Panasonic’s premium Technics EAH-AZ80 true-wireless earbuds came out in 2023 and made our list of best-sounding wireless earbuds. Now Panasonic has released a new set of flagship earbuds, the EAH-AZ100, which feature a more compact design along with improved sound quality, noise canceling and voice-calling performance. One of the key upgrades here is Panasonic’s newly developed proprietary Magnetic Fluid Driver that it says creates «clean, high-resolution, low-vibration and low-distortion sounds for the most authentic, balanced audio that’s true to the original source.» According to Panasonic, the «magnetic fluid» is an oil-type liquid filled with magnetic particles that is «injected into the space between the driver magnet and voice coil that enables low-distortion playback.» This type of driver is found in Technics high-end EAH-TZ700 wired in-ear monitors ($1,200), and it’s been miniaturized for use in the AZ100s, which do indeed sound great, offering satisfying clarity, bass definition and openness.

Like all great sounding headphones, the AZ100s come across as natural and accurate and bring out those little details and nuances in tracks that are missing when you’re listening to lesser headphones are earbuds. As for features, the AZ80s allowed you to connect to 3 devices simultaneously and the AZ100s retain this triple multipoint Bluetooth pairing option. The AZ100s add Dolby Atmos spatial audio with head tracking, a nice bonus that you’d expect in a pair of $300 earbuds.

Designed to fit more ears comfortably, Panasonic says the Technics AZ100s are 10% smaller and 16% lighter than the AZ80s. A fifth medium-large ear tip has also been added to ensure more users get a tight seal, which is crucial to optimizing sound quality and noise-canceling performance. 

Battery life was one of the strong points of the AZ80s and the AZ100s also appear to have very good battery life. They’re rated for up to 10 hours with noise-canceling on at moderate volume levels using the AAC audio codec. If you use the LDAC audio codec that’s available with many Android devices, battery life is reduced to up to 7 hours with noise canceling on. After testing the buds for a few weeks (and updating the firmware once), I also thought the noise-canceling and voice-calling were both improved from what I experienced with the AZ80s.

Skullcandy hyped its new Method 360 ANC earbuds (read full review) as «the boldest audio product of 2025, featuring a partnership you didn’t see coming.» Whether the Method 360 ANC earbuds are the boldest audio product of the year is debatable, but I was certainly surprised to learn that Skullcandy had joined forces with Bose to create what’s essentially the budget version of Bose’s $299 QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. Not only do the Method 360 ANC buds sound better than most earbuds in this price class (they sound very similar to Bose’s $170 QuietComfort Earbuds), they also fit comfortably and securely. While they share many of the traits of the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, they’re lighter and lack the more premium finish of those pricey buds. Also, their noise canceling isn’t up to the QC Ultra’s very high ANC standard. But it’s still effective and better than the noise canceling I experienced with the previous Skullcandy earbuds I tested.

The Method 360 ANC’s only potential major drawback is the rather large carrying case. Some people won’t mind that it’s bulky, but others might.

Shokz has released the second-gen OpenFit 2 with a slightly upgraded design, upgraded drivers that noticeably improve the sound quality, better battery life and a new physical control button. The changes don’t seem huge on the surface, but the improvements are significant. They fit my ears more comfortably than the originals and have superior sound quality with more bass and better clarity. They sound excellent for open earbuds, at least in quieter environments.

It’s been almost six years since the Powerbeats Pro were released in May 2019, so Beats has had a lot of time to plot how to improve the second generation of its popular ear-hook style true-wireless sport earbuds. And improve they have — by quite a bit. Not only do they feature a new, more refined design with better ergonomics, but new drivers, a more powerful Apple H2 chip, a new built-in heart-rate sensor and, yes, active noise canceling for the first time in a pair of Powerbeats. (Read our full Powerbeats Pro 2 review).

There are a lof of new premium earbuds with built-in ear hooks, though the majority of them, like Shokz OpenFit 2, have an open design with no ear tips, which some people prefer. I like the Shokz and some of those other open earbuds, but if you’re looking for ear-hook style earbuds with noise canceling and superior sound quality, the Powerbeats Pro 2 are the best right now. 

Not surprisingly, the next-generation of Sony’s entry-noise canceling earbuds now feature better noise canceling (with dual microphones). They also get a few other enhancements, including ear-detection sensors and upgraded voice-calling performance along with slightly better battery life and a style makeover, as these buds now come in an eye-catching translucent «glass» blue color that I liked a lot.

The successor to the WF-C700N, the WF-C710N is a definite upgrade and delivers pleasing, dynamic sound with deep, punchy bass. I initially thought the earbuds were lