AudioTechnica ATH-SQ1TW

Get your hands on a set of wireless earbuds that come with bundles of style and loads of classy colours

If sound, style and comfort are essential prerequisites in a new set of headphones – and why wouldn’t they be – then these wireless earbuds from Audio-Technica should go on your wishlist.

They say first impressions count and these earbuds are far from boring. They come in loads of colours including caramel, blueberry blue, cupcake pink, popcorn white and not so exciting standard black. Something to suit every style. Design-wise they’re a little different; square on the outside with a thin Audio-Technica logo. And there’s a second square poking out the top with small left and right indicators backlit by LEDs. A matching charging case is smooth and compact, although not the smallest case you can get. But the buds magnetically snap into it so they’re quick to put away when you’re in a hurry.

You get three sizes of silicone ear tips included to help you find a really secure and comfortable fit. They’re ideal for your commute or even for workouts – plus they’re IPX4 splashproof so can survive being hit by a raindrop or two.

To control the music, there are touch controls on each bud. Tapping on the left bud adjusts the volume while tapping on the right pauses the song and lets you skip forwards or backwards through the tracks. To prevent any accidental touches, the buds automatically lock the controls when you take them out of the case. It’s easy enough to unlock them, you just need to press down on the earbud and you should hear a tone that lets you know they’re ready to use. The buds themselves have about 6.5 hours of listening time, with an extra 13 hours provided by the charging case. That’s a total battery life of just under 20 hours, which is okay, although plenty of other headphones have a lot more to offer than that. When you do run out, the earbuds will take about 1.5 hours to recharge fully while the case should take about two hours. Sadly, no wireless charging here.

But when it comes to sound the AudioTechnica ATH-SQ1TW step up a gear. The 5.8mm drivers make sure that audio is loud and clear, with plenty of oomph. You can hear every word in songs, podcasts and videos, while instruments are well-defined. The upper mid-range and treble tilts upwards slightly, which means the bass frequency suffers somewhat, but it won’t be a big issue for most. On the plus side, the low-latency mode delivers minimal sound delay and boosts the clarity of the audio even more.

Unfortunately, there’s no noise-cancelling, but the snug fit means the earbuds do quite a good job at isolating the sound. And when you want to be more aware of what’s going on there is a hear-through mode. This activates the microphones to let through certain ambient sounds. Features are kept to a minimum here. There’s no manual equaliser settings, no smartphone app and there’s no ear detection that pauses the music when one falls out.

But these are a great stylish set of earbuds that do what you expect for a good price.