Audio-Technica SQ1TW Wireless Earbuds Black

I am finding it difficult to categorise these earbuds, and equally difficult to review them. At the recommended price-point, on paper they lack features such as active noise-cancelling, audio enhancements for HD playback (aptX) and an app for sound tuning. However, in practice, due to the excellent fit possible in the ear canal (they come with 4 sizes of ear tip, rather than the more usual 3) the natural noise reduction is very good. There is a hear-through mode, selected by touch, which leaks a small amount of ambient noise – helping to keep you in touch with your surroundings. This seems fairly ineffective when listening to music at above 50% volume. The possible excellent fit is assisted by the buds naturally extending deep into the ear canal. Initially, I found this quite uncomfortable, but after choosing the correct tip size and rotating the buds slightly when inserting, the fit is very good. I can now wear them for many hours without discomfort. There could be many debates about sound quality and audio enhancements, but Audio-Technica equipment has a reputation generally for a very ‘flat’ frequency response, not requiring any treble/bass boosting. For me, this ‘flat’ response is also provided by these earbuds, with clear trebles and bass, without any predominantly boosted frequencies. I have listened to many hours of music from diverse genres, and I find the experience very good. Some do not like a flat response, and the lack of an app for sound tuning will disappoint those looking for bass-boosting. The low latency option (via touch control) is useful when streaming content from TV or device – it’s not 100%, but makes content very watchable (otherwise the lag is quite bad). Low latency selection could have been automatic if the latest Qualcomm aptX codec was built-in. Bluetooth pairing is very fast and solid – reconnection to paired sources is reliably repeatable. However, don’t wander into a different room or stand near a running microwave – the connection will drop, which is a common Bluetooth issue, but some earbuds can handle this better. The buds can be worn singly too, which I did for phone calls because even with the hear-through activated, I could not get used to my own muffled voice? The microphones are good – I did not receive any negative comments from callers. I did not try calls outdoors in windy conditions – most earbuds would fail this test anyway. Overall, I really like these earbuds, and I am using them more than others I own, mainly due to the excellent fit and very balanced sound profile produced when connected to almost any source.

I bought these to replace a cheaper pair from another maker. My starting point was "how much difference can there be for three times the price?". My answer was - a lot. The sound quality is a whole order better - I'm not an audiophile but I could clearly hear a better depth of bass, more clarity in vocals, more distinction between instruments and a more realistic spread of sound. I'm not sure why it should be but these are more comfortable than my previous pair which began to slip out of my ears (evident by a deterioration in sound quality) after a few minutes and became uncomfortably noticeable after about an hour, These Audio-Technica earbuds are still firmly in place and comfortable after a couple of hours. (Both these and my previous pair are just silicon eartips on short open tubes so why the difference I don't know - they are just more comfortable). Bluetooth pairing is much easier. Even though they were only used with one device I had to disconnect and reconnect my old earbuds each time. These connect much more reliably (at least so far - it's early days). The range of controls is quite basic - for my needs it's only music so play/pause, skip forward/back, volume up/down - but they operate reliably. Be aware "double tap" means a very quick double tap not "two taps". A single tap increases the volume, a double tap decreases it and if you are slow with your double tap the volume goes up two steps not down one. I found out this the hard way! Overall I'm very pleased with these earbuds for the money. If I spent a lot more then I might see another step up in quality of sound but for my ears and musical tastes these are just the job.

I bought these for my dad after he lost his previous earbuds, and tried them myself for a few weeks. I knew they'd suit his needs just fine, but I was pleasantly surprised at just how good they are, especially at this price. My daily headset is in the £250 price range, and quite honestly, the sound quality is not dissimilar with these. The HearThrough technology is brilliant. Earbuds often cut out too much peripheral noise, especially if you're walking in a high traffic area, or cycling. HearThrough enables you to listen to your music, podcast, whatever, whilst also chanelling in the sound from around you, so you can still be aware of what's going on around you. No more listening to music through one ear bud with these - pop them both in, turn HearThrough on, and it just works. The touch buttons on the earbuds work really well too, and the sleek sealed design meant that getting them damp in the rain was not a worry. Probably the only gripe I found with them is that they're more geared up for Android than Apple connectivity, which made pairing with my dad's phone a breeze. I had some challenge getting them to connect to my iPhone, Macbook, and Windows PC. Once connected to the PC, there was some audio lag between videos and the audio, and at times there appeared to be a slight lag between the left and right earbuds. However, no problems at all listening to music on the phone once that was set up. One thing that was a bit strange, and I think this is probably something they can fix in a firmware update, is that the earbuds occasionally turned themselves on and connected whilst in their closed case, which then took over the audio from my computer. At this price, I was very happy with these earbuds. They're not quite as polished as higher end brands, but aside from those few little inconveniences, they feel like a solid choice for good quality audio whilst out and about.

Bought a 'very used' pair & the left earbud came with a broken touch sensor. Buying used on this is a gamble lol Got a new pair & they are the best sounding earbuds i've used. I was using the sony WF-C500 for a year before i lost them & decided to get these. They both have their up's & downs but i'd reccomend the technicas over the sony buds purely for the sound & build quality The sony buds had way better controls & connected to the sony app (these have pretty bad controls tbh & don't connect to the audio technica app) but the sound and fit of the technica's makes them way more worth the money imo. They fit so well in the ear it doesn't even bother me not having sound isolation, never had buds that fit this well. & I never turned that stuff on much anyway The case isn't fancy & tells you how much charge you have, but it's much smaller & has a way better build quality than the sony buds case It sucks they can't connect to the app though, since the touch controls on them are so unintuitive. Being able to adjust EQ or trigger the different modes like hear through or low latency via the app would make life way easier the occasional time you actually wanna use em I just use these to listen to music or videos 99% of the time though and don't really care about touch controls for calling or turning on features often. I wish you could connect these to the app but the sound is way better than i thought i'd be getting for the £50 i spent

Was seeking a decent pair of budget true wireless buds. Purchased after reading good reviews as previous Ear Fun model with long stems fit me poorly. The initial set up was very unintuitive. Despite claims of quick charging, it took 2+ hours charging the case to get the right bud to turn on. The left bud seemingly didn't charge at the same time, so that required further charging. Wasn't expecting 3+ hours to go from unboxing to useable. Although pairing was simple, the overall user experience is poor. The left bud doesn't connect after removing from the case, and I've needed to put the bud back in and take back out again to get it to connect. Touch sensor buttons are inconsistent, the fixed command of one press of the right bud to play/pause only seems to work intermittently (despite no obstruction, clean hands/bud, no gloves on that might distort input, etc). Overall, unfortunately a very frustrating experience to use, so I've initiated the return process as it isn't functioning as intended (have never had such issues with other wireless buds on Pixel phones). I give the product a 2-Star because despite the frustrating experience to actually use them, they did fit my ear very well (comfortable and good seal, which helped performance despite no active noise cancelling) and are nicely designed. Still, would have to recommend alternatives based on this experience.

I've always been more inclined to wired headphones, but the purchase of a new phone that was lacking a jack socket I decided I had to join the modern world! Having read various reviews on various options, these always came up well received, so a pair was ordered. When they arrived, pairing was easy using the Google quick pair thingy, and off I went. The only fiddle was change the rubber cups to a size that fitted comfortably. Once I got the right pair, the fitting is excellent and so is the sound quality- great deep, rich and full tones. Battery life is also good, I can easily get two-three days just using the case as a charger, while using the earphones for a good few hours at a time. The case itself is very solid and fits in the pocket nicely, the earphones themselves are held securely while charging. All in all, well worth the money

I ordered these earbuds as they are without a doubt the best price to performance buds from reviews I've seen. Only one major issue. The seller is completely incompetent and has shipped me two sets of defective earbuds. Earbud pack 1: the right side earbud does not work or response to any touch commands other than power reset in case. Ear bud pack 2: same issue as pack 1; only the left side doesn't response to touch commands except power reset. I can't tell whether it's blatant incompetence or amazon really let their quality assurance go down the drain. Either way don't waste over a week trying to solve the issue from this piss take amazon company

Sound is ok, a little uninspired but nothing an EQ can't fix I guess. Touch controls were ok. Functional but not always happy to work as expected. I didn't like the charging though, the buds seemed to struggle to connect and sometimes one didn't charge. The design is of course subjective, but for me, when I saw them online I thought it was fun, but when I actually pulled them out the box for some reason it immediately mildly irritated me. The design didn't grow on me either. So all in all, they're ok. Not exciting, not terrible, just... boringly ok.