The EAH-AZ100 earbuds look like their predecessors but are slightly smaller and are only available in black or silver, while the AZ80s were also available in blue. The earbuds have no stems but include a touch-sensitive outer surface to control playback.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)
The smaller design of the buds makes the AZ100s more comfortable, especially for extended listening sessions, but I found the fit left something to be desired. The earbuds don’t sit in the ear canal firmly enough, despite the various-sized eartips in the box, and tend to come loose during vigorous movement.
The earbuds have touch controls and are highly customizable. Out of the box, a single tap on either bud plays or pauses audio. A double tap on the left bud lowers volume, while a triple tap raises it, and a tap-and-hold activates your voice assistant. On the right bud, double-tapping skips to the next track, triple-tapping rewinds to the previous track, and tapping-and-holding changes noise modes. By default, this action switches between active noise cancellation (ANC) and Ambient Sound, but you can add the option to turn noise control off, too. You can change almost every action, which is rare even on high-end earphones.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)
The earbuds connect through Bluetooth 5.3 and support multipoint pairing with up to three simultaneous connections (most earphones are limited to two).
The company’s new Magnetic Fluid Driver is designed to produce cleaner and more detailed sound. The drivers measure 10mm and can produce frequencies between 20Hz and 40kHz, which qualifies them for high-res audio. The headphones support the basic AAC and SBC codecs and the higher-quality LC3 and LDAC codecs.
(Credit: Christian de Looper)
Each earbud weighs 0.21 ounces, and the charging case weighs 1.5 ounces. The case is pleasingly compact, making it easy to slip into a pocket. It has a USB-C port on the rear and supports wireless charging on the bottom. The earbuds have an IPX4 rating for protection against sweat and light rain, but there’s no IP rating for the charging case. The earbuds aren’t designed for exercise and cannot be submerged in water.
The box includes the charging case, a short USB-C charging cable, and four additional pairs of silicone eartips in various sizes. Given the fit issues I experienced, I would have appreciated foam tips.
Leave a Comment
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *