Technics EAH-AZ100 Review

Panasonic marked the 60th anniversary of its Technics audio brand with a thoroughly re-engineered successor to the EAH-AZ80, and the version-number jump is justified by what sits inside: drivers whose aluminium membranes are set in motion by fluid magnets. Where rigid magnets permit a degree of vertical wobble that creates interference, the fluid-driven membrane oscillates strictly perpendicular — and the audible result has carried these earphones to the top of a 112-product in-ear ranking.

Notably, they were second when first tested; the field has churned since, new rivals have come and gone, and the AZ100 now stand first. Products that climb a dynamic ranking over time are rarer than products that slide down one.

The listening verdict is unambiguous: these are simply superb. They play with real authority without ever overdriving, and show great naturalness across every genre — including full orchestra, the sternest test of coherence. Voices from sonorous depths to the highest soprano are rendered precisely without turning sharp.

The bass deserves its own sentence: precisely defined, excellent even in the lowest frequencies, and finely balanced between analytical clarity and warmth. One taste note — the app's preset "Dynamic" EQ curve leans slightly bass-heavy, easily adjusted among the five sensible presets and three freely configurable user profiles.

At the time of testing, the conclusion was that these set the reference other in-ears must measure against. The current number-one ranking says the field agrees.

Clad largely in solid metal, the build quality is outstanding, and four ear-tip sizes (XS to L) give an excellent individual fit with first-rate passive isolation. The seal holds firm through vigorous sport — with the flip side that over long relaxed sessions, or falling asleep to music, the firm fit can intrude; dropping a tip size helps.

The feature list wants for almost nothing: wear detection, wireless charging for the very compact case, physical-button controls covering volume, tracks and playback, multipoint pairing with up to three devices simultaneously, and Bluetooth 5.3 with LC3 support, ready for Auracast broadcasting. aptX is absent; there is no battery LED on the earphones themselves. An IPX4 rating covers sweat and rain.

The companion app is uncomplicated and intuitive, with sensible presets rather than gimmicks.

The ANC works very well in the low and middle frequencies. Only the highs bleed through — the high-frequency whine of a jet engine, say — but the residual noise floor is entirely acceptable, and sleeping on a plane is realistic.

Calls involve an engineering trade worth understanding. The dedicated voice microphone of the predecessor was sacrificed for space in the new driver design; the side-mounted ANC microphones now capture speech with AI assistance. In normal conditions the other party hears a natural tonal picture with very good intelligibility, and background noise is scrubbed accurately. In very loud surroundings, though, the processing audibly modulates the voice — louder, softer, at times clearly muffled — and intelligibility suffers.

The measured runtimes are collectively very good, and with ANC engaged they beat most of the field: 13 hours 40 minutes on a single charge, 40 hours 37 minutes including the case — comfortably more than a day of use in noisy surroundings. Without ANC the figures are not records but remain above average: 16 hours 53 minutes single, 57 hours 56 minutes total.

Quick charging is practical: 15 minutes yields 3 hours 25 minutes without ANC, or just under three hours with it. A full charge takes 2 hours 18 minutes.

Bluetooth range earned top marks, and the measured figures explain why: clearly beyond 25 metres outdoors, and at least 13 metres indoors across several rooms — enough to leave the phone charging in one room and move freely around a flat. The app also reports the current charge state of each earbud and the case individually at any time, a small transparency that spares the guesswork cheaper rivals impose.

In the UK the EAH-AZ100 is listed on Amazon UK at £226.10 in Black under model number EAH-AZ100E-K, in stock at the time of writing; the Silver version (EAH-AZ100E-S) sits at £229.00. The E suffix denotes the European issue of the same model.

The EAH-AZ100 top a 112-strong field for concrete, measurable reasons: a genuinely reference-grade sound built on novel fluid-magnet drivers, ANC-on battery life that leads the class, a rock-solid fit, and a feature set — triple-device multipoint, wireless charging, wear detection, Auracast readiness — that leaves almost nothing on the table.

The compromises are minor and honest. High-frequency noise partially bypasses the ANC, calls degrade in very loud places because of the sacrificed voice microphone, aptX is absent, and the firm fit that anchors them during sport can tire ears during long relaxed listening. None of it threatens the conclusion: for sound quality first and everything else close behind, these are the in-ears to beat.

Are the Technics EAH-AZ100 the best wireless earbuds right now? In the tested field, yes — they hold 1st place of 112 models and the test-winner slot in our best wireless earbuds guide, on the strength of outstanding sound, exemplary adaptive cancelling and very long battery life.

Who should look elsewhere? Two cases from the same tested field: if pure silence outranks sound, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen hold the ANC benchmark; and if you want the field's only perfect sound score regardless of the rest, that belongs to the Sony WF-1000XM6 — both weighed against the AZ100 in the guide.