For earbuds within the $150 vary, there’s often not so much to get enthusiastic about. Certain, these fashions sometimes supply the fundamentals with respectable sound high quality, however only a few have a stand-out function that leaves a long-lasting impression. For its ATH-CKS50TW2 ($149), Audio-Technica sought to do that with extraordinarily lengthy battery life and a neat trick that may show you how to take advantage of it. There’s much more to love on this set, together with an inventory of instruments that rival dearer options, however the ATH-CKS50TW2 is much from an entire package deal. The satisfying audio efficiency and talent to make use of them for over 20 hours on a cost is perhaps sufficient to entice you to miss these shortcomings.
The nice: battery life, magnets and sound high quality
When Audio-Technica introduced the ATH-CKS50TW2 at CES, the primary merchandise on the spec sheet that struck me was the battery life. The corporate says you may count on as much as 25 hours on a full cost with out lively noise cancellation (ANC) and as much as 40 extra hours from the charging case. With ANC enabled, you’ll nonetheless get a whopping 15 hours of listening time, which is about double what loads of the competitors presents nowadays. Importantly, these claims truly held true throughout my exams.
To maximise these numbers, the corporate outfitted the ATH-CKS50TW2 with so-called Magnetic Swap know-how. Particularly, the earbuds snap along with magnets to show off earlier than you place them within the case. A lot of the competitors doesn’t energy down till the earbuds are inside the case, however with the ATH-CKS50TW2, you don’t want to fret about that further step. Merely take them off and snap them collectively, then you definitely’ll know you’re now not squandering precious battery energy whereas the buds are resting in your desk. This additionally means the ATH-CKS50TW2 gained’t at all times be charging within the case if you’re not utilizing them, which ought to assist prolong battery longevity.
I’m additionally blissful to report that Audio-Technica introduced its trademark heat, inviting sound profile to the ATH-CKS50TW2. Extra particularly, the inventory audio isn’t overly tuned, so bass stays pleasantly thumpy when wanted and dialed down when it’s not. The bassline of Kendrick Lamar’s “television off” booms whereas the hi-hats, claps and vocals lower by clear. Once you swap over to one thing extra mellow with much less low-end bombast like Turnpike Troubadours’ “Be Right here,” you get the total gamut of the acoustic devices and lightweight drums with out bass overpowering the combo.
It doesn’t ship the improved readability and pristine element that dearer, flagship-level earbuds do, however the ATH-CKS50TW2 is a lot good for $150. In reality, this can be the best choice when it comes to sound high quality on this value vary. On Jason Isbell’s Foxes within the Snow, for instance, the acoustic guitar — the lone instrument on the album — doesn’t have the expressive nuance because it does on Technics’ AZ100 or Bowers and Wilkins’ Pi8. However I’ll admit the ATH-CKS50TW2 holds its personal towards equally priced competitors. That, and the prolonged battery life alone make these earbuds a compelling package deal.
The not so good: design, controls and a lacking function
By 2025 requirements, the ATH-CKS50TW2 earbuds are huge and ponderous. Additionally they really feel unbalanced, with a lot of the load sitting nicely exterior the curves of your ears. This implies they’re not as comfy as smaller fashions and really feel unsteady. I by no means had points with them falling out, however they really feel like they may, which isn’t nice. Maybe Audio-Technica wanted the additional area for greater batteries, which I’m guessing might be an appropriate trade-off for customers looking for longer listening instances between expenses.
Audio-Technica gave the ATH-CKS50TW2 bodily controls, which is often a superb factor. Like a few of the firm’s earlier fashions, the buttons are small, positioned alongside the highest fringe of the earbuds. Because of the design of the ATH-CKS50TW2 although, it’s a must to maintain the earbuds in place whereas urgent these buttons. It’s cumbersome, largely because of the measurement and weight of every bud. The cumbersome, unbalanced building has trickle-down results on different elements of the listening expertise.
The ATH-CKS50TW2 is lacking an important function — put on detection. However the firm has executed nicely to incorporate ANC, Hear-Via (ambient sound) mode, a five-band EQ, soundscapes, media controls and battery updates in its app. There’s additionally a “non-public timer” and low latency mode for video games and video. You’ll be able to even alter what number of steps quantity changes will soar and take a look at your microphone to see if non-compulsory noise discount is required throughout calls. Moreover, a quick-attention, Speak-Via mode that reduces quantity and prompts ambient sound for temporary chats too. However you gained’t discover the easy, and useful, computerized pausing if you take away the earbuds out of your ears.
The ultimate verdict on the ATH-CKS50TW2
My preliminary assumption was appropriate: the primary cause to purchase the ATH-CKS50TW2 is the extraordinarily lengthy battery life. I don’t assume the Magnetic Swap function is important to hit the promised runtime, however it’s good to know the earbuds are off with out having to place them within the case the place they’ll recharge even if you don’t want them to. Audio-Technica’s sonic prowess is on show right here as nicely, albeit to a lesser diploma than a few of the firm’s different earbuds and headphones.
The design isn’t essentially the most comfy and the controls are awkward to make use of, however the full record of the ATH-CKS50TW2’s options is sort of lengthy. Regardless of just a few flaws, there’s a lot to love right here, together with the 2 most vital issues for lots of customers: sound and battery life.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/audio-technica-ath-cks50tw2-review-long-battery-life-and-satisfying-sound-for-150-130042531.html?src=rss
