As far as true wireless earbuds go, when it comes to call quality they’re often not great. If you want to make a call, you’re stuck with poor pick-up of your voice or the noise-cancellation struggles to make you audible to the person on the other end.
It’s a problem no audio manufacturer seems to have fully solved. But that could change with the Technics AZ100.
It’s the latest flagship true wireless from the esteemed audio brand, who is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2025, and it has come out swinging with a performance that takes on the likes of Bose, Sony, and even Bowers & Wilkins in the true wireless department.
I was invited to go to Kyoto to see (and hear) the headphones in December 2024, and compared to the AZ80 model of before, they are an improvement across the board. But it’s call quality I’m zooming in on, since it’s been such a frustrating area of true wireless earphones compared to full-sized over-ear models.
Recent Sony true wireless haven’t been great for call quality. With Sennheiser it’s been indifferent, while for Bose it’s been its weakest area. The addition of machine learning algorithms in an update in 2024 didn’t seem to work very well.
For each true wireless I test, I try to do a call quality test by bugging a friend and walking around the Southwark / Bankside area in London. Some true wireless have fared well, often the mid-range models surprisingly, while premium earbuds tend to be iffy. Putting the Technics AZ100 through its paces, and on a day when the weather wasn’t great, I couldn’t fault its performance.
My friend thought I was calling him on a pair of over-ears, which have a higher level of performance than a true wireless. He was impressed by little noise he could hear (aside from a blaring ambulance going past) and how well the AZ100 focused on my voice. And it’s all down to Technics’ Voice Focus AI feature.
This is one of the best implementations of AI (or machine learning) I’ve come across in a true wireless, an AI feature where it’s clear to hear the impact it has. Switch it on in Technics Audio Connect app, and the AI noise reduction chip strips away the noises around you leaving only your voice. Switch it off and the difference couldn’t be more stark – the person on the end of the line complained I sounded like I was in a rainy downpour.
This is a leap forward because the Technics AZ100 could be one of the first true wireless that works well in both quiet and noisy environments; a balance other earbuds rarely get right. If you want to use these earphones for calls outside, you can. If you want to use them for work then they’re probably a more convenient option than full-sized over-ears (especially with the AZ100’s multi-point Bluetooth support). And you no longer have to profusely apologise for how bad your call quality is.
So while the improvements in sound, comfort, and noise-cancellation are all welcomed with the Technics AZ100, it’s the breakthrough in call quality that will be these headphones now not-so-secret weapon. When it comes to call quality, I think these are the true wireless to beat.
