Closer Examination

The case is instrumental to true wireless earphones, providing storage and charging capability, and I am happy to see Audio-Technica has done more here than on the ATH-CK3TW/CKS5TW, where it looked a lot like the Apple earpods case. This time, it is a sharper design in all forms of the word, as well as a two-tone color scheme with a black soft-touch plastic top and dark blue matte plastic bottom. The Audio-Technica logo is etched into the bottom on the front, and we see the black liner curves up along the side where the USB Type-C port is situated to charge the case itself. The back and other side is barren aside from the hinge on the back used to lift the top lid to access the contents inside. On the bottom, we see product certification information and the battery and charging specifications for the case. Lifting up the lid gives us our first look at the earphones that come nestled in place and protected for a pristine unboxing experience.


The charging case is still taller than longer, so the individual buds go in vertically, and there is a plastic cover all around the interior of the case and around the charging pins of the buds themselves. This means there is no battery charging going on presently, so remove everything, put the buds back in place and feel the magnets coming together. With that done, plug the charging cable in and you will now see three indicator LEDs underneath the logo on the front show the battery and charging status of the case itself. Charging is unfortunately limited to 500 mA (USB 2.0), so it takes ~2.5 hours to fully charge the case. There is no mention of the actually battery size in either the case or the buds, but we also know now that the case provides 0.15 A to each of the buds, which in turn take an hour to charge, though that can be done while the case is charging as well.


Taking the buds out for a closer examination, we see a similar two-tone color scheme except with the dark blue on top and black on the bottom, or the other way around depending on how you hold them, I suppose. These are also longer and more angular than the previous two Audio-Technica TWS earphones I have used, which is another sign of the company getting more comfortable with making these alongside the other product lines Audio-Technica is more famous for. As presumed earlier, a size M silicone ear tip comes pre-installed on each bud.


I suppose the colors and design help distinguish the ATH-ANC300TW from other TWS earphones, which accent trims further add to. The exterior surface area others will see jutting out of your ears has a gray plastic trim with a cutout around it, and the smaller Audio-Technica logo on it. The matte finish throughout and these color choices qualify it as understated, which tickles me in all the right places. There is a single button on top of each bud, which rises up with a tapered surface to where finding and pressing it down is quite easy without pressing down on the entire earbud too much. This is a feature that often goes ignored by companies, and Audio-Technica has used just the right amount of force to where it is a tactile button still.

A vent hole on the side also works for access to the microphones used for both communication and the noise canceling feature itself, and a white LED alongside indicates pairing and battery/charging status. The inner surface has the magnetic pins that come in handy with the charging case, and a marker to indicate L/R earbuds in case it was not immediately obvious. Removing the ear tips is simple enough, and we see the use of retaining notches for a secure fit in conjunction with either of the provided silicone or memory foam tips. There is a protective mesh on the protruding nozzle to keep the working assembly inside clean from dirt, ear wax, hair, and other extraneous particles.