Audio Technica ATH-TWX7 review: talking over listening

The Audio Technica ATH-TWX7 earbuds look impressive, and as soon as you open the package, attention to detail is evident. Unfortunately, in practice, they fail to convince in a competitive market.

Anyone who takes the Audio Technica ATH-TWX7 wireless earbuds (199 euros incl. VAT) out of the box gets the feeling of having bought something special. In the packaging, we find a fabric bag containing a (short) cable, extra sizes for the earbuds, and the box for the wireless earbuds themselves.

Bold design

That box is made of soft silicone and has a unique shape in which the earbuds are neatly presented. The flap has a pleasant magnetic closure that feels very luxurious.

We can’t exactly call the earbuds themselves minimalist. The Japanese company seems to be aggressively opposing all forms of stereotypical Japanese minimalism and opts for a very bold design that would not be out of place in a science fiction film. Taste is personal: we ourselves find it all a bit garish.

Handy app

To connect the Audio Technica ATH-TWX7 to your (Android) phone, you only need to take them out of their box. You will immediately receive a prompt on your device to connect. From the system, you will be sent directly to the associated app. It’s called ‘Connect’, without a reference to Audio Technica itself in the name, which doesn’t make it easy to find the application on a crowded phone afterwards.

The app is neat and contains expected functionality. For example, you can switch noise cancellation on or off, or activate hear through. An equalizer contains various presets such as Bass Boost or Trebble Enghance, but you can also adjust the sliders manually. Furthermore, we find some nice options such as the ability to play soothing nature sounds directly from the app, including the sound of the waves on a beach, or of the birds in the wind in a forest.

No shortage of buttons

You can also operate the Audio Technica ATH-TWX7 without an app. Audio Technica offers a surprising number of possibilities for this. Both earbuds have both a touch sensor and a push button on board. You can freely adjust the functionality in the app.

By default, you quickly tap one of the earbuds twice to (de)activate the hear through function. By pressing the physical button on the left earbud, you answer an incoming call. Adjusting the volume also works well. Per earbud and button, you can assign a function to one, two, or three taps. Once you have mastered everything, you can browse through your songs, adjust the noise canceling, and switch the microphone on or off, without needing the app for that.

Subpar ANC

The sound quality is decent, but not special. Audio Technica is a big name in the audio world, so we expected more. Even when we play with the equalizer, the sound remains a bit flat. The Audio Technica ATH-TWX7 plays the card of natural sound, which is good.

You don’t have to fear a cheap bass that floods the rest of the soundscape here. Both high and low tones are present without suffocating each other. Yet everything sounds a bit flat and we miss dynamics, even compared to cheaper earbuds and headphones.

The sound quality also experiences a clear impact from the activation of active noise canceling (ANC). ANC makes the experience even flatter, although the difference is not that great.

More painful is the quality of the ANC of the Audio Technica ATH-TWX7 itself. It is substandard for earbuds in this price range. We regularly wonder whether we have ANC switched on. The difference with the far superior Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2, which dates from 2024, is immense. The Audio Technica ATH-TWX7 does not cancel the entire spectrum, and especially some voices sometimes ironically come through more clearly. In the office, for example, we notice the voices on the other side of the wall more clearly with ANC on, compared to without.

Comfort and battery

Audio Technica attaches great importance to the fit of the ATH-TWX7. The box contains no fewer than eight pairs of rubbers in different sizes and even with different hardness. You will certainly find one that fits. Unfortunately, we notice that the ATH-TWX7 is noticeable in the ears after a relatively short time.

It is the first time that we have experienced a lack of comfort with wireless earbuds within an hour, regardless of the fit. Everyone’s ears are unique, so our experience does not necessarily have to apply to everyone. The earbuds do stay in place well.

As far as battery is concerned, the Audio Technica ATH-TWX7 cannot distinguish itself either. Audio Technica claims that the battery lasts 6.5 hours, but we have to charge faster. The earbuds charge when they are in their box and can refuel two more charges before the box needs to be plugged in.

Clearly understandable

As far as multimedia is concerned, the Audio Technica ATH-TWX7 does not completely justify the price in our opinion. Fortunately, the earbuds have a trump card: the call quality is excellent during telephone calls or meetings. The ATH-TWX7 surpasses Teams-certified solutions and the unsuspecting recipient will not realize that the sound is being recorded from the ears. Anyone who regularly makes calls on the road will have a very capable solution here.

Yet, all things considered, we don’t get very excited about the Audio Technica ATH-TWX7. Audio Technica brings a capable product to the market that has been carefully assembled, but in this price range (199 euros incl. VAT) we expect a trump card.

Comfort is personal, so our lack of it is not necessarily representative. The fact that the ANC is inferior to alternatives that are two years old is difficult to justify. Furthermore, we expected more from the sound quality of an Audio Technica device.

The call quality, on the other hand, is very good, but it is not the case that other earbuds in this price range do badly in that area. In conclusion, we lack a clear reason to choose the Audio Technica ATH-TWX7 over alternatives from, for example, Sony, JBL or Poly.

Tested: Audio Technica ATH-TWX7, 199 euros incl. VAT