The headphone brand Audio-Technica has officially launched the new true wireless earphone ATH-CKS50TW. As the latest member of the SOLID BASS subwoofer series, it naturally has a solid and strong low frequency, allowing listeners to enjoy a refreshing bass shock wave. The dedicated app adjusts the equalizer to customize listening preferences. The ATH-CKS50TW's feed-forward noise reduction can provide excellent airtightness and eliminate nearby noise. Just long press the physical button on the headset to instantly enter The external sound mode interacts with the surroundings, and the overall battery life can be used for up to 50 hours with the charging compartment, so that the music experience will not be interrupted.

The ATH-CKS50TW charging compartment is designed as a standing cuboid BR305 . The beige color of the JB out-of-the-box version is quite visually and tactilely textured, but opening the top cover still has to be done with both hands and cannot be done with one hand. There are 4 on the bottom of the front. The LED light is used as a power indicator, and the USB-C charging port is not accidentally set on the back. When you open the top cover and take out the earphones, you can see that there are three metal contacts in the charging slot. There are also magnets on the left and right sides. This arrangement will also reflect In terms of headphone size, to be honest, the headphone body is really a bit big at first glance.

This time, Audio-Technica has launched 3 color options of black, blue and beige for ATH-CKS50TW. In fact, the hand feels calm in black, bright in blue, and elegant in beige. At the same time, it is the least likely to leave fingerprints and oil stains. It can be seen from the appearance. The round shell of the ATH-CKS50TW earphones also has a ring of metal decoration. The three models all use the same color to embellish the appearance, but the bronze metal decoration of the beige model is the most eye-catching.

In addition to the appearance of ATH-CKS50TW with a metal outer ring to create a sense of visual hierarchy, the biggest feature is the physical button on the upper edge of the headset. This year, the Audio-Technica product lineup has replaced the touch panel with this design. The other party said that this control method is better than the touch panel. Precise and intuitive, but it is clear that the area of the casing is so large. In actual use, if it is a touch panel, you can complete the operation with one finger. For the physical buttons, I am used to pressing my thumb against the lower edge of the earphone, and then pressing the button with my index finger, although this can be done. Make sure the headset fits securely, but two-finger movements that can be done with one finger are a bit redundant. As for the triangular shape of the earphone shell extending to the duct, it is just a pattern and has no corresponding function. The audio space and the earphone duct located on the back of the drive unit can control the air flow inside the body to achieve the ideal movement of the drive unit, allowing the wearer to Feel the solid bass.

Contrary to the appearance of the "big" earphone, its outer protruding is not so obvious, and it will not feel heavy when worn. This is because it reduces the burden on the ear by increasing the contact area with the ear. Very stable and comfortable in the afternoon. Audio-Technica emphasized that the earplugs of ATH-CKS50TW adopt a new composite structure design. The umbrella-shaped part that contacts the ear canal is made of soft material with good comfort, and the shaft part that transmits the sound is made of hard material, so as to ensure sound quality and noise suppression The effect is not affected.

This true wireless headset also has the Google Fast Pair function. If you are using a device with an Android operating system for the first connection, you will see this interface on your Android device immediately after you take out the headset from the charging compartment, including a list of Bluetooth devices. You don't need to open it. If you are using an iOS device, you have to find the headset model in the Bluetooth device list for pairing, which is an extra procedure.

In fact, please wear the ATH-CKS50TW on the Model Eyelashes, you can see that it is not obtrusive on the smaller ears, and it does not fall even when running or doing stretching exercises. The official promotional video of the Audio-Technica Japanese female bass player わかざえもん wears this earphone to play intensely to show its stability.

Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW True Wireless Headphone Specifications:

Bluetooth version: Bluetooth 5.2

Drive unit: 9mm drive unit

Response frequency: 5~20,000Hz

Bluetooth encoding: Qualcomm aptX, Qualcomm aptX Adaptive, AAC, SBC

Battery life: Up to 20 hours of continuous playback with headphones, up to 50 hours with charging bay

Waterproof coefficient: IPX4 (headphone body)

Weight: about 8g on one side, about 60g in the charging compartment

Features: Active Noise Cancellation/Ambient Sound, Sidetone, Sony 360 Reality Audio Support

Now that you have played SOLID BASS, you know that the ATH-CKS50TW is tuned for heavy bass. The machine is equipped with a ?9mm large-caliber SOLID BASS HD TWS drive unit, which supports Bluetooth encoding as SBC, AAC, and Qualcomm aptX and aptX Adaptive with slightly better streaming quality. The latter is Qualcomm's latest Bluetooth encoding, although higher-end The aptX HD bit-rate (bit-rate) is lower, 279~420kbps, but at 420kbps, it can provide the same high sound quality as aptX HD, supporting up to 24bit/ 96kHz model > 96kHz model > 96kHz model > 96kHz model >96kHz Model">96kHz Model">96kHz Model">96kHz Model">96kHz Model">96kHz Model">96kHz Model">96kHz Model">96kHz Model">96kHz Model">96kHz Model">96kHz Model">96kHz Model">96kHz Model">96kHz Model">96kHz Hi-Res sound quality, while occupying less bandwidth and lower latency.

