I’ve come to expect certain things from Audio-Technica earbuds and headphones. First, the company’s sound is warm, soothing, and easy to listen to for hours.Usually good, but not necessarily great, although the company generally pairs this with a solid overall experience due to features and performance. It’s all there: wireless headphones with active noise cancellation (ANC) and a host of handy tools that rival more expensive rivals. Some features are better than others, but the company has done a good job of expanding its capabilities over the years, although the ATH-TWX7 is missing one essential feature.
design
Despite their stick-like appearance, the ATH-TWX7 look more refined than most earbuds in this price range. Audio-Technica chose a mix of black and silver (or white/silver or gray/silver) colors to make the earbuds look similar to high-end headphones. The main housing is very small, which means it’s more comfortable for my ears. The charging case also features a unique teardrop shape, which allows the earbuds to sit at an angle while charging, rather than standing upright or completely flat. There’s no real benefit here, but it’s a departure from the norm worth pointing out.
Audio-Technica did something rare among earbuds with the ATH-TWX7’s onboard controls. It uses both touch and physical buttons for playback, calls, sound modes, and summoning the voice assistant. Normally you’d see this on headphones where playback controls are touch-sensitive and noise cancellation and transparency mode are assigned to a button, but I don’t recall seeing this on earbuds before. Granted, I’ve been reviewing audio equipment for years, so I’m hesitant to claim that Audio-Technica is the “first” company to do so.
To help you find your ideal fit, Audio-Technica offers two different types of ear tips. One is labeled “soft” and is designed to be more comfortable, while the standard option is designed to provide a more secure fit. I expected the “soft” version to be foam, or at least partially foam, but they are pretty much the same. One is slightly thinner, but they both appear to be the same silicone material you see in most earbuds, and neither feels softer than the other.
The last thing I want to point out about the ATH-TWX7’s design is its ingress protection (IP) rating. These products are only IPX4 waterproof and cannot withstand spray or submersion. That’s probably enough for sports, and while it’s about average for mid-range earbuds, slightly more expensive models move into IPX7 territory.
Software and features
When I reviewed this headset in late 2019, Audio-Technica’s app was so limited that there was no reason to launch it. It doesn’t offer anything useful unless you install a firmware update, and even onboard control customization is limited. I’m happy to report that this is no longer the case, as AT Connect software now offers a more powerful setup list and reconfigurable tools than before.
The app’s home screen is dedicated to providing options for changing music codecs, EQ and sound modes, as well as displaying the battery life of each earbud. Click on the image of the ATH-TWX7 to enter detailed settings, divided into audio and system sections. All of this comes standard with access to everything the onboard controls have to offer within the app, including the ability to remap touch and physical buttons as needed. But despite letting you set an auto-off timer when there’s no audio, the ATH-TWX7 don’t automatically pause when you take them out of your ears. This is a big omission in 2024, when nearly every pair of wireless headphones will do this.
I’m going to point out something very novel. First, with the Call Microphone setting, Audio-Technica goes a step further with in-app calling testing so you can hear your own voice before dialing. In addition to this, there are features such as Nature mode for quiet locations or Noise Canceling mode for strong winds or noisy environments. The latter is not very original, but will still come in handy. You can deactivate touch controls and rely solely on the tiny physical buttons on the earbuds. Somewhat innovative is the ability to adjust the sensitivity of these panels, with the preset being medium, with low and high options available if desired.
Contains both touch and physical buttons, allowing you to a lot of Flexibility in how these are set. Everything on the ATH-TWX7 is reconfigurable, meaning you can move content from buttons to touch panel and vice versa, or add content that isn’t already there by default. In addition to playback, calls, voice assistant, and noise-canceling settings options, you can also add calls, low-latency mode, and check battery level. Audio-Technica isn’t reinventing the wheel when it comes to what these earbuds can do, but greater customization gives you more options to delegate tasks in a way that makes the most sense for you.
Sound quality and noise cancellation
Nearly every set of Audio-Technica earbuds and headphones I’ve tested have similar sound signatures. It’s a warm, inviting tone that’s pleasant to listen to for hours on end, mostly because the dynamics aren’t exhausting. For better or worse, the ATH-TWX7 is basically the same, with a few exceptions.
