Technics - Wireless Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones with 2 Device Multipoint Connectivity - Black

I'm quite pleased with the sound quality and the build quality. With my normal head shape and size, they were quite comfortable. I've only had it for a day, so hopefully the battery capacity is as good as given in the specifications. The app is intuitive and easy to use. The specs (here on Best Buy as well as Technics' own site -- you always have to double check Best Buy for errors) say Maximum Wireless Range is 33 feet, but using this with my Galaxy S23+ phone in a room at the rear of my house, I had no issues when I roamed to a room at the front of my house (distance was approximately 46 feet with several walls in between).

Technics makes top tier audio hardware, but I can’t remember it ever being acclaimed for its headphones. The A800 changes that, at least it should. For the features that matter most in wireless headphones at this price they do almost everything either great or well: long wear comfort, acceptable active noise cancellation, and stunning battery life. My only disappointment is its wobbly, poorly designed and located buttons. Equipped with the recent-enough Bluetooth version (5.2), It’s LDAC compatible. Audio quality is on point with a filling, yet low processed, presentation. For me the sound is “Goldilocks.” I’ve yet to be disappointed regardless of what genre I’m listening to, provided the recording is a decent quality. Here are some more in-depth impressions after “testing” them for a couple days following a day of break-in to loosen them up. AUDIO QUALITY I’ll start with sound quality since that’s the prime reason to buy one pair of headphones over another. I get the concept of sound quality in this context is more personal than universal. For me, my library is 60s- early 80s rock, mid 80’s and forward “alt rock,” plus big band jazz and classical. I have no hip-hop genres, so definitely, I don’t have an ear for what “good” extra-heightened bass tuning should sound like. What I want out of headphones is a faithful, minimally processed, rendition of whatever song I’m playing. In my experience so far, the A800 delivers this -- provided the source audio is quality. To test the A800’s capabilities and limitations, I sampled a variety of different genres with the app’s sound profiles off, noise cancelling at 50%. All but “HIP HOP” were with 320kbps AAC on an iPhone Pro Max 14 at 60-70% volume in a quiet room. I’ll explain my hip hop experience in that section. ROCK: Rush, “YYZ.” This is a challenging bass-centric instrumental and one of rock’s all-time best. The A800 passed with ease. The bass was crisp with no distortion except for what Rush intended. The drums were tight and the windchimes distinct. It made me want to grab my air guitar out of my front pocket and strum along. Admittedly, when I turned down the volume to 50% it lost some tonal excitement, but neither YYZ nor anything Rush is intended to be background music. This is arena rock meant to be played loud. VOCALS: Brandi Carlile, “The Stranger At My Door.” Her vocal range and storytelling mixed with an emotional guitar thumping are a perfect match for the A800s neutral stance. There was a presence and clarity like I was on Row 1 at an unplugged concert. Ironically, the distortion-for-effect at the end of the song sounded too clear. HIP HOP: Here I had to resort to Spotify Free for some samples. My mistake. A 128kpbs stream can’t provide big bass hip hop justice. It needs more bandwidth. At this bit rate these songs sounded lifeless. With nothing to lose I went to YouTube and found a collection called “Gangster Trap Mix 2023.” I don’t know what the bit rate was but as soon as “Candy Shop,” started I knew I was on the right track. Literally. I felt musical excitement. The tight boomy bass and quick, but clear, lyrics made me want to go clubbing… at 4pm, and I’m well past my clubbing days. The next song, “Drift,” had the same emotional effect. Again, hip hop isn’t my genre, but the A800s offered plenty bass to get me going. It may be the A800s are not super-bassy, but I don’t find them lacking at all. If you find them flat check the quality of your recording. DESIGN & FIT The A800 ships inside a zippered semi-rigid synthetic leather case worth keeping. It appears to be durable and protective unlike many of the “throwaways” some companies utilize. Inside, the A800 is neatly folded into the headband to save space. This is an unsung feature that minimizes its storage footprint. When I travel I’m grateful for every inch I can save. Additionally, the earpads extra agility allows it to fit closer to the ear than ones that only fold flat. Technics also includes a USB-A to USB-C charge cable, an old-school airplane adapter, a 3.3’ 3.5mm headphone cable for wired listening, and a card explaining the various buttons “IKEA pictogram style”. The A800 is handsome with a mix of matte and semi-metallic looking plastic. The headband and earpads are covered with a buttery-soft leatherette. While the plastic bits feel average, the leatherette areas that actually touch your ears and head feel luxurious. The memory foam padding is thick, but not firm, and responsive enough to give hours-long comfort. The earpad hole is approximately 2.5” by 4.5” so it should accommodate even the largest of ears. I have small ears and did not find them too big either. The headband can vertically extend an additional 1.5”. The headband’s flex is good. I stretched it about 7.5” wide before fearing I might damage them. The A800 weighs nearly 11 oz but doesn’t feel heavy when worn (I’m not a big person). They are neither “light and airy,” nor “boat anchors” pulling your head down. The earpads are comfortable over hours of continuous wear. I didn’t feel them ever slipping when moving around or feeling too tight. The do get a bit hot after a while. SETUP & USAGE Setup is semi-automatic and does not require registration or use of Technics Audio Center app. Simply go to the Bluetooth control on your device and select the A800. To pair an additional device, press the power button for 7 seconds to enter pairing mode. The app’s main use is to adjust the amount of noise cancelling (didn’t do much for me), to customize sound frequencies, turn LDAP on, and, most importantly, to turn off the annoying blinking “on” LED indicator on the right earpad. BTW, unlike similar apps from other manufacturers the app still works if you don’t agree to the privacy policy. Thumbs up for that. Controlling the A800’s varies from frustrating to tolerable depending on how you are doing it. I have mine paired to my iPhone and Mac, so fortunately my devices volume buttons work here. The A800’s volume and transport/mic controls and their placement are terrible and seriously deduct from the user experience in my opinion. These three buttons are butted up next to each other with only a tiny nub separating them. For added awkwardness they are on the far back of the right pad. Not only is this an uncomfortable reach, but invariably when go to these buttons it erroneously activates the touch sensitive “noise cancellation/ambient noise” switch on the side. Touch sensitivity can be turned off but then you lose the ability to toggle noise cancelation on the A800s and have to do this in the app. So, here’s an example of this nonsense. I’m walking down the street and a loud song comes on. I reach to the back of my ears to lower the volume. Because the buttons have no separation between them I have to feel around so I don’t hit a button by mistake. Oops, too late. My palm just flipped the earphones from ambient mode to noise canceling. I could go on but, hopefully it’s a good enough illustration. As a side note, the buttons themselves are thin and flimsy and feel more appropriate for a $39 pair of headphones. ACTIVE NOISE CANCELLATION A headphone’s ability to block out airplane cabin noise is, I feel, the best way to judge the effectiveness of noise cancelation. Unfortunately, I had no flight plans this week, so I did a noise simulation using my TV’s volume. The average cabin noise at cruising altitude in a commercial jet is 70 dB. So, using my Apple Watch to measure, I raised my TV’s volume to an ear damaging 88 dB. This to replicate takeoff and landing noise. I had to walk 30 feet away before I could no longer hear the TV. Next I decreased the volume to 66 dB for cruising altitude levels. Here all outside noise was immediate blocked out once with the A800s at 50% volume. So my guess is, and it’s only that, the A800 noise cancellation is perfectly fine for the majority of a flight but expect some leakage at takeoff and landing. I also did a “real world” test wearing them for a walk down my noisy street – lots of cars, buses, etc. In this instance all outside noise was 100% blocked out at 50% volume. Of note: the noise cancellation % wheel inside the app didn’t seem to have any effect ever though I did hear more “white noise” at 100% than 0 or 50%. BATTERY LIFE Battery life (noise cancelling on, LDAC off) is rated at an impressive 50 hours. That crushes its competitors by a lot. In my use I’ve found this to be right on target. Incredible one could fly to Australia and back on a single charge. Wow. But if the battery dies at the wrong time a 15 quick charge supplies 10 hours of listening. A full charge takes about 4 hours. BLUETOOTH Almost as important as battery life is Bluetooth range. I tested range vertically and horizontally. First I left my phone in the lower level of my 4-level open floorplan townhouse and went to the top floor 30 feet up. The signal remained solid the entire trip up. Next, I left my phone in the lower level and walked away from my house until I started to get dropouts. This happened at about 30 feet as well. This is in-line with BT’s range so I’m happy with this performance. The A800 can connect to two devices simultaneously for multitasking. So, for example, you can wear them for TV audio and instantly switch to your phone if a call came in. Oh, and the A800 has 4 beamforming microphones that yield good voice quality and background noise removal for phone calls – based on comments I received by people I talked to with the A800s. From my end, the voice quality was OK, though a bit thin and hollow.

