Tech

Astell & Kern UW100 Review: Best Wireless Earbuds for Audiophiles


Do you remember The first time you tried something other than the flexible plastic headset that came with your mobile device? I recall reading an online forum post, buying a $100 pair of Shure headphones, and blowing my mind when I plugged them in to my iPod Nano.

That’s the feeling you get when you jump from low-end wireless headphones like AirPods to a premium pair like the new Astell & Kern UW100. With excellent digital-to-analog conversion, custom drivers, and a sleek design, I can see this as an easy entry point.
Because aspiring audio enthusiasts.

It takes a while for high-end wireless headphones to do anything special, aside from looking better versions of Apple, Samsung and others. The UW100s prove we can finally get better sound for our money, and they might make a few audiophiles cut the cord when out and about.

Form and function

Photo: Astell & Kern

If you don’t like hoarding FLAC files and dropping thousands of dollars into gorgeous digital players, chances are you’ve never heard of Astell & Kern. The small audio brand has been making digital-to-analog converters, headphone amplifiers and portable music players for the Rolex class for many years, but it’s only recently that it has dived into audio products. more upscale mainstream bar.

When it comes to both design and audio performance, the drop in technology is glaring. Astell & Kern is now willing to sell products for less than $500, but engineers are still unwilling to sell low-quality products.

The jagged, gem-like exterior of each of these earbuds instantly stands out among a series of wireless buds that look like golf tees. They are like something you can spot in a Star Trek spinoff, doubles as fancy space-age communicators. That’s not to say the buds don’t look elegant, but unless your personal style is very modern, you may find them a bit flashy.

Such visual cues are in line with Astell & Kern’s course, where jagged edges are at the heart of the design language. However, the case is a bit large and very flexible, which I didn’t expect from buds that cost almost twice as much as the AirPods. I may not like Apple’s basic buds, but the case is twice as sleek and half the size.

Despite the lack of ear fins, the UW100 fits my medium-sized ears perfectly. I was able to take them long runs, do yard work, and generally hit the ball without ever dropping a bud. That’s partly luck, of course: Unless your ears are exactly the same as mine, your mileage may vary. But as long as you don’t have small ears (these are in the medium-large of the spectrum, but not too large), they will fit you.

Well arranged

However, the sound quality is what really stands out with the UW100. A 32-bit digital-to-analog converter and custom-balanced armature drivers combine with aptX adaptive Bluetooth codec support to deliver the clearest, most detailed sound I’ve ever heard from an air-to-ear headphone. wire.

The wide soundstage and solid (but not overwhelming) bass are helped by the headphones’ excellent passive noise isolation. Sometimes, I swear these headphones have active noise cancellation, because they block out the outside world so well. This is a fact that Astell & Kern engineers also clearly recognize; you can activate Environment mode with a single tap of the external touch sensor and you will find yourself using it if you buy these buds.



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