When you spend as much time reviewing wireless headphones and earphones as I do, you quickly find that numerous options do most things well, but that true allrounder options are rare.
For example, I love the AirPods range for how seamlessly they work with Apple devices, but when I stray from those, they’re less compatible. Samsung’s buds are my goto when using the brand’s phones, but you run into the same issues when you use something else. And while some earphones are good at noisecancelling, sound quality, control and comfort, it can be unusual to find ones that are good at everything.
What do you pick to get the best wireless buds with toptier noisecancelling, transparency, sound quality, multidevice connectivity, app control, extra features and exceptional customisation? I’d suggest going with the Technics EAHAZ80 (referred to as AZ80 from here onwards).
What makes them the best allrounders is that they are buds that deliver in all the key areas without major sacrifices. But, unsurprisingly, you’ll notice this kind of performance comes at a cost. At the full price of £259, these buds aren’t cheap.
You might not realise you know the name, but Technics has a history in hifi dating back to the 1960s. You probably once owned a record player, CD player or tape recorder from Technics. While the brand was discontinued at one point, Panasonic relaunched it in 2014 and it’s been delivering impressive audio products since. In recent years, that’s included highquality wireless headphones.
The flagship Technics pair is a real standout, beating big players from Bose and Sony as an allaround package.
With these, I love that you get classleading threedevice multipoint connectivity, excellent dynamic sound worthy of the Technics name, top microphone performance, solid active noisecancelling (ANC), and an effective ambient awareness mode. This all comes in a pair with loads of battery life and a compact charging case.
The AZ80 has an ergonomic shape and comes with loads of ear tips for a secure and reliable fit. I also like the brushed metal look, it’s both refined and reminiscent of oldschool hifi systems.
Comparatively, the companion app also offers more additional features than most of the competition, including equaliser sound modes and customisations, noisecancelling levels and noisereduction while you take a call.
The tripledevice multipoint connectivity is a great benefit for remote workers. I love that I can keep them connected to my laptop, tablet and phone simultaneously. They’ll switch to the device playing audio or receiving a call without me needing to disconnect and reconnect. It’s seamless.
They’re also brilliant for control, offering full customisation of the touch sensors, including the ability to turn ANC off entirely to preserve battery and a onetap option to pause and switch on the awareness mode, which is super helpful.
The level of detail, precision and dynamism in the sound is up there with the absolute best models, and I don’t think anyone’s going to feel like the seven hours of playback with ANC on isn’t enough.
The list of downsides is short, but it is worth saying that some buds are lighter and more weatherresistant and that while these are decent for hybrid noisecancelling, they’re beaten on that front by pairs from Bose, Sony and Apple.
While you might also consider the personalisations available from the Denon PerL Pro, or better noisecancelling from the Bose QuietComfort Ultra, Apple AirPods Pro and Sony WF1000XM5, these Technics buds tick most of my boxes when it comes to features, customisations and sound performance. It’s also worth noting that you can get the handy threedevice multipoint feature from the Technics AZ60M2 and AZ40M2, but the AZ80 has a slightly better fit, ANC and sound.
On test, they sounded terrific; they cancelled enough background noise while having a capable awareness mode, and they switched between devices without issue, all while delivering a customisable audio and control experience and comfortable wear for hours at a time. I think they’re an ideal allinone pair for frequent onthego use.
Simon Cocks is Hearst UK’s Technology Ecommerce Editor, overseeing tech shopping content and strategy across a range of titles including Good Housekeeping UK, Esquire UK, Digital Spy, Men’s Health UK and Women’s Health UK.
Simon specialises in testing the latest smart gadgets, home entertainment gear, headphones, speakers, portable chargers, radios, ebook readers and smartphones. He’s reviewed top tech products from brands including Google, Apple, Amazon, JBL and Bose.
A magazine journalism graduate from Kingston University in 2014, Simon also worked on the Discovery and Silkroad inflight magazines. He then gained experience writing about entertainment at SFX and Total Film. He also contributed reviews and interviews to TwitchFilm (later ScreenAnarchy), CultBox and Frame Rated.
He joined Good Housekeeping UK as the Editorial Assistant for Special Projects and was part of Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Affairs Team between 2014 and 2019. In this role, he conducted price comparison research, wrote detailed household and moneysaving advice guides and edited thousands of indepth reviews for the Good Housekeeping Institute.
He has focused on technology and gadgets since 2020, where he started by testing out power banks and instant cameras. He writes reviews, roundups, news articles and deals updates, and also covers top tech deals during sales like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
When not testing out the latest gizmos, you’ll find Simon either catching up with the newest releases at his local cinema or out shooting with his beloved compact camera.
You can follow Simon on Instagram at @simonrcocks, on Threads at @simonrcocks, and on Twitter/X at @simoncocks.