Panasonic Technics EAH-AZ70W

The AZ70W has ANC at the 93rd percentile and sound at the 85th percentile, which is flagship territory. But comfort sits at the 28th percentile and calls score just 43.4 out of 100. At $150 these are a bargain for audio quality; at $250 they're a tough sell.

The ANC is the headline act here. At the 93rd percentile, it's one of the best noise cancelling implementations we've tracked in true wireless earbuds. Technics threw everything at this: feedforward and feedback mics, analog and digital processing, and 100 levels of sensitivity adjustment. That's not a gimmick either. You can fine-tune how much of the outside world bleeds through, which is genuinely useful when you're bouncing between a loud commute and a quiet office.

The sound quality backs it up at the 85th percentile. The 10mm driver with a graphene-coated diaphragm delivers tight bass and detailed highs, and the Hi-Res audio support means you're not leaving quality on the table if you have good source files. The codec support is SBC and AAC only, so Android users don't get LDAC or aptX, which is a bit of a miss for a Hi-Res branded product. Connectivity is solid at the 81st percentile with Bluetooth 5.1, and the build quality is strong at the 80th percentile. But the battery is middle of the pack at the 68th percentile. 6.5 hours per charge and 19.5 hours total with the case is fine, but nothing to write home about. The quick charge is decent though: 15 minutes gets you 70 minutes of playback.

Against the current crop of flagships, the AZ70W is in a strange spot. The Sony WF-1000XM6 and Apple AirPods Pro 3rd Generation both beat it on comfort and calls, and they're newer products with better battery life. The Samsung Galaxy Buds3 Pro also offers a more well-rounded package. But the AZ70W's ANC at the 93rd percentile still holds up against anything on the market, and the sound quality at the 85th percentile is genuinely competitive. The Technics EAH-AZ100 is the newer sibling and likely fixes some of these issues, but if you find the AZ70W at the $150 end of the price range, it undercuts all of those competitors significantly. The Nothing Buds 2 is cheaper still, but it can't touch the AZ70W's noise cancelling or driver quality.

Pricing is all over the place on these. US listings range from $150 to $250, which is a $100 spread across just two vendors. At $150, these are a steal for the ANC and sound quality you're getting. At $250, you're paying flagship money for earbuds with a comfort score in the 28th percentile and a calls score of 43.4. The value proposition really depends on which listing you find. If you can snag them at the lower end of that range, the audio performance alone justifies the price. At the top end, you're competing with newer options that don't have the same comfort and call quality compromises.

The Technics EAH-AZ70W lands in our database with a 53.4 out of 100 overall score, which is a weird place for a pair of earbuds that sound this good. The sound quality sits at the 85th percentile, and the active noise cancelling is even better at the 93rd percentile. Those are flagship-level numbers. But the comfort score drags things down hard at the 28th percentile, and the calls score is the weakest area at 43.4 out of 100. So you get a pair of earbuds that nails the audio experience and then fumbles some of the basics.

You're looking at a 10mm dynamic driver with a graphene-coated diaphragm, Hi-Res audio support, and hybrid ANC that combines feedforward and feedback mics with both analog and digital processing. The spec sheet reads like a serious audiophile product. But the 6.5 hour earbud battery and 19.5 hour case total are just okay, landing at the 68th percentile. And with only one customer review in our dataset, the social proof is thin at the 39th percentile. These are earbuds for people who care about sound first and everything else second.

Skip these if comfort is a priority. The 28th percentile comfort score means a lot of people will struggle with the fit, and no amount of sound quality fixes earbuds that hurt after an hour. Also skip if you take a lot of calls. The 43.4 out of 100 calls score is a real letdown for a product at this price, and the beamforming mics don't save it. If you need earbuds for work calls or all-day wear, the Sony WF-1000XM6 or Apple AirPods Pro 3rd Generation are much safer bets.

The Technics EAH-AZ70W is a frustrating product. The ANC and sound quality are genuinely excellent, with percentile rankings that put it near the top of our database. But the comfort score at the 28th percentile is a dealbreaker for a lot of people, and the calls performance at 43.4 out of 100 is rough for a pair of earbuds at this price point. If you're an audio-first buyer who can find these at the $150 end of the price range and you don't mind fiddling with fit, they're worth a look. If you need earbuds for calls or all-day wear, look elsewhere.