Technics has released some impressive hardware as of late, and these A800 headphones continue that streak of impressive products. The A800 ships with a teardrop shaped rigid carrying case, 3.5mm aux cable, airplane cable adapter, and a USB-C to USB-A charging cable. The body is constructed of metal and plastic, with brushed aluminum end caps on the cups. Build quality feels sturdy with solid construction and a premium feel. I have not observed any cracks, creaking, nor excessive flex along stress points while folding, putting on, or taking off the headphones. They fold easily for storage, and the interior case bottom has a printed diagram illustrating the proper folding position of the headphones. The ear cups have comfortable foam padding covered by faux leather, and the length adjusts with a ratchet style movement. The pads are soft and remain comfortable even during long wearing sessions. The headband is similarly constructed with soft foam and faux leather, and remains mostly inconspicuous during use. There is no pressure on my head from the band and the lightweight headphones remain comfortable even after hours of continuous wear. I also never feel any excessive heat, weight or pressure during wear. The A800 has a snug fit that feels secure, but not constricting. I have a large head, so these are suitable and comfortable for larger heads. Controls are housed on the right ear cup. There are four physical buttons along the rear that control power, volume, track selection, and call functions. Commands are confirmed by voice prompts through the headphones. The side of the right cup can be tapped twice to enable or disable ANC. The noise cancelling works extremely well most times but occasionally misses the mark. When I first placed these headphones on with ANC enabled, I had a nearby washing machine making noise and pipe noise from running water. Immediately all the sounds went silent and I was blown away impressed. I was ready to crown these the ANC king right then and there. However, on another occasion I was surprised to realize I could hear voices speaking nearby and television sound effects when I paused my music. I was perplexed to say the least, but it seems like the ANC is better at handling less dominant background noises than sharper, more pronounced noises. Music sounds terrific through the 40mm drivers. I’ve listened nonstop to several hours of music spanning across multiple genres through these headphones. The sound profile is warm, with clean impactful bass with no muddiness. Highs and mids are clear and pronounced without sounding shrill or flat. Voices project nicely among instruments and all tones balance nicely with no overpowering notes. I can hear every instrument clearly, even in complex arrangements with heavy bass. Every song I listen to has good balance and even sound. Whether it’s hip hop with deep sub-bass, classical with a powerful crescendo, or jazz with numerous wind, string, and percussive instruments delicately balancing among each other, everything sounds excellent, especially in Hi-Res. The headphones also have good loudness. The four-mic array has beamforming and noise suppression for clear conversations. I’ve verified through several calls that I sound clear with minimal background noise while speaking through the headset. During one call, there was a nearby television playing an action movie at moderate volume. The remote party advised they only heard my voice until I increased the television volume to loud to test the limits of the mic noise suppression. The Technics Audio Connect companion app allows additional fine tuning of sound through a choice of either manually tuning using a five-band equalizer, or using one of four presets emphasizing bass, vocals, treble, or dynamic. The app also allows firmware updates, switching the Bluetooth LED indicator on/off, toggling the auto-pause feature on/off, and displays battery status. I can also adjust noise cancelling sensitivity and test microphone quality through the app. Overall, this is a nicely crafted set of headphones with very good sound quality, an excellent quality mic array, and enough extras to provide an enjoyable listening experience. It has outstanding battery life and even announces battery status when I power it off. It’s also lightweight and comfortable, even on large heads like mine. ANC can occasionally allow more sound in than desired, but most of the time it is excellent, especially while music is playing.

The Technics EAH A800 Headphones are an outstanding device, highly configurable/customizable to adjust to your needs/preferences. The noise cancelling function is superb, from blocking ambient sound to configuring how much of the ambient noise to allow. Its connectivity option to multiple devices allows one to move from device to device with no effort. It has preset and “manual” sound configurations to enjoy music and videos, it also includes voice enhancement, useful in work or home environments where you need to be alert to voices. And much more. The only complaint so far, and it mainly stems from me not wearing over-ear headphones in ages, is that after some time it starts feeling too hot and uncomfortable. The weight of the device doesn’t seem to help either, but I understand that the features present in this device carry some “weight” with them. - Pros: highly customizable, multipoint pairing, transparent mode, great sound. - Cons: a little heavy. There are several things that can be said about this device, I elaborate on a few of them. >> Technics Audio Connect App To get the most out of your new headphones, download the Technics Audio Connect App. In fact, it should be the very first thing to do (even before connecting it to your cell phone.) With the App in hand, you can configure: - Noise Cancellation. - Sound, predefined settings as well as custom. - Auto power off after some period of time (or not.) - Fitting sensor to detect whether phones are being worn, and what to do when that happens. - Multi-point connectivity (multipoint pairing.) - Giving preference to connectivity as opposed to audio quality. - And others. >> Multipoint Pairing Multipoint Pairing allows more than one device to connect to the Technics A800 Headphones. You need to configure the Multi point option using the App as it doesn’t come pre-configured with it. It only allows 2 devices to connect to the headphones; although, I read somewhere you could have more than 2, but I have yet to find how to configure it as the app only states two devices. Take note, it mentions that the LDAC quality to just be “Best effort” when two devices are connected. If there is any Audio quality lost when in this mode, well, I haven’t noticed it, the headphones are just that great. My two main computer/phone configurations while at home or at the office are: - Laptop and desktop (s) - Phone and laptop For the laptop and desktop(s) configuration, I keep my laptop separated in case I need to jump into a call or conference, and I use one of the desktops to remote into the other machines/desktops/laptops. The multipoint pairing capability comes in handy in this configuration; for example, I can be listening to some music on my desktop and if suddenly I need to jump into a call/conference on my laptop, I don’t need to take off my headphones, I just switch them from one device to the other. One could argue that I only need the laptop to remote connect to all the others; well, I find it more productive using the laptop on its own and the main desktop with all the monitors connected to it. Now, I find it very satisfying when using my laptop and phone on-the-go. For example, in the living room, some shared space, even a coffee place, etc. Wearing the headphones, I can switch from laptop to phone when desired effortlessly; music is interrupted in the laptop while I take care of business with the cellphone, after finishing, I press play again on the laptop and I can hear the music playing again. >> Noise Cancelling If you need to focus on work while listening to some great music without getting the annoying ambient “noise”, the Technics EAH A800 does an awesome job in that department. Only for that I’d buy these headphones, it just outperforms whatever I have in hand nowadays. And you can even customize: - Allow less or more ambient sound. - Allows transparent mode (sounds around are allowed with no change.) - Has an “Attention” setting to allow voices around to be emphasized. I’ve seen some of these features in other in-ear headphones, but I must recognize, the Technics EAH A800 outperforms those others by a good margin. A must-have indeed. >> Comfort In general, the device is very comfortable; however, as a heavy in-ear headphones user for the last couple of years, I cannot stand the headphones for a long period of time. I feel the pressure of the device on top of my head and on the sides, which eventually becomes a nuisance, to the point I prefer to take them off and continue without music. I think the weight of the headphones contributes to this problem, and it is going to take some time to get used to them. >> Couple of observations - It has great battery life (perhaps also a contributor to its weight.) - I have the headphones configured so that when I take them off the music stops playing. But it is not always the case, if you take them off slowly with care, they keep on playing your favorite music! - I’ve had an intermittent issue where music would stop playing on one device when in multipoint mode. I still need to determine what is happening, it could be me touching something inadvertently.

The Technics EAH-A800 are great new headphones that combine style, comfort, and outstanding sound quality all in a 10.5oz package. As an audio enthusiast, I had high expectations for these headphones, and they were simply exceptional. The first thing that caught my attention when I unboxed the EAH-A800 was their beautiful clean modern look. The brushed metal accents and smoothly rotating well padded ear cups are some of the premium features that stand out. The build quality is exceptional, with sturdy yet lightweight construction. The band and ear cup swivels look and feel extremely durable and capable of withstanding daily use. The conservative Technics branding is welcome. Technics includes a beautiful hard case that holds the headphones and accessories A USB A to USB C charging cable, a mini 3.5mm RCA input cable and an airline dual mini 3.5mm RCA adapter. The PEEK/Polyurethane ear cushions are soft with just the right amount of firmness to provide an excellent seal without exerting too much pressure on the head or ears. The headband is adjustable and well-padded providing a secure and comfortable fit for different head sizes. I found that I could wear these headphones for hours without any discomfort. The EAH-A800 delivers on sound, the Technics reputation for Audio shines through here. The 3-Layer Diaphragm 40mm driver dynamic drivers faithfully reproduce audio, allowing you to pick up subtle nuances in your music or movies. The bass is deep and impactful without overpowering the midrange and highs. The profile is adjustable in the Technics audio connect app. The Audio is 96 kHz/24 bit LDAC when connected by Bluetooth. These headphones have exceedingly well-balanced expansive sound, making these headphones great with all types of music. The EAH-A800 features active noise-canceling (ANC) technology, which effectively reduces ambient noise, I found this very effective. Whether you're in a noisy office or on an airplane, the ANC on these headphones is quite impressive and makes a noticeable difference in sound quality when enabled. You can adjust the ANC level in the app. There is initial setup then manual adjustment is possible. There are 8 mics to help with wind noise reduction, superior call quality is provided by 4 Mic Beamforming and Noise Suppression Technology to clearly convey your voice to the listener. The electronics in the headphones combine Dual Hybrid feedforward & feedback noise canceling with analog & digital processing for immersive listening. You have two modes that let ambient sound in Transparent mode comprehensively captures voices and other surrounding sounds and Attention mode that reduces unwanted external noise to make it easier to hear people’s voices. You can also turn off ANC. The Technics audio connect app lets you set the touch control to switch between ANC and your selected ambient sound mode. These headphones support Bluetooth 5.2, ensuring a stable and fast connection to your devices. With Multipoint connectivity you can connect to 2 devices at the same time. This headphone has Alexa Built in so you can select music, adjust the volume, and make phone calls, with your voice. The battery life is respectable, offering 40(LDAC, NC on) to 60 (ACC, NC off) hours of playback time on a single charge. It takes 3 hours for a full charge and 10 min for a “quick charge”. The inclusion of a USB-C port for charging is great. Now I can use my smartphone charger to charge it. The headphones will auto power off after a period of silence you set in the app or can be set to stay on which is the default. I recommend turning on the auto power off during the headphone setup. The Technics audio connect app has a dizzying array of options and handles firmware updates and custom sound profiles as well. The manual is also available from the app. The Technics EAH-A800 headphones combines style, comfort, and exceptional sound quality. I feel the investment is well worth it for audiophiles and anyone who values top-notch audio performance and comfort. Whether you're using them for music, movies, or gaming, the EAH-A800 headphones will elevate your audio experience to a whole new level. Technics has truly delivered an outstanding product with these headphones; I highly recommend them to anyone seeking the best in audio quality and style.