Наушники — Audio-Technica ATH-S300BT

The ATH-S300BT is a wireless over-ear headphone with active noise cancelling from Audio-Technica, the Japanese company with more than 60 years of transducer design behind it. It is the noise-cancelling model of the brand's everyday S-series, built for commuting, travel and office work, and it combines a very long battery life with multipoint connection, a hear-through mode and fold-flat earcups finished with a terrazzo-style marbled pattern.

Key specs that matter

The ATH-S300BT is a closed-back dynamic design with 40mm drivers. Frequency response is 20Hz to 20kHz, sensitivity is 103dB/mW and impedance is 44.5 ohms. Bluetooth 5.1 covers the usual media and hands-free profiles, streams in AAC or SBC and reaches about 10m, and multipoint pairing connects two devices at once. A 3.85V lithium battery gives up to 90 hours of use with noise cancelling off and 60 hours with it on, and a three-minute USB-C charge provides about 2.5 hours. The omnidirectional condenser microphone covers 50Hz to 10kHz. A 1.2m cable with an in-line microphone and controls allows wired use without battery power. The headphone weighs 258g.

Engineering and use context

Digital hybrid noise cancelling uses two sets of microphones on each earcup. A feedforward microphone on the outside picks up ambient noise before it reaches the ear, while a feedback microphone inside the earcup measures what remains near the driver, and the digital processor combines both to generate an inverted anti-noise signal. Using both positions covers a wider band of noise than either method alone. The hear-through function reverses the idea, passing outside sound through the microphones to the drivers so the wearer can hear announcements or talk to people - including hearing their own voice naturally - without removing the headphones. Running the noise-cancelling circuit draws power, which is why battery life drops by a third when it is active. Multipoint keeps a phone and a computer connected together, and the low-latency mode reduces delay for video and games. The microphone's response, wider than on simpler models, improves voice pickup on calls, and the headphone works with Siri and Google Assistant. Thick, soft earpads seal around the ears to support passive isolation, the base on which the active cancelling builds, and the earcups fold flat for carrying.

Pairing

The ATH-S300BT connects to phones, tablets and laptops over Bluetooth, and its wired cable with microphone suits in-flight entertainment systems and computers. The AAC codec suits Apple devices.

Alternatives

Audio-Technica's own ATH-S220BT is a lighter, simpler on-ear model without noise cancelling.