Technics EAH-AZ100 vs Sony WF-1000XM5

The Technics EAH-AZ100 was officially announced at CES 2025. Many of the major tech sites have reviews up, and it seems like the new model is an improvement over the previous AZ80. So how does it stack up against the current WF-1000XM5? Here is my specification comparison guide, along with a quick look at the FCC teardown of the AZ100 and how it has changed from the previous AZ80.

Reviews

What Hi-Fi - They seem to like it overall

Techradar - Good earbuds but needs better battery and ANC

Wifihifi - Solid pair of earbuds

Stuff.tv - Balanced sound, improved battery and ANC

Digitaltrends - Superb audio quality, top ANC, tons of customization in app

Ecoustics - Exceptional sound quality, effective ANC, solid battery life

Most of the reviews seem to agree that the new EAH-AZ100 sounds great, offers top ANC performance, and improved battery life. The Techradar review remarks that the sound quality changes with ANC on and off:

"Switch ANC off, though, and the AZ100 undergo a strange and obvious change in their sonic character. Low frequencies lose a degree of substance, and the overall presentation becomes rather flimsy and lightweight"

I do not think I have noticed any differences in the sound in my WF-C700N, WF-1000XM4 or WH-1000XM5 when ANC is turned off.

Design

The AZ100 adopts a similar look and design like the previous AZ80 but in a smaller and more compact size. I would call it evolutionary, rather than revolutionary. We can see at least 2 different seams, with a flat touch surface on the side. Depending how meticulous with cleaning users are, these seams could gather dirty and gunk from everyday use.

In comparison the WF-1000XM5 has a more rounded and shinny design, with only one seam. Having handled the WF-1000XM5, it is quite slippery thanks to the shinny plastic, so the matte plastic on the Technics is a better choice. In my opinion, the WF-1000XM5 design is better, but the Technics looks more premium. I hope Sony opts for better materials on the new WF-1000XM6 and ditches the shinny plastic.

A noticeable difference is the design of the tips. Technics is using a much wider design where as Sony has opted for a narrow shape. In addition Technics' tips appear to be mostly made out of silicone, with Sony's tips made out of a memory foam-like material. I own a pair of WF-1000XM5 tips, and just like the WF-1000XM4 tips, I dislike them. They are a hassle to clean, maintain, and will deteriorate with long term use. The AZ100 comes with 5 different tip sizes, where as Sony only offers 4.

EAH-AZ100 tips - Source: www.stuff.tv

Technics has also moved to 2 recharging pins, from the 3 on the AZ80. On the bottom of earbuds, there is a proximity sensor for wear detection. The AZ100 are heavier, at 5.9g per earbud, versus 4.2g for the Sonys. Unfortunately I do not have a direct size comparison, so we will need to wait for a review to post some comparison photos.

The AZ100 comes in 2 colours, black and silver, although I would say the top half is silver with the bottom half closer to white. I prefer the black colour myself. I wonder if we will see a blue colour option in the future.

There is no mention of recycled plastic for the materials, so I do not believe Technics has followed Sony's approach. The retail packaging is now 100% plastic free.

Technics EAH-AZ100 (L) vs EAH-AZ80 (R)

As I said earlier, the design is more evolutionary with Technics making the earbuds and case smaller, supposedly around 10% according to the various reviews. The photo below from AV-Watch shows a direct size comparison of the AZ100 (L) and AZ80 (R).

Source: AV-Watch

Features

The AZ100 has 3 distinct new features:

• 10mm Magnetic Fluid Driver for low distortion, accurate bass and high resolution
• Adaptive Noise Cancelling Technology adjusts in real-time to block ambient noise and maintains optimal ANC at all times
• Voice Focus AI technology brings advanced noise reduction not only during speaking but also listening

If one of those sounds familiar, it would be the adaptive NC tech. Sony has something similar on their WH-1000XM5 called the Auto NC Optimizer, a feature dreaded by some. Fortunately the WF-1000XM5 lacks any Auto NC, but I am not certain this will be the case on the WF-1000XM6. Ok let us compare the main specs between the EAH-AZ100 and WF-1000XM5.

	EAH-AZ100	WF-1000XM5
Driver Size	10 mm	8.4mm
Bluetooth	5.3
Codecs	AAC, SBC, LDAC, LC3
IP Rating	IP4
Mutlipoint	3 devices	2 devices
Mics	3 per earbud
Weight
Earbuds	5.9g x2	4.2g x2
Case	42g	39g

Looking at the battery life, it is a mixed bag. The AZ100 has better LDAC/ACC with NC on stats, but lags severely with LC3, aseptically with NC off.

Battery Life	EAH-AZ100	WF-1000XM5
LDAC (NC On)	7 hours	5 hours
LDAC (NC Off)	8 hours	8 hours
AAC (NC On)	10 hours	8 hours
AAC (NC Off)	12 hours	12 hours
LC3 (NC on)	5 hours	7 hours
LC3 (NC Off)	5 hours	11 hours
Charging time
Earbuds	2 hours	2 hours
Case	2.5 hours	2 hours
Qi charging	Yes	Yes
Quick charge	15 min = 90 min	3 min = 60 min

Sony will have to step up their battery life numbers for the new model, especially with LDAC, considering this is a codec they developed.

 

The Technics Audio Connect app offers users the ability to customize the touch sensors with a wide variety of functions. Rather than preset options, one can select whatever they want, even duplicating functions across the 2 earbuds. This is what the revamped Sony Sound Connect App should have brought. Take note Sony, people want full control over functions and not presets like the app has now. It does not matter how good a set of earbuds are, if the experience is ruined by a mediocre app.

