Audio-Technica brings ANC to a compact set of budget buds

By Simon Cohen Published September 23, 2024

Audio-Technica’s new ATH-CKS30TW+ wireless earbuds have one of the most awkward names we’ve seen in a while, but it might not matter: They have active noise cancellation (ANC), transparency mode, and a compact charging case for just $99, making them the venerable Japanese brand’s most affordable noise-canceling wireless earbuds so far. You can grab these budget buds starting September 18 at audio-technica.com in a translucent black finish.

Buy at Audio-Technica

With the CKS30TW+, Audio-Technica is clearly going for a set of easy-to-use everyday wear wireless earbuds. They have an IP55 rating for water and dust protection, making them ideal for running or workouts, and their transparency mode means you should be able to hear the world around you when it counts.

Audio-Technica says that you should get about 7.5 hours of playtime on a single charge and that the compact charging case — the smallest one it has ever built — carries an additional 12.5 hours for a total of 20 hours.

In typical Audio-Technica fashion, these earbuds are designed primarily for high-quality audio. And while they don’t support hi-res audio codecs or spatial audio, the company says that the 9mm drivers deliver deep bass, which can be adjusted using five equalizer presets: Bass Boost Deep, Bass Boost Beat, Dynamic, Vocal, and Clear.

These can be selected within the Audio-Technica Connect app, along with adjustments for touch sensor sensitivity. The app offers access to a low-latency mode, an earbud locator function, and a Soundscape function, which plays “soothing sounds of nature or other calming sounds to help users concentrate, meditate, and rejuvenate.”

The CKS30TW+ use Bluetooth 5.1 and also have support for Bluetooth Multipoint and Google Fast Pair, however, they don’t work with Bluetooth LE Audio and these earbuds can’t be used with Auracast.

Buy at Audio-Technica