Combining compactness and good sound: review of Technics EAH-AZ40M2 TWS headphones

One of the indispensable gadgets of our time is TWS headphones. Even though not all users of such devices are avid music lovers, headphones will come in handy for work calls, watching videos in public transport, or helping you not to disturb your family with another episode of your favorite TV series. At the same time, a certain set of features for such devices has emerged. So in today’s review, we will analyze what Technics EAH-AZ40M2 can offer to the buyer.

Specifications of Technics EAH-AZ40M2

Package contents

The contents of the TWS headphone package are mostly quite standard. With the Technics EAH-AZ40M2 model, the buyer will receive a compact case, four pairs of interchangeable ear cushions of different sizes, and a short USB-C-to-USB-C charging cable.

Basically, once you pick up the right ear cushions, you can forget about everything else in the box. The cable of a smartphone or some laptops will do just fine for charging, and there’s no need to bother with an additional one. And the compactness of the case will easily give competitors a head start, so you won’t have to look for any accessories for transportation.

Design and usability

TWS headphones come in a variety of shapes that are not always practical (as we recently saw with the final ZE8000 MK2). But Technics EAH-AZ40M2 are quite the opposite option against this background. They are small and “hide” well in the auricles. Of course, among the wired options, one can easily mention much smaller options, but among the wireless ones, they are probably the most compact of all that I have ever tested.

At first, I thought that this would make them stick poorly, but in practice it turned out to be the opposite. The ear cushions fit neatly into the ear canal without causing discomfort, and they hold their position well, even if you don’t pay attention to sudden movements of the head, ears, etc. Of course, this is subjective, and other users may have negative experiences, so it’s worth trying on the headphones before buying them anyway. But for me personally, they turned out to be unexpectedly comfortable. Each headphone weighs 5 grams.

At the same time, the manufacturer also took care of its pleasant appearance. It is not new, but it has already been tested by previous models. The plastic case has a mostly matte finish, small logos, and a pair of neat microphone slots on each of the headphones. You can choose among three color options: classic Black and Silver, as well as more original Rose Gold. The headphones have a pleasant and rather universal look, which is unlikely to be objectionable to anyone.

Зображення: Technics

The case is also relatively small. It weighs only 35 grams and measures approximately 65×33×26 mm. It’s easy to put it in a pocket or a small compartment of a backpack. It also uses plastic with a similar coating to the headphones. 

There is only a charging port on the back of the case, and on the front and inside there are a couple of indicators – the current charge of the case and the charge of the headphones themselves. To fix the latter, small magnetic fasteners are used, and next to them there are three more charging pins.

After getting acquainted with Technics EAH-AZ40M2, only pleasant impressions remain. The whole design is very good, the headphones are comfortable and compact, as is the small case. At the same time, the headphones themselves have IPx4 protection against moisture, and with a comfortable fit, they can be used for sports or in light rain.

Management

There is no mechanical control. The rejection of this also helped to reduce the body size. Thus, all manipulations were left to the touch surface. And the features of interaction here remain the same as in other similar models: taps on the headphone are felt by the ear, careless movements can accidentally stop the music, and so on. Not everyone likes this option, but if this is the price for compactness, then, in my opinion, complaints will be unnecessary.

The control scheme involves one, two, or three taps, or holding your finger on a sensor. You can then distribute the functions at your own discretion, or turn off the sensors altogether and adjust the operation from your smartphone. For example, I don’t like to tap on my headphones, so I prefer the latter option. But I won’t say that the sensor doesn’t work well or requires getting used to. No, everything is predictable and responds correctly to user actions. The control scheme is available in the smartphone app, where you can personalize it for yourself.

There are no controls on the case. Usually, such cases have a small button to reset or activate synchronization with other devices. Here, this point was ignored, and to connect to a new gadget, you need to hold your fingers on the sensors of both headphones for a few seconds.

Connectivity and functionality

Technics EAH-AZ40M2 uses Bluetooth 5.2 to connect to audio sources. This allows to provide support for SBC, AAC and LDAC codecs, which requires support from a smartphone. That is, the owners of Apple devices are traditionally left with the first two options, and there is a better option for Android smartphones and music players. All settings are available in the iOS and Android apps.  

