTW3 is still enjoyable especially if you prefer a less forward treble.

Compare AZ80 to Sony WF-1000XM5

I don’t have the Sony WF-1000XM5 with me anymore, so I’m going to give my impressions based on memory. In terms of audio quality, the AZ80 offers slightly more treble authority, but since both earbuds support EQ customisation, you can get either of them and tune the frequency range to your preference.

But when it comes to overall usage, I would prefer AZ80 because it has more usage personalisation, for instance, change the touch controls, adjust ANC levels. I also prefer the eartip fit, and the AZ80 earbuds are smaller. The wireless connection to the smartphone also exhibits lesser disruptions compared to the WF-1000X5 when I use during train commute to work. While ANC on the WF-1000X5 is better, it’s only marginally.

There are unique features on the WF-1000XM5, like Speak-to-Chat, Quick Attention, and Adaptive Sound Control, but I do not use them, so they are not factored into my choice.

ANC Quality

In terms of ANC, the AZ80 offers slightly improved noise cancellation from the AZ60 which is already excellent. While it is generally harder to beat the Sony WF-1000XM5 especially with its passive-noise-cancelling foam tips, I find the AZ80 more comfortable to wear. It is close to impossible to achieve total noise cancellation from the urban environment, especially in the train commute. You are bound to be able to hear some noise. The more important consideration is whether the noise disrupts your listening enjoyment. For the AZ80, I feel completely at ease and isolated, and I can easily listen to music details even at low volumes, especially when it comes to Classical genre tracks. In fact, the ANC on the AZ80 is so good that I feel a bit wary that I was not able to hear things around me, like train announcement, or someone asking me to give way. As I walk through the train station from one platform to another, I am really in my world, feeling tranquil, no chattering, no footstep noises, no station announcements.

So what I usually do is to turn on Transparency Mode just to make sure I am still aware of things around me when necessary. And since every user has his or her own preference in the ANC and Transparency intensity, the Technics AZ80 – as well as the rest of the AZ series – lets you adjust the level.

Ambient Sound Quality

The Ambient Sound transparency mode on the AZ80 is the best among the Technics models, and I would also say, the best among all the true wireless earbuds – except AirPods Pro. However, in terms of features, the AZ80 is THE BEST, because it allows you to adjust the transparency level. When I turn to the max at level 100, it is completely open and almost natural, with the exception that the white noise seems to be a little enhanced. If I dial down the level to about 8, the white noise is less but the overall ambient noise would be slightly reduced. I love the ability to adjust the level because depending on situations, I can adjust to let in less ambient noise because I want to reduce overall noise yet at the same time I want to be aware of things around me.

More Multi-Point Pairings

For the longest time, multi-point pairing allows connecting up to two devices at the same time. Even so, not all wireless headphones support multi-point. Finally, the Technics AZ80 (as well as AZ60M2 and AZ40M2) supports up to three device connections, making it more versatile. I can now connect to a tablet, a smartphone and a laptop, a common set of tech devices that mobile warriors use. The compromise is that LDAC cannot be enabled.

LDAC – Hi-Res Wireless Audio Quality

Do not overlook LDAC. It does improve the audio quality of your earbuds. If you somehow felt the sound quality is not that good, and you demand good sound, then switch to LDAC. As LDAC demands higher data bandwidth, you need to disable multipoint to achieve the best resolution of 96kHz 24-bit at 990 kbps which transmits a frequency range from 20 to 40000 Hz.

Good news is that even with multi-point with 2 devices, LDAC can also be enabled but streamed at a lower bandwidth. This is supported even for the older Technics AZ70 and AZ60 models via firmware update.

JustMyVoice

One of the best features for the Technics has got to be the ability to remove background noise during a call. The Technics AZ80 continues to achieve this feat. They even built a demo from the app to show how effective the mic can remove background noise. This is one of the reasons why I stick to my AZ60. I compared with the Sennheiser MTW3 and the AZ80 is able to remove the background noise better.

Smartphone App

There are so much customisation possibilities with the Technics AZ80 (as well as all other AZ-series), here is a highlight of those that matters to me:

Battery Life

The Technics AZ80 is rated with 4.5 hours on each earbuds with ANC and LDAC audio codec streaming, or 7 hours with AAC codec. When combined with charging case, you 16 hours to 25 hours (ANC off). It takes 2.5 hours to fully charge the case, or just 15 minutes quick charge for 70 minutes of usage. You can leave the earbuds on your ears with ANC enabled and no audio for up to 9 hours.

Verdict

My experience with the Technics AZ80 tells me that it is a remarkable true wireless earbuds built upon years of experience in the previous models. Most of the features have existed in earlier models and even the newer mid-range models. With a retail price of S$469, it appears to be a tough sell when there are other more popular models like the Sony and Sennheiser, at lower prices. Technics has got a marvelous premium product, the earbuds sound great, and packed with features, but it would take more than just positive reviews to convince consumers, because there are fewer actual owners compared to the competitors. And my biggest reason for advocating great products like Technics AZ-series earbuds is that I hope it can be commercially successful to continue developing and releasing future models. The world needs better earbuds, and it’s getting boring with just Bose and Sony helming the top of the popularity rankings for ANC earbuds.