I also stream Spotify music on my mobile phone and experience the listening experience without adjusting the equalizer mode. As expected, the low frequency of the ATH-CKS50TW presents a strong Q-play. Although the volume performance is not top-notch, it is already at this price. Very good, the whole is suitable for electronic music, reggae, hip-hop rap and other genres. On American singer Big Sean's "Wolves," the bass shocks dive deep enough without taking away the vocals of lead singer Post Malone, then listen to rising Asian rap star Rich Brian's hit "Dat $tick" , Under the blessing of SOLID BASS, the bass bass creates a deep and powerful atmosphere, and the cymbals clearly convey the rhythm, which makes people want to dance along and Dab it. It is really suitable for listening to the trap style!

As for the Japanese band YOASOBI's "Monster" that JB often listens to recently, I switched the equalizer to the Clear Vocal vocal setting in the "Audio-Technica Connect" app, and the mid-high frequency instantly returned to the familiar Audio-Technica, That is to say, the tuning is more focused on vocals. In this setting, the female lead singer Ikura's singing voice is louder, but the low frequency part will inevitably be sacrificed. Therefore, users are advised to set the equalizer according to the listening style. For the overall tuning of the ATH-CKS50TW, I think the bass is appropriate but not too heavy. The new cover of the Sony EXTRA BASS I tested last time. compared to earphones...

The application equalizer still provides 4 preset settings, including Bass Boost, Clear Vocal, Treble Enhanced, and V-Shaped, which enhances both high and low frequencies. Users can also push the five-band frequency. The slider (80Hz / 250Hz / 1kHz / 4kHz / 12.5kHz) can be customized, and the gain range is plus or minus 12dB. For Bass Boost, it increases the low frequency 80Hz to 10dB intensity, and Clear Vocal reduces the low frequency. At the same time, the 4kHz of the intermediate frequency is added to 8dB, and the 12.5kHz of the high frequency is slightly increased. To be honest, I think Audio-Technica’s preset equalizer profiles are a bit too limited. Affordable true wireless earphone brands such as Soundcore have built-in as many as 22 equalizers in the mobile app, depending on the listening style and performance. Instruments and atmospheres correspond to different modes. Although not all of them can be used, they at least have their own characteristics. I hope the Audio-Technica can put more effort into this.

The main screen of the "Audio-Technica Connect" app will display your paired headphones, left and right ear power (the charging compartment can only rely on the body light), Bluetooth encoding, volume, ambient sound control, and currently playing music Wait. In terms of volume level options, "Audio-Technica Connect" is not displayed in the usual percentage, but provides 16 levels, 32 levels and 64 levels, which can provide more subtle adjustments; the ambient sound control has off, noise reduction and external noise 3 options are standard for noise-cancelling headphones! However, some new products recently will subdivide the mode (such as outdoor, indoor, commuting, etc.), or provide options for filtering wind and cutting sound, which feels like a direction that can be improved.

JB thinks that the application can be optimized for two points. First, if the "mode" of the equalizer can be displayed directly, it will be better, otherwise, you still have to click in to know the mode you choose. The second is to learn from the "Jabra" Sound+", put the headset status in the drop-down menu of the phone, and you can directly check the battery level or switch noise reduction/ambient sound without entering the app.

So, what is the actual noise reduction effect of ATH-CKS50TW with feedforward active noise reduction technology? I also tested in 4 scenarios: indoors, on the road, MRT, and riding a bicycle. The music volume is 65%. Turning on the noise reduction function indoors can isolate the low-frequency running sound of the dehumidifier and air purifier, and the conversation of colleagues. The sound can also be effectively covered, and when walking on the Neihu road when getting off work, the sound of traffic can be filtered by 70 to 80%. If the engine sound of the locomotive that is too close is still faintly audible, it means that when taking the MRT, in addition to the high-frequency noise. The sound of grinding tracks and broadcasts clearly penetrated in and out, and the conversations of others can basically be filtered out.

But when I was riding a bicycle on the streets of Taipei, the ATH-CKS50TW's noise reduction function lost to wind cutting, which is probably the most obvious of the true wireless earphones I have tested, and it affects the listening experience somewhat. The ambient sound transparency mode is called "external sound" in "Audio-Technica Connect". Press and hold the left ear button to switch, and use the microphone on the body to confirm the surrounding environment. You don't need to take it when ordering or checking out. You can hear the voice of the other party by putting down the earphone, and it can also play the role of paying attention to the traffic when crossing the road.

