Panasonic excels in delivering high-performance TVs, and their audio division, Technics, has consistently impressed with its wireless and true wireless headphones in the AZ series. The previous flagship, Technics EAH-AZ80, held the top position for a period, before being surpassed by Bowers & Wilkins Pi8. The central question now is whether this year’s flagship model, the Technics EAH-AZ100, can reclaim the leading spot. Let’s investigate.
Externally, the charging case maintains a similar design to previous models, with the AZ100 exhibiting a marginally bulkier profile. However, the brushed plastic finish elevates the perceived quality (despite remaining plastic), presenting a more refined feel compared to the gray plastic case found on models like the AZ60 M2. Examining the earbuds themselves, Technics has implemented subtle design refinements while retaining elements from last year’s model, resulting in a slightly more rounded and robust form factor. The earbuds employ a “twist-to-fit” mechanism, ensuring a secure and well-sealed fit within the ear canal, minimizing sound leakage. While this secure fit can induce a slight warming sensation within the ear canal over extended use, it remains generally unnoticeable. The updated earbuds are more compact, feature a smoother finish, and incorporate stronger magnets for case retention. This offers the advantage of secure placement within the case, even with the lid open. Conversely, the reduced size and smoother finish can make the earbuds somewhat more challenging to extract, potentially leading to accidental drops if handled carelessly, especially in motion. Exercise caution to avoid dislodging and losing an earbud.
Battery performance is commendable, providing a total of 28 hours of use when factoring in the charging case capacity. The earbuds themselves offer approximately 10 hours of playback on a single charge, which should satisfy most users’ requirements.
The packaging deserves mention for its lightweight construction, minimal material usage, and streamlined contents, demonstrating an environmentally conscious approach. However, the inclusion of an exceptionally short USB-C charging cable raises questions. While many users likely possess alternative cables, assuming this is not a reliable practice. Either omit the charging cable entirely, or include one of adequate length (at least one meter).
The silicone ear tips incorporate a redesigned structure, featuring a firmer “plastic collar” intended to enhance stability and potentially improve acoustic performance (more details on sound quality below). A comprehensive range of sizes is provided, enabling users to achieve an optimal fit. It is worth noting that a combination of different sizes may be required to accommodate potential variations in ear canal dimensions between the left and right ears.
Assessing the Audio Quality of the Technics AZ100
Expectations for the AZ100’s audio performance were high, driven both by the strong performance of prior models and by Panasonic’s marketing emphasis on the “Magnetic fluid driver,” a next-generation speaker element engineered to minimize distortion, deliver accurate and powerful bass, and reproduce sound with exceptional fidelity to the original source.
The result? Outstanding. The AZ100 establishes a new benchmark for audio quality in the true wireless headphone category in 2025. The listening experience is characterized by a soundstage that is immediately warm, rich, exceptionally clear, and remarkably impactful. Sound pressure level measurements against older headphones revealed that the AZ100 could achieve the same perceived loudness at a significantly lower volume setting. The headphones perform admirably across diverse musical genres, eliciting an immersive listening experience with well-mixed singer-songwriter tracks such as Bruce Springsteen‘s Tougher Than the Rest, Suzanne Vega‘s distinctive Tom’s Diner, and Haley Reinhart‘s evocative rendition of the Elvis classic I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.
The AZ100’s capabilities extend beyond slower, contemporary compositions. Retrospective listening sessions with classic 80s and 90s playlists revealed previously unheard details and a newfound depth in familiar tracks. Listening to Britney Spears‘ Toxic highlights the song’s sonic breadth, encompassing both impactful bass and pristine high-frequency elements, including vocals and strings. Similarly, Madonna‘s Like A Prayer gains a previously unexperienced warmth and spaciousness, even within this historically controversial pop anthem.
The AZ100 consistently delivered exceptional results across all tested genres, spanning pop, casual, hip hop, and hard rock. The performance leap from the previous generation (already highly regarded) is significant, with the AZ100 surpassing the previous reference, the B&W Pi8, in terms of pure audio quality by a small but noticeable margin. We await the arrival of the next generation of B&W headphones to assess their comparative performance.
In summary: These headphones are the closest we’ve encountered to a universal solution for all audio content. The tagline “Rediscover music” accurately reflects the experience these headphones provide.
Impressive Active Noise Cancellation
While Technics has not historically led the market in active noise cancellation (ANC), the AZ100 represents a substantial advancement in this area. Sony has traditionally dominated ANC performance with its XM models. However, the AZ100 provides both adjustable and adaptive (self-regulating) ANC capabilities, which, according to a test by the respected British publication What HI-FI, is even better than Sony’s latest offering (which is, conversely, somewhat more affordable). This positions the AZ100 among the top performers in ANC effectiveness. For our team, which experienced a particularly flight-intensive first quarter, the AZ100 became the preferred travel companion, providing both exceptional audio quality and effective suppression of aircraft engine noise and disruptive passenger conversations.
The accompanying application includes a feature to optimize the ANC performance based on the size of the selected silicone ear tips, maximizing noise reduction effectiveness.
Dolby Atmos and Movie Playback with the Technics AZ100
Technics also promotes the AZ100 as its first headphones to incorporate Dolby Atmos support. Given the inherently stereo configuration of the headphones, the surround sound effect is generated via a digital signal processor (DSP). The implementation draws inspiration from Yamaha YH-L700A, which pioneered the concept of creating a virtual speaker array around the listener’s head. This maintains the perceived directionality of sound sources regardless of head orientation, mimicking the behavior of physical speakers. While this effect provides initial novelty, its practical utility is limited. The resulting sound can be artificial and the excessive DSP manipulation introduces a “metallic” timbre that discerning film and audio enthusiasts are unlikely to appreciate. It is preferable to utilize alternative solutions, such as Netflix’s automatic stereo headphone surround processing (if portable screen movie viewing is necessary… which is sometimes unavoidable, such as during travel). In summary, while an interesting feature, audio purists are advised to disable such functions.
Call Quality
Call quality remains comparable to previous models. The user experiences clear audio from the other party; however, feedback indicates that the user’s voice may sound distant when speaking outdoors, despite the presence of multiple microphones and contemporary recording technology. While functional, the call quality falls short of competitors such as the Liberty 4 Pro from Soundcore. A “Voice AI mode” is available (allowing users to monitor their own voice), but it exhibited a slightly thin quality and occasional audio clipping. While the concept is promising, further refinement is necessary in future iterations.
Technics AZ100: Summary
The Technics AZ100 unequivocally represents a significant advancement in true wireless headphone audio quality, approaching the performance levels previously attainable only with high-end over-ear headphones, while offering complete portability and exceptional ANC. While the price of 3,500 is not inexpensive compared to competitors (although lower than the Pi8), we contend that these are currently the best wireless headphones on the market in terms of pure sound reproduction quality. Call quality remains adequate. Future models should address the smooth surface finish of the earbuds and potentially reduce the magnetic force within the case to facilitate easier extraction. Further consideration should be given to whether the Dolby Atmos license contributes unnecessary cost. However, these are minor criticisms. The Technics AZ100 are phenomenal headphones and a testament to Panasonic’s engineering capabilities.
A clear must-have and a new benchmark. Happy 60th birthday, Technics, and thank you for this gift to audiophiles!