FCC Teardown

The FCC photos are far from a full teardown with only a few select photos in the PDFs. For those wanting a full teardown, perhaps 52Audio will have one up in the near future. That being said, we do get to see a good amount of detail which reveal some new details.

The construction of the bottom half of the case appears to be very similar to the AZ80, and probably removed the same way. The earbuds in the photo are split in half, possibly affixed with some kind of adhesive to prevent water and dirt getting inside.

Technics EAH-AZ80 case - Source: 52Audio

Here is the main Bluetooth SoC along with one of the MEMS mics. We can see Technics has used the Airoha AB1585 chipset and not the newly announced AB1595. Details about the chip can be found on Airoha's website. The AB1585 features Adaptive ANC and AI Noise suppression and echo cancellation, 2 features which Technics has emphasized on the product page. 

The WF-1000XM5 for comparison uses a Mediatek MT2833, or what is most likely a custom version of Airoha's AB1588, which from my research is the 16MB version of the AB1585 used in the Technics AZ100. Sony's WF-1000XM5 has something called Adaptive Sound Control, but I am not sure if this works the same was as in the Adaptive ANC in the Technics. Anyone with a WF-1000XM5 able to confirm there is no variation in the ANC like WH-1000XM5?

Looking at the AZ80, the PCB is not as densely packed, and appears to have less components on the main SoC side. The PCB also is larger.

AZ80 PCB - Source: 52Audio

The reverse side of the AZ100 PCB has even less components, with 2 chips, 2 contacts (for the wireless antenna and touch sensor is my guess), and the hole for the MEMS mic. It seems that both the battery connections and the driver are connected to this main board, where as on the AZ80, the driver and battery is connected to separate PCBs. The chips on the AZ100, could be for Dolby Head Tracking and maybe a chip for Apple's MFi ecosystem. But this is just a guess, as I cannot find either of the chips anywhere.

AZ80 PCB - Source: 52Audio

The AZ80 has a lot more components on the reverse side of the main PCB, with 2 MEMS mics and 2 DSP chips. I suppose the DSPs were not longer required as the new AB1585 has a built in DSP, the Cadence HiFi5 DSP. The AB1565 in the AZ80 also has a DSP. but it is a different one, the Cadence  HiFi Mini DSP.

The AZ100 does have a second smaller PCB with the charging contacts and the proximity sensor (black square). I believe the ribbon cable connects to the main PCB, but there no photos that show this. The AZ80 for comparison has the charging pins on a large PCB with the proximity sensor on a smaller PCB, connected through a ribbon cable (see photo below).

AZ80 - Source: 52Audio

Here we have the AZ100 10mm Magnetic Fluid Driver, which is a new design from the AZ80. Here are close up photos of the AZ100 driver and the AZ80 driver on AV-Watch. Unfortunately the teardown does not have photos of the feedback mic, but thanks again to AV-Watch, we know it has moved from the outside of the case, to inside the output noozle.

Source: AV-Watch

The change of feedback NC mic placement allowed Technics to reduce the size of the earbuds and improve ANC function as the mic is now closer to the ear canal.

Source: AV Watch - Google translated

This setup is also found on the WF-1000XM5, with the feedback NC mic in the nozzle. Both the Sony and Technics have 3 mics per earbud, but they are not setup the same:

• Sony - 2 Feedback NC, 1 Feedforward NC/Voice Mic
• Technics - 1 Feedback NC, 1 Feedforward NC/Voice Mic, Voice detection Mic

The battery in the new AZ100 is a VDL 1454 0.32Wh 3.85V cell, or 85mAh. Previously in the AZ80, Technics used a VDL 1454, 0.32Wh 3.7 V cell, or 85mAh. The Sony WF-1000XM5 uses a Zenipower Z55FH, 0.36Wh 3.85V cell (95 mAh).

Even though the Technics have a smaller battery and a larger driver, they have a longer quoted battery life. I am wondering if the lower battery life on the Sony is due to the extra feedback NC mic.

The case PCB has been reduced in size and has some different chips versus the AZ80. We can see that the battery has a plug connection, so the battery can be easily replaced. The wireless charging coil connection is in the top right hand corner, soldered. One of the chips is the STM32C031 microcontroller, but I unable to find the second smaller chip part number anywhere online. If someone is able to locate it, please leave a comment below.

The photo of the other side of the case PCB is not that good as the main side. We can see the charging pins, the USB type-C port, and the case LED at the top. The AZ8 case PCB is below.

AZ80 Charging case PCB - Source: 52Audio

Finally we have the charging case battery. It is made by VDL, model number 941832. The battery is a 3.7V, 2.035Wh (550mAh) Li-ion cell. The previous AZ80 battery was also from VDL, model number 102427, 3.7V 2.59Wh (700mAh). I guess one does not need a 3.85V cell in the case if the earbud cells are 3.85V. Hmm anyone familiar with electronics able to explain this?

If anyone spots any more details on the EAH-AZ100 teardown photos, please post it in the comments.

The new Technics EAH-AZ100 does seem like a solid contender in the premium earbuds segment, offering great sound, solid ANC performance, and very good battery life. But it is also new and will have little discounts, where as the Sony WF-1000XM5 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds will be priced lower, and still offer a great set of earbuds. While we have no direct evidence the WF-1000XM6 exists, it is most likely in the pipeline, and could be coming in the next 6 months, so waiting is another option for those not in a hurry.

The new model is available on Amazon for $299.99 USD, see the photos below. Likewise, there is a 10% discount on your first order on Technics' website in the US. If you do order off Amazon, I do earn a small commission.