Following in the footsteps of the company's popular ATH-M50xBT, Audio-Technica has announced a successor to the Bluetooth variant of the popular M50 over-ear headphones.
The aptly titled ATH-M50xBT2 are available for the same price as their predecessor (£179, $199, AU$349) but pack in a wealth of upgrades in an attempt to bring them into line with the best wireless headphones on the market.
The collapsible design and large swivelling earcups the M50 are known for have returned relatively unaltered, but some key quality-of-life improvements have been added to the newer iteration.
A USB-C charging port has replaced the dated microUSB option, allowing for a 10-minute rapid charge to eke out three hours of listening time. There's also a massive 50-hour total battery life to boot.
Amazon Alexa has been integrated into the headphones and is coupled with an improved pair of beamforming microphones that should make call quality clearer alongside voice commands.
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Onto the connectivity, there's now support for multi-point pairing as well as (thankfully) a host of audio codecs, specifically SBC, AAC, and LDAC. In the companion Audio-Technica app, you can now adjust the EQ to your liking along with some other neat settings such as a low latency mode for streaming and gaming.
As for the sound itself, Audio-Technica promise that the M50xBT2 deliver "the same exhilarating wireless listening experience as its predecessor, offering exceptional clarity and deep, accurate bass response", so we don't anticipate too much has changed in their sound profile from their predecessor.
The ATH-M50xBT2 ships with a USB-C charging cable, 1.2m cord and carry pouch and is available in a single black colour finish.
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