In what regarding helmets, headphones and wireless sound in general, one of the keys is the battery, the other is quality. There is a battle here between engineers who must decide whether to give more space to the transducers, prioritizing sound, or to the battery, selecting the hours of use. Audio-Technica could have found a balance with the ATH-S300BT by providing them with a battery with up to 90 hours of playback.
To this we must add that a fast charge of Three minutes is enough for up to 2.5 hours of use. If we get down to it, 90 hours is the most optimistic scenario: with noise cancellation disabled. Otherwise, we’re talking about 60 hours, not bad either.
Let’s go in parts. Audio-Technica has been part of the sound podium for years. These helmets have 40mm drivers, almost three times larger than Apple’s Air Pods. Transducers convert sound into an electrical signal that allows us to process it, therefore, if they are larger, their “translation” capacity will be better, as will their quality.
The sound of these headphones is very good. Both in the bass and in the treble, it withstands high volume, without problem, and the clarity is very refined. Talking about noise cancellation, much of it lies in the design of the headphones. The fact that they have a headband, that the pads cover the entire ear and that the sensitivity of the microphone has been increased to capture the sound of the environment, contribute to this.
Added to the noise cancellation mode is a listening function, which makes it easy to stay aware of announcements during a trip or engage in a natural face-to-face conversation without having to remove your headphones. It is rare and does not always work for others, but for those who use it it is very effective.
The microphone does its job (They are not helmets for calls, they complement well with them, but they are mainly for listening to music). It has touch controls that allow the most common functions: play music, adjust the volume, receive and end calls… and they are also compatible with Siri and Google Assistant.
The design, in cream and black, is very discreet and the fact that they are foldable makes them easy to transport, although They are not as light as others: their weight is close to 260 grams.
In terms of connectivity, it has an interesting low latency mode that minimizes sound delay in the field of video games. To that adds a multipoint pairing (something increasingly common in headphone manufacturers) that allows you to switch from one device to another without having to disconnect the original first. It also has the option of connecting to the source using a 1.2 meter long cable. Something short for video game fans who don’t trust latency. But without a doubt one of its most competitive points is its price: 119 euros.
Verdict: The ATH-S300BT are for those who travel often, who value good quality at a competitive price and need a lot of battery, but they are not the best if we want very light helmets or mainly for sports.