In addition to the setting options described above, the "Audio Settings" interface of "Audio-Technica Connect" also has options such as low-latency mode, left-right balance adjustment, and 360 Reality Audio. I tested it with the FPS mobile game "Decisive Moment M". After turning it on, the firing animation of the gun and the sound effect are nearly synchronized, and the sound of the enemy's approaching footsteps can be heard more quickly, thereby making the game more exciting and winning. have improved a lot.

As for 360 Reality Audio, it is a stereo spatial sound technology introduced by Sony. As long as your headphones and music support this technology, you can enjoy a wider sound field than two channels and an immersive listening experience. Before using 360 Reality Audio, You need to take photos of both ears in this option for analysis, but currently only paid streaming applications such as nugs.net and Deezer support it, and the supported audio content is still too small.

The "System Settings" interface can be used for button assignment, guide sound adjustment and connected device management. Since ATH-CKS50TW has the "multi-pairing" function that can pair two sets of devices at the same time, the headset can be seen from the "connected device management" in Figure 6 above. Connect to two mobile phones at the same time. When a mobile phone calls, you can directly answer it through the headset, saving the trouble of searching. In this interface, you can also close the media audio and call audio playback permissions of the connected device, which is quite convenient.

In terms of "key assignment", the default left ear button click is to increase the volume or answer an incoming call, double-click to decrease the volume, long press for 1.5 seconds to switch the ambient sound control mode, right-ear button click to play/pause, answer a call, double-click to switch the ambient sound control mode The next song, and three clicks are the previous song, and a long press for 1.5 seconds corresponds to the "fast external sound" function, which will instantly reduce the volume of the music, making it easier for the wearer to interact with the surrounding environment, such as talking to people or clicking meal checkout, etc., and to get back to the music just repeat the same action. And this 1.5-second long-press function can also be customized, such as low-latency mode or activation of voice recognition, which can quickly call Google Assistant or Siri to issue voice commands.

The performance of the ATH-CKS50TW in the call experience part is not bad. When I talk on the side of the road, I can hear the human voice picked up by the earphone microphone on the other end of the microphone, but it also includes the sound of nearby traffic... This is because it does not The relationship between call noise reduction technology, this part is also a place that can be strengthened in the future. Although it is officially claimed to have a Side Tone function that can hear its own voice, I can't find the relevant option in the "Audio-Technica Connect" app (perhaps it is built-in), if it can be done like "Jabra Sound+" Sidetone volume adjustment or call equalizer, I believe it will be more convenient for users who use the sidetone function.

In addition, the waterproof rating of ATH-CKS50TW is IPX4, which is basically sweat-proof and splash-proof, and can be used even in light rain, but it is best not to flush the surface directly.

After the actual measurement, the weight of the headset itself is 15g, that is, 7.5g on one side, and the weight of the charging compartment is 72g, which is a bit heavy for a true wireless headset, but compared to the weight, I think its "volume" is suitable for carrying The storage space when going out is more challenging. The ATH-CKS50TW has a built-in 3.7V rechargeable lithium battery. The headphone body can play music continuously for up to 20 hours (with noise reduction turned off), and it can be used for up to 50 hours when used with the charging compartment. The battery life is the top of true wireless headphones. In addition, 10 minutes of fast charging can bring about an additional 90 minutes of music playback time, but Qi wireless charging is not supported.

After a week of testing, the wireless connection performance of the Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW was quite stable. At first, it seemed to be too big, and I was afraid that it would fall off after wearing it, but there was no such problem in actual use. The style that takes into account texture and durability is also better than the previous generation CKS5TW, but it is a matter of opinion to return to the physical button control. After using it for a few days, I feel that it will not cause a burden on the ear canal than pressing the touch panel. As for charging The volume of the cabin is good for me to wear when I go out (boys backpacks are relatively large), this part needs to be considered for female consumers.

As a new product of SOLID BASS, the ATH-CKS50TW has a good sense of heavy and low volume, especially when playing electronic music, reggae and rap music. The equalizer can be switched through the application, such as Bass Boost to enhance the bass depth, or It is cut to Clear Vocal to enjoy clear vocals. Overall, the low-frequency presentation is not too excessive, and it sounds quite comfortable. But in all fairness, the noise reduction effect of headphones is not too strong, including the filtering of wind cutting sound and the noise reduction of calls, which can be further strengthened, and the fast external sound function is to make up for the impression score of some ambient sounds. , at a price of 5,000 yuan, I think the Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW is a very recommended bass true wireless earphone!