It's been a funny old CES 2025 for wireless headphones and earbuds. On the one hand, we've seen plenty of new launches from the world's annual consumer technology show, with brands such as Earfun, Soundpeats and JLab dropping multiple pairs in a bid to get their respective years off to a flying start. Even LG dropped a pair of noise-cancelling Xboom wireless earbuds in collaboration with will.i.am, and tech journalists everywhere scrabbled to get their best "Xboom-boom-pow" puns online the fastest.
What most of those unveilings have in common, as you might have sussed out already, is that they're all pretty much budget products. There's a huge desire for cheap and cheerful tech, even at shows as gargantuan as CES, and that's understandable given the current financial circumstances, in which many users want reputable quality from named brands without handing over a month's wages to get them. More strength to their arms, of course.
It's the big-name, big-bucks stuff that really gets a tech lover excited, though, with two of the most notable launches from CES 2025 coming courtesy of JBL and Technics. As all around them brands were either experimenting with open earbuds or sniffing around at the bottom end of the price spectrum, these two rather distinct purveyors were wheeling out wares that had the shine and allure that only more premium products possess.
Technics' big unveiling was its 60th anniversary EAH-AZ100 flagship wireless earbuds, a celebratory pair of premium wireless earbuds that aim to bring "the most authentic sound yet" from the much-respected Japanese brand. Even before our glowing five-star review of the AZ100 had seen the light of day, I'd been hopping up and down like a small child straining to see over the kitchen counter to get a glimpse of what was about to emerge from the metaphorical cooking pot.
I, like many of my colleagues, have a real soft spot for Technics' recent buds, and while the brand's previous trio – the EAH-AZ40, EAH-AZ60M2 and the flagship EAH-AZ80 – never quite managed to bag that glittering five-star haul, there was something about each set that teased the prospect of greatness further down the line. Open, spacious and detailed, they all just needed a touch more punch and dynamism to achieve audio Nirvana.
The premium AZ100 have found the winning formula that takes the fight to the current class leaders Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds and Sony WF-1000XM5, boasting solid noise-cancelling, a decent feature set, a comfortable fit and a sound performance that we feel summons even more clarity, detail and balance than those Bose and Sony buds can muster. We're hoping to see sequels to both these Bose and Sony flagships this year, and I can't wait to hear how the Technics AZ100 will square up against the potential next-gen Sony WF-1000XM6, for instance. That could well be the Usyk/Fury of the wireless earbuds arena, and I wouldn't feel confident making a bet either way.
I'm equally fascinated by what's going on over at JBL and its new Tour One M3 flagship over-ears. I've been a touch bemused by the brand's insistence on placing quite a few of its precious eggs in the smart display case basket (which has a touch screen on the earbuds' charging case), but it's very hard to be critical of attempts at innovation. The smart case that comes with the JBL Tour Pro 3 has won many fans, especially with its transmission technology which lets you listen to analogue sources wirelessly by plugging the case into the source using a 3.5mm to USB-C cable. Handy for gym running machines, in-flight entertainment systems, old TVs and similar that have an aux output.
So what's this got to do with JBL's latest pair of over-ear headphones? Surely they don't sport a smart charging case, as that would have to be the size of an iPad and probably cost half as much? No, the new Tour One M3 don't come with a smart case embedded in the carry case, but they do have an optional, separate Smart Tx wireless audio transmitter box with a touch display, similar to the earbuds' smart case. That means the Tour One M3 have the same transmission capabilities as the Tour Pro 3, as well as Auracast and 24-bit/96kHz high-res audio support, active noise cancelling and up to 70 hours of battery life. Did someone say "ideal travel headphones"?
If I wasn't sure why you needed a display screen on your earbuds' case when your smartphone would do just fine, the audio transmission aspects of the Tour Pro 3 were always deeply enticing, so having that particular feature bleed over to the over-ear realm makes a lot of practical sense, even if it involves keeping track of a separate little box. Taking "dumb" audio sources and connecting them to your new, cutting-edge wireless headphones unlocks a whole world of possibilities for playing music, provided the source has a 3.5mm or USB-C port. That's innovation, and that should be what events such as CES are all about.
Two very different propositions, then, but two pairs of headphones that could make a serious mark in 2025, albeit in very different ways. JBL is committing to its smart case/transmitter capabilities, and while it's easy to be cynical, IBM chairman Thomas Watson once foolishly proclaimed in 1943 that there would only ever be a global market of around five units for the personal computer. Technics, meanwhile, could be giving us the fight we've been dreaming of, bringing the fight to Sony's flagship Award-winners with its excellent EAH-AZ100. If we do get the WF-1000XM6 this year, their battle against the AZ100 could be legendary.
I can't wait.
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