I don’t know if you can fully understand this statement or not unless you are a part of the culture around this product. I don’t think I have experienced anything like this before. It’s a certain degree of passion that exists around these new earphones by Technics. You can see it in every single post of people out there. They are flat-out in love with this product and I’ve mentioned this before, but I truly think this was part of the same rhythm built up from the Az80’s. There was something special about those too and it was the reason why they were my first perfect Bluetooth Diamond award on my site. I knew then for myself but this unit’s launch took me by surprise. Sure, I expected the same reliability because of the trust that this company has gathered through the years. But what I didn’t expect was a departure in size and the additional innovation of the new fluid magnetic drivers. This size change away from the bulky design of the Az80 was the biggest thing for me that got me excited about the product. I knew that the Technics earphones lineup wasn’t done but I doubted most people had a problem with the sizes like I did, so I didn’t think that they would address this. I was wrong!
The next big change was the battery life usage and charging abilities. These things charge so fast now and the battery life is an amazing 8-10 hours. This type of adjustment alone would have been more than enough for me to consider getting them. I was so taken aback by the 4 hours given when using the LDAC options for the AZ80, that this was the 2nd biggest reason why I didn’t keep such a wonderful product. But now with the new AZ100, they have corrected all that.
These things are the biggest changes to the Az100 for my desires but we haven’t even gotten to the best part yet, the New Drivers, the amazing Magnetic Fluid drivers. This driver was used by Technics in the high-end IEM’s they sell but is now offered in a $299 Bluetooth earphone. And what they bring to the table in sound ranks up there with the very best to do it. They can’t claim to be beat the very best but in many ways, they don’t need to. The mere fact that they can claim to be one of the greatest-sounding Bluetooth earphones in the world today is enough.
Now with all that said, this isn’t the main focus I want to take away from this article. I guess my question or point that I can’t put my finger around is why this product feels different to many, many people. We have all seen great earphones before. We have even had their predecessor and it didn’t quite feel like it does right now. There seems to be overwhelming acceptance of this product. I’ve never seen this many people universally accepting of a product and its hype more than these. Even personally, when I use them, I feel different. The way they feel, and sound, and especially the how long they last on a charge and how fast they charge up from that usage. All of this, I would love to place my finger on either one of these things and claim that’s the reason but I can’t.
The truth is, I can’t explain this either. All I know is that even though I have better-sounding products as a whole by a very small margin, the combination of what the Az100 has completely pulled me away from everything else. It’s not just how the music sounds( even though that sound is absolutely beautiful and possibly cleaner than I have ever heard), how much better the battery life is, how quick the charging is, or even how the phone calls sound or the ANC works. No, it goes deeper than that somehow. For the first time, it’s about its connection to me and how it feels to use it. Yes, the amazing sound quality, fit, and battery life have the easiest time on the list of advantages that can be explained clearer but for me, they are very, very, important, I have that with the Devialet Gemini 2’s, and yet the Technics are the ones that make me feel somehow kin to them. Like they are a part of the very meaning around sound and what it means to me and my life. When they go in, everything stops. I’m no longer wondering how much better the Devialet would be with this song or how it would be with the Pi8s. All I care about is just sitting there and listening to the magic, which is the goal I had promised myself that I would get back to doing after I finished my top two earphone reviews. I was burnt out and tired of not being engaged with the music more than I was at finding how different the sound was vs another earphone. This time I did the same thing but didn’t care about the results.
Could it be that for the first time, I have what I wanted from a battery life in a superior-sounding earphone? Finally not having to compromise for superior sound quality at the cost of battery life plays an important role in why I feel attached to it. Superficially, I will admit that I love how the case feels too when it closes, but that’s neither here nor there :)). Bottom line, I guess I really needed to finally have an earphone that didn’t make me compromise. The Devialet and the Pi8 both made me compromise battery life expectations down to what I could live with, not what I truly wanted. There were plenty of times I heard the warning of the battery life going out during my time with those earphones. I, unlike most people, have a need for sound and music more than the typical person or hours used normally. So no matter how much I told myself that the battery draining issues were ok on the Pi8 or the 5 hours limits on the Devialet were just enough of what I needed to get by with, the bottom line about all that was that I spent $400-$500 on these and I shouldn’t have ever been ok with that compromise. So with these, I don’t have to compromise on battery life while being so good in the sound department that I don’t ever miss what little difference exists in the others vs Technics.
At the end of the day, perhaps these earphones, unlike my previous thoughts, actually did come in at the right time. They came out at a time when I no longer cared about continuing the trend of looking for comparisons more than just listening to my music. I’m selling my PI8s and might also sell my Gemini 2’s. All I know for sure is that I feel like the AZ100 is my resignation letter to the world of Bluetooth reviews. I’m tired of the little difference and the overpriced products simply because of their name. We need better from the brands that charge the most and yet deliver the least amount of innovations that matter(not gimmicks). And even if, for some crazy reason, you don’t find your mind blown by the Technics…something tells me that that technology for Bluetooth just hit cruise control. There is going to be a lot of greatness that comes from this upswell in advancements in technology for sound and battery life. I think companies like Earfun, Cambridge, and yes Technics are the proof that it’s there and readily available to all. So more companies will need to use this or find a way to be better. Sony, Sennheiser, and others aren’t going to be able to put out their normal stuff now. They will be forced to compete better, which means we all win. I highly doubt that the Technics will remain the top dog for the rest of the year. Others are coming with their new versions and they are looking to take aim at anyone who is out making noise, IE Technics.
Tech-N-Things 