At the moment, there is support for Multipoint connection. However, the manufacturer notes that in the case of LDAC, you will have to abandon the simultaneous connection to several devices. Multipoint supports three simultaneous connections. I tested the headphones with an iPhone and a MacBook Pro. There were no problems with the connection, but with simultaneous connection, the headphones prioritize the smartphone, which can easily intercept the sound from the laptop. Otherwise, you need to stop playback on your smartphone first, and only then start music or video on the laptop.

Technics EAH-AZ40M2 also offers an active noise reduction system. Its intensity in this model cannot be adjusted depending on the circumstances. At the same time, there are two options in Ambient mode – classic Transparent and Attention with additional amplification of voices around.

Another useful feature is the headphone locator. In case they fall out of your ears, they can emit a sound at the app’s request, which will make them easier to find. And by providing the app with access to the location, it will show their location. So if you forget your headphones in the office, you can find them by their last location. However, live search, like that of Apple gadgets, is not supported here.

Among other things, the app allows you to see the charge level of each headphone and case, change the language of voice prompts and their volume, the automatic shutdown time, change the sound delay modes for video playback, find additional information, and more. The interface is clear and simple, so it won’t be difficult to access various settings and functions. In general, there are not many settings, so it won’t take you long to customize the features to your own needs when you first turn it on.

Sound

Technics is not a new brand, and headphones are one of its parts. However, this department of Panasonic has been working with TWS models not so long ago. At the very least, this is noticeable in the noise canceling system, part of which is passively performed by the ear cushions. Music will also help to further muffle the environment. Nevertheless, by activating ANC, you can really feel the reduction of external noise, but you still can’t completely isolate them.

Also, the Transparency mode seems to generate excessive white noise. It won’t bother fans of loud music, but it can still add a little extra discomfort to listening to podcasts. So it will be difficult to call the work of these functions of the headphones perfect.

However, it is unlikely that they will be the key for the buyer, because first and foremost, headphones should play music well. And Technics engineers did their best with this. To begin with, the user has several sound profiles and a classic five-band equalizer. And in contrast to full-size EAH-A800, where I liked the Dynamic profile the most, here I chose the “bassiest” option. Although it’s hard to say that the others sounded bad, it’s just my own preferences and correlation with my favorite music genres.

The 6 mm drivers also have enough volume. These are not the most powerful headphones I’ve ever had, but I have nothing to complain about: I almost never raised the volume level to 100%, and I wouldn’t say that I lost anything. Stereo playback is also good: if the sound engineer has provided a lot of such effects in the composition, or if the user is listening to a live recording with a split scene, the user will feel it.

At the same time, I would like to praise the sound, even though I tested the headphones with Apple devices and was not able to appreciate all the advantages of LDAC. Technics EAH-AZ40M2 are definitely focused on modern electronic genres, but they are just as pleasant to listen to orchestral recordings or jazz. Even with bass-heavy presets, the low frequencies do not “cover” the middle and high frequencies, and the latter, in turn, do not have a strong attack with other playback presets. And the detail is excellent. In addition, regardless of the overall volume, the speakers will not wheeze or produce any other distortions. So I was completely satisfied with this model in terms of music.

Microphones for conversational functions are somewhat difficult to use because of their placement. However, in a quiet room, you can easily answer a call or participate in an online meeting. However, certain competitors may still be better suited for such tasks, and these Technics will not reach the level of external microphones or smartphones.

Battery life

Given the small size of the headphones, their battery life is quite good. But it also depends on the selected codec. Thus, with SBC/AAC and active noise cancellation, the headphones should last up to 5.5 hours (our test showed 5 hours of continuous music playback at maximum volume), and with LDAC – 3.5 hours. 

Taking into account the charge in the case, you can expect 18 or 12 hours depending on the selected codec. At the same time, the charging time of the case is 2.5 hours, and the headphones will recover in 2 hours when fully discharged.