Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW wireless earbuds have a marathon 50-hour battery life

Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW wireless earbuds have a marathon 50-hour battery life
(Image credit: Audio Technica)

Audio-Technica has announced a new pair of true wireless earbuds, and they might just have the longest battery life on the market.

The Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW should last for a marathon 50 hours before they need charging. How? Well, you get a stellar 20 hours of continuous playback (or 15 with noise-cancelling enabled), but with the charging case you won't need to find a plug for up to 50 hours.

That trumps the previous best, the Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus, which promise a total of 45 hours.

Arguably equally as useful is the fact that if you juice up the ATH-CKS50TW for just 10 minutes, you'll get 90 minutes of playback. Handy when you have to dash out of the door.

Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50TW wireless earbuds have a marathon 50-hour battery life

(Image credit: Audio Technica)

But there's a lot more to these wireless earbuds than pure battery power. Audio-Technica promises a secure and comfortable fit, resulting in excellent noise isolation. And when that's not enough, the noise-cancelling function shuts out ambient noise even in noisy environments. Like a lot of noise-cancelling-enabled pairs, they feature a hear-through function that lowers playback volume, lets in outside noise and enhances the vocal bandwidth, so you can hear an announcement or hold a conversation without taking them off.

The ATH-CKS50TW are certified for Sony 360 Reality Audio, so you can hear the benefit using Sony's virtual surround sound tech when listening to compatible tracks. And the 9mm HD TWS drivers should deliver deep, powerful bass.

A low-latency mode minimises audio lag, which means the audio will match whatever's on screen, whether you're gaming or watching a video.

Multipoint comes as standard, so you can pair with two devices at once. That means seamless switching between listening to music on your laptop and taking a handsfree call on your smartphone with no need to re-pair. And when you're on a call, you can hear your own voice thanks to the sidetone feature, which should stop you talking too loudly.

Bluetooth 5.2 is the order of the day, which gives you greater range over earlier versions. And to cap it all, they're rated IPX4 for resistance to water splashing. Which could push them into best running headphones territory.

The Audio-Technica ATH-CKS50 are available now from audio-technica.com for £149.99 / €169 (about AU$300). International prices are TBC.

MORE:

Read our full Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 Plus review

Read our guide to the best wireless earbuds

Check out the best wireless earbuds deals right now

Joe Svetlik

Joe has been writing about tech for 17 years, first on staff at T3 magazine, then in a freelance capacity for Stuff, The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, Men's Health, GQ, The Mirror, Trusted Reviews, TechRadar and many more (including What Hi-Fi?). His specialities include all things mobile, headphones and speakers that he can't justifying spending money on.