The mellow acoustic style is excellent, with crisp detail on the drums and guitar adding texture to tracks like Zach Bryan’s “Heavy Eyes” and Charles Wesley Godwin’s “Family Ties.” The ATH-TWX7 also plays well on jazz and synth-heavy pop, rock and instrumental tunes. Hip-hop is fine, too, but the headphones start to struggle with hard rock, metal, and more chaotic, over-the-top music styles. Better Lovers’ 30 Under 13 is still the gritty, raucous hardcore I know and love, but everything sounds flat and less dynamic than other earbuds. sounds from this album as well as other metal selections such as Gojira’s fortitude It’s more compressed than other genres and has less room to spread out, especially those guitars that are usually stuck in your head.
Like many ANC earbuds, the ATH-TWX7’s active noise cancellation works well with constant noise, but not so well with things like vocals. This model easily handled the noise from my heating unit at my Las Vegas hotel during CES, as did the white noise machines and fans at home. It’s not Bose-level soundproofing, but it’s definitely above average.
The sound quality in listen-through or transparency modes is also quite good. It has a nice, natural element to it that’s not compressed or muted like some competitors. However, the ATH-TWX7 don’t carry your voice the way the AirPods Pro do, so the overall effect isn’t like you’re not wearing earbuds at all. I thought the Talk-Through feature would help with this, but the tool just lowers the volume or mutes the content. Confusingly, despite offering two options for letting ambient sounds in, the tool doesn’t let you simply pause. It’s just listening, not really conducive to a quick chat. Since your voice doesn’t travel back to your ears, you’ll still feel the need to speak louder, which means you’re more likely to yell if you’re not careful.
call quality
Supports Audio-Technica, the easiest way to check call performance on ATH-TWX7. The in-app call test lets you know how you sound before you answer or dial in, which is much better than hoping the caller sounds good. I also find it helpful to evaluate which setting is best for where I am at the time, even if I’m at home.
Noise reduction mode lives up to its name, but it also sacrifices some voice quality. Natural mode sounds best, but it easily picks up background noise. If you’re in a quiet place, though, the ATH-TWX7 can give you above-average voice performance, with noticeably clearer than the typical hands-free call quality most earbuds offer.
The ATH-TWX7 also seems to have a bit of trouble automatically switching over multipoint Bluetooth, but only during calls. If I jump from my phone to my laptop to listen to music or other audio, the transition is quick and seamless. However, if I’m listening to music on my MacBook Pro and receive a call, there are a few times when the headphones won’t switch to it. Since this is the situation where I’m most likely to need automatic switching, this is disappointing. The best-case scenario is that I answer the call and click to change the audio from the iPhone to the ATH-TWX7, but that’s not really an ideal workflow.
Battery Life
Audio-Technica promises up to 6.5 hours of use on the headphones themselves, with two additional charges in the charging case. It doesn’t specify whether ANC is on or off, but in my tests I hit the stated numbers while blocking out background noise. This is a mix of music and calls, with occasional minutes of listening mode, and having the ATH-TWX7 automatically shut off twice. I was actually able to work 30 minutes longer than the company claimed, and a few extra minutes is always a good thing.
Contest
In the $200 price range, a fitting comparison would be the ATH-TWX7. Worth mentioning on our list is that they have similar battery life and the same IPX4 rating, but are more comfortable to wear and have some of Sony’s signature features. These include support for DSEE Extreme upgrades and Quick Attention mode, which makes it easy to have quick chats in the office, coffee shop or airport. Additionally, LinkBuds S can automatically pause when you speak, and adaptive sound modes can be configured to change settings based on activity or location. Plus, they’re selling full price for $200.
iPhone users will be more satisfied with the ATH-TWX7. If your life is intertwined with iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, the 2022 earbuds, currently on sale for under $200, are the best option. New features like Adaptive Audio bring automatic adjustments to your day, and Apple’s adoption of Transparency Mode remains the best in the industry. Finally, they are better suited for extended use than the ATH-TWX7.
wrap up
There’s a lot to like. A set of powerful features brings a lot of convenience to your life. But some of these tools still need some fine-tuning, and the lack of automatic suspension in 2024 is a headache. Still, the audio is mostly good, if inconsistent at times, and Transparency mode is better than most. Combined with solid call quality and in-app voice testing, the ATH-TWX7 is worth considering, especially at this price. Unfortunately, it falls short of the more complete packages that some competitors offer for slightly larger investments.
This article originally appeared on Engadget: https://www.engadget.com/audio-technica-ath-twx7-review-good-earbuds-with-frustrating-flaws-160054450.html?src=rss
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