Audio-Technica’s wooden wireless headphones have a unique audiophile feature
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Audio-Technica’s stylish 60th anniversary celebrations continue at a rapid pace with the Japanese brand rounding out what they claim to be the world’s first wooden wireless headphones to also boast a world’s first hi-fi function.
The company has revived their iconic Sound Burger portable turntable and also unveiled a high-end transparent set of decks last week as part of their birthday festivities, but these groundbreaking new ATH-WB2022 cans are arguably the most interesting of the three reveals. .
The limited edition headphones have built-in balanced stereo, a feature beloved by audiophiles and until now only available on high-end wired cans that should also be used in conjunction with similar balanced headphones.
Balanced stereo means the cans have a completely separate signal path for each pinna, resulting in limited interference and no crosstalk.
The ATH-WB2022s make this possible by having two built-in ESS DAC ES9038Q2M digital-to-analog converters, one for the left channel and one for the right channel.
The headphones also support Sony’s high-resolution LDAC codec, plus AAC and SBC compatibility, while built-in Multipoint support allows you to connect the ATH-WB2022s to multiple devices via Bluetooth and switch between them seamlessly.
The striking wooden ear cups, meanwhile, aren’t just aesthetically pleasing, with the solid flame maple, walnut and mahogany material used for the housings all combined to absorb acoustic vibrations and in turn minimize distortion.
Unsurprisingly, this feature set has something of a premium, with the ATH-WB2022 carrying a hefty $2,700 / £2,599 (around AU$4,200) price tag when they launch next year.
Analysis: ATH-WB2022s present a major breakthrough for wireless headphones… at a great price
Anyone who has listened to music on headphones through a balanced audio setup knows how the revealing added clarity makes it difficult to return to a regular set of cans afterwards.
Wireless headphones capable of this function have long been the holy grail for audiophiles looking to go cordless, but the closest we’ve come so far has been cans integrating a single, higher-quality DAC.
Make no mistake, Audio-Technica has done a great job here, but there’s a significant payoff for this sonic goodness – we could be looking at some of the best over-ear headphones available, but we’ll have to test them out to be sure. know of course.
Unsurprisingly, powering dual DACs requires a lot of power, and despite having separate, rechargeable batteries for each channel, the ATH-WB2022s can only provide nine hours of playback time when fully charged – a huge reduction in the over 60 hours running the Sennhesier Momentum 4 Wireless.
It’s probably a compromise that many audio purists nevertheless like to consider for that sonic nirvana in addition to that dazzling price tag.