Podcast #1071: Technics EAH-A800 Noise Canceling Over Ear Headphones Review

This week we  have a review of the Technics EAH-A800 Noise Canceling Over Ear Headphones and we read your emails and look at the week's news.

News:

LG advances smart TV platform business The new Matter smart home standard could make TVs more powerful Optoma’s new 4K UST laser projector is seriously bright at 3000 lumens Roku may soon begin selling its own smart home lighting and accessories

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Wiim Mini Airplay 2 Music Streamer wiimhome Belkin SoundForm Connect AirPlay 2 Audio Adapter Technics EAH-A800 Noise Canceling Over Ear Headphones Review

We have spent a lot of money on wireless earbuds over the years looking for that ultimate tradeoff in sound quality, fit, and noise cancellation vs portability. To date, we have found a few that we liked but have settled on the Technics EAH-AZ60 ($230 MSRP). Today we decided to look at our first full size over the ear headphones, the Technics EAH-A800 ($350 MSRP).  What we give up in portability we expect to get back in sound quality and noise cancellation. Let’s see if that thought process pans out.

Features:

Polyurethane 3-Layer Diaphragm 40mm driver  8 distinct mics and advanced wind noise reduction  Dual Hybrid feedforward & feedback noise canceling with analog & digital processing  Cushioned, super-soft earpads that evenly distribute pressure for a stable fit, with a headband that reduces pressure across your entire head. Multi-Point Connectivity lets you connect to more than 2 Bluetooth devices at once   

Music Quality 

Audio quality was quite good! We listened to the same music that we did for our AZ60 review (SRV - Tin Pan Alley, Snoop Dog - California Roll, Pearl Jam - Yellow Ledbetter, Diana Krall - Fly Me to the Moon) and found that everything we like about the AZ60 was turned up a notch on the A800. The detail in the music was clear and precise; the bass was boomy, maybe a bit too boomy. But still very good. The place where these headphones shined was in the vocal range. You could hear texture in the voice of Diana Krall. It was very good.

Movies did really well too. Dialog was easy to understand and the noise cancellation made it easy to hear at lower levels. One issue we have is that on airplanes the dialog can be hard to hear. The A800 did an exceptional job with boomy special effects. 

Telephone Quality

We don’t discuss telephone quality really on this podcast but the phone calls that I made and received were good. The listener on the other end had no issues hearing me and me them. If you work using headphones to make calls these will work just fine. 

Comfort

The memory foam ear pads conform to your ear providing a comfortable fit that makes it easy to wear for hours. I wore them in the woodshop for three hours without issue. In fact they are the most comfortable headphones I have worn.

Noise Canceling

Noise canceling is good but not on par with some of the ear buds. One of the benefits of ear buds is that they can create a barrier that prevents noise from getting in and those with active cancellation can eliminate the rest. But here is the tradeoff, I have found that no matter what size silicone earpiece I use, they eventually lose their tight fit and let outside sound in. It's gradual so you don’t notice right away. If you are eating something it happens much faster.  

These headphones make a tighter connection with the ears and never let go. I used table saws, planers, and sanders while wearing these headphones and never noticed an increase in outside noise coming through. The noise reduction made it easy to work with loud machinery without fatigue. Plus I got through more podcasts because I was able to continue listening while working with those tools.

If you need to hear something from the outside a simple tap to the earpad lets in the exterior sound. The amount of sound allowed in is set in the Technics Audio Connect App. You can also select the amount of noise cancellation in that app as well. Although that always amuses me. Why do people want less than max cancellation? 

Battery Life

These things never run out of juice! They can give you anywhere from 30 to 60 hours of use depending on the noise cancellation and codec you are using. If you listen to AAC without noise cancellation you can get close to 60 hours. If you have max cancellation and hi res audio playing you can expect the 30 hours. I was using cancellation and AAC and didn’t need to recharge for over a week. About 35 hours. Also, if you run out of power, a fifteen minute charge can get you another 10 hours of noise canceled AAC music.

Room for Improvement

There is no AptX support which can limit the quality of what you are listening to. For instance Apple does not support LDAC. Many Android devices support it so keep that in mind. The noise canceling is good but not the best. Perhaps a firmware update can improve it. Lastly, these are expensive and there are other headphones that perform as well and cost less.