You might want to consider the Technics AZ60M2 at S$359. It has the same features as the AZ80 but using a smaller 8mm speaker drivers and a less premium build. Or, get the AZ60 that has the same features as AZ60M2 except triple multi-point connection, improved JustMyVoice, wireless charging, and wear detection.

Creative Zen Hybrid Pro and LE Audio Transmitter: Broadcast Audio to Multiple Headphones

Nov 14, 2023 725195 0 Comment

Creative latest ANC wireless headphones, the Zen Hybrid Pro, comes with one feature that 99% of the consumer wireless headphones in the market does not have. It’s the ability to broadcast audio to many headphones at the same time with ultra low latency. Why do you need that, you may ask. Well, get a couple of the Zen Hybrid Pros and then you can watch a movie or listen to streaming music with your spouse without disturbing your family members or house mates. Or get a dozen headphones for an open-space listening event – silent party perhaps?

LE Audio and LC3 Codec

The technology that drives this capability is Bluetooth LE Audio, a new audio standard that consumes lower energy and supports more efficient bitrate. It transmits through the new audio codec, LC3, and powered by Auracast broadcast audio. LC3 has been around since Bluetooth 5.2 but it is not widely adopted. On its own, LC3 is a better codec than SBC with higher quality audio in lower bitrate. I suppose the biggest reason that manufacturers do not use it is due to lack of adoption: why introduce a new codec if most of the devices out there are not using?

Having said that, there are actually brands that have been using LC3 in their products. For instance, Sennheiser’s AMBEO soundbars use LC3 to communicate to the wireless subwoofer. Samsung is also using LC3 for its products to deliver the features that LE Audio promises – the ability to stream audio to multiple devices. When more products have the LE Audio and LC3 supported, then the benefits become more widespread. Imagine you can just switch over your existing wireless headphones to a special channel to listen to audio broadcast over Bluetooth – in airports, or museums, or learning institutions.

3 Variant Models

Now that you have a little more understanding about Bluetooth LE Audio and the LC3 codec, let us now talk about the Zen Hybrid Pro. Creative has packaged the Zen Hybrid Pro into three bundle variant models. Here is a summary of what they come with:

Zen Hybrid Pro – comes with headphones. RRP S$149
Zen Hybrid Pro Classic – headphones, boom mic, BT-L3 audio transmitter supporting LE Audio. RRP S$189
Zen Hybrid Pro SXFI – headphones, boom mic, BT-L4 audio transmitter supporting LE Audio and Super X-Fi. RRP S$219

They go on sale from 10 Nov 2023. Pre-order now to enjoy S$30 discount.

If you buy only the Zen Hybrid Pro headphones, then you can connect to your existing devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops, gaming consoles, etc.) over SBC, AAC, and LC3/LC3+ if your device supports. It is essentially an upgraded Zen Hybrid that supports LE Audio and RGB colour around the earcups, with optional boom mic.

Creative BT-L4 Bluetooth LE Audio Transmitter

The BT-L4 is basically the BT-L3 with built-in SXFI chip. Super X-Fi was launched in 2018 and since then, the features remain largely unchanged. You need to take photos of your ears and let the system work out some computational algorithm to determine the optimal sound to achieve the out-of-the-head audio holography. Since then, there are already many more popular 3D-audio formats, like Sony 360 Reality Audio, Dolby Atmos, Apple Spatial Audio. It seems like a coincidence, but simulated surround audio seems to pick up after Creative’s big announcement of Super X-Fi. Now, with Creative’s new LE Audio headphones and the USB transmitter, could it also signal the rise of Bluetooth Auracast adoption?

Creative App (Windows)

The same Creative app that you install for other USB products – like Creative Sound Blaster X5, Creative Live! M3, to name a few – will recognise the BT-L4 and you can access many features like Acoustic Engine, EQ, SXFI, Mixer. The playback page allows you to select up to 32-bit 96000Hz resolution, while the recording quality can be up to 24-bit 48000Hz.

Audio Quality

It then leads to the question of how the Zen Hybrid Pro sounds. Let me start with standard stereo audio quality. The Zen Hybrid Pro is full of bass, much more because of the cosy ear cups that packs your ears with no room to breathe keeps the sonic intensity. The treble offers clarity but struggles to overcome the strong bass boom, and does so if the audio tracks are not excessive at the lower frequency. This means the Zen Hybrid is not an ideal headphones for a neutral listening experience, though it can be easily overcome through custom EQ. The sound staging is also uninspiring, with instruments closely positioned near the ears.

However, it’s a different story when you turn on Super X-Fi mode. The Zen Hybrid Pro is easily your saviour if you want to enjoy immersive multi-channel cinematic audio experience without possibly getting complaints from your family and your neighbours. You can turn up the volume as much as you want on the Zen Hybrid Pro and enjoy the surround sound. This is where you will appreciate the bass tuning: the Zen Hybrid Pro offers quite the identical sub-woofer experience, minus the reverberations that you feel through the skin. And because the multi-channel sound is generated from the headphones right next to the ears, actually you can hear the directional audio details much better than over physical speakers even though the sound source appears from outside the ears.

