AUDIO-TECHNICA QUIETPOINT ATH-ANC300TW

Anyone seeking buds suitable for an active lifestyle will be interested in the new ATH-ANC300TW from AudioTechnica, which provides a tighter fit to withstand the rigors of exercising plus a degree of water- and dust-resistance. The ATS also offer impressive audio quality and noise cancellation, plus a key convenience feature: one-touch Hear-through/music suppression.

When you open AT’S box, you’ll find an assortment of varying-sized earbuds—three pair of silicone tips to supplement the pair already placed on the buds, plus a pair of foam tips— perched naked on pegs for easy swapping. The buds sit upright facing you in a magnetized case, making them easy to grab and return for charging.

With a bright and spacious sound and just the right amount of bass, the ATS were among the most sonically balanced of the buds I auditioned. Noise-canceling is conveniently the default setting when you take the buds out of the charging case. While the AT’S noise cancellation didn't quite match that of the Sony or 1More models, it was above-average. The AT’S Hear-through ambient mode is also top-notch and rivals that of the 1More and Jabra 75t.

Instead of touch or click panels, each AT bud has a top-mounted button that you single- or multi-push to activate various music navigation, volume, call, and noise-canceling adjustments, with each bud controlling a different set of functions. While you can’t customize controls, you can switch the commands from left-to-right bud and vice versa.

Like the Sony, you can set noisecanceling and Hear-through settings with a sliding bar control. Oddly, turning off both noise-canceling and HearThrough requires the Audio-technica Connect app. Pressing the bud button to activate Hear-through not only opens the mics up to outside sound, but drastically lowers the volume of— but doesn’t pause— music, an arrangement that assumes your ambient listening needs will be brief.

The ATS are Ipx2-resistant to sweat and rain but can’t be rinsed in water. Also, they are not as secure or ear-flush as most of the other buds in our test.

The AT’S primary drawback is its relatively short battery life: just 4.5 hours, with the case adding another belowaverage 13.5 hours of listening. Even so, the ATH-ANC300TW is still an excellent, though slightly pricey, choice if you want great sound while exercising outside.