For stereo music, the SXFI mode does make the sound stage come from outside the headphones in front of you, but I find the frequency tuning is too heavy on the upper midrange. Pushing it down will reduce the excessive chesty tone and make the audio more refined and less bloated. After listening for a while, you really get the impression that the audio is coming from your home speakers instead of from the headphones.

ANC and Ambient Mode Quality

Through the smartphone app, the ANC and Ambient mode level can be adjusted. The ANC offer adequate background noise removal while not too aggressive to feel total silence. Similarly, the ambient mode lets in some background noise but does not sound very open.

Mic Quality

The normal Zen Hybrid Pro does not come with a boom mic, but based on my testing, I do not find that the boom mic delivers better fidelity. The only benefit is that the mic is positioned nearer to my mouth which achieves better pick-up. However, the mic quality for either mic lacks the high frequency, which is puzzling. Also, the boom mic does not support DNN noise cancellation on background mic noises. I would use with the boom mic where possible for better voice pickup, but using without it does not reduce the quality much.

Verdict

The Zen Hybrid Pro SXFI is a splendid headphone for immersive cinematic experience with multi-channel audio. Its ultra-low latency makes it ideal to be used for gaming and movie watching, and the USB transmitter enables broadcast audio to multiple headphones, which I find it a compelling use case where several people can listen to the same audio content at the same time. I highly recommend you to get one unit of Zen Hybrid Pro SXFI (retails S$219) and a few additional Zen Hybrid Pro (retails S$149) so that multiple people can enjoy the same audio content over headphones simultaneously without complex workaround.

OpenRock Pro Review: True Wireless Open-Ear Air Conduction Sports Earbuds

Nov 14, 2023 725195 0 Comment

The benefit of open-ear headphones cannot be understated. They are the most natural way to listen to music without stuffing earbuds into the ear canals and losing the hearing of things around you. It is more important for bikers and road joggers as they need to be fully aware of the surroundings, but not so much for gym goers who prefers noise isolation from all the equipment noises and unwanted in-house music. There has been numerous variants of open-ear earbuds, and OpenRock Pro features the latest design, which is a pair of true wireless earphones with ear hooks that loop behind the ears.

Conclusion

The OpenRock Pro is available from Lend Me UR Ears, a Singapore audio retailer, at a launch price of S$129. It is available at Shopee with varied promotional price, so head there to get your best deal. The earbuds are excellent for workouts but I find them very useful for use at work, as I can leave them on my ears all day.

Google Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel Watch 2 Review

Nov 14, 2023 725195 0 Comment

After I started using the Google Pixel 4XL in 2019, I have been a Pixel owner and love the overall clean UI experience, but had to live with a “primitive” dual-camera setup and a facial unlock system without fingerprint which is a hassle during the COVID years. I gladly moved to Pixel 7 Pro early this year with an excellent triple-camera system, fingerprint sensor, and all the UI goodness. When the Pixel 8 series was launched, I was excited to review it, as well as the Pixel Watch 2 which officially goes on sale in Singapore.

Between Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 8 Pro

Even though the phone appears similar to the Pixel 7 Pro, the Pixel 8 Pro has different dimensions, which means the casings are not interchangeable. The new model has a matt glass back which prevents fingerprint marks, but this feature no longer matters if you use the phone with a casing, which most people do. The 6.7-inch display is now flat on the sides, which means the screen protector can adhere snugly without popping up.

Camera Quality

I find that the Pixel 8 Pro is less aggressive in sharpening, which makes images appear less digital. The colour saturation is also slightly elevated so the images appear less dull. At the maximum 30x zoom, the Pixel 8 Pro maintains its ability to make sense of images thanks to its conservative extrapolation. Here, the Pixel 7 Pro’s sharpening engine creates a more positive impression of being more detailed. But the new Pixel 8 Pro can enable 50MP high-res mode that allows users to manipulate the images with more pixels. Shooting at high-res mode requires a bit more time to save the image.

Google Imaging AI

The Pixel 8 Pro supports offers many AI-driven editing capabilities not available in other smartphones. Any photo saved in Google Photos can be processed. In “Best Take”, the Google Photo app provided suggestions on swapping some of the faces with better expressions. In “Magic Editor”, the app cleverly traces the subject accurately for me to reposition and resize to another area. It then tries to fill in the details. I find the results very convincing as long as I do not push the edit too extreme.

Archives November 2023

Technics AZ80 Review: My Favourite True Wireless Earbuds in 2023

Compare AZ80 to Sony WF-1000XM5

JustMyVoice

Verdict

The Goods

The Bads

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Creative Zen Hybrid Pro and LE Audio Transmitter: Broadcast Audio to Multiple Headphones

3 Variant Models

Mic Quality

The Goods

The Bads

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OpenRock Pro Review: True Wireless Open-Ear Air Conduction Sports Earbuds

The Goods

The Bads

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Google Pixel 8 Pro and Pixel Watch 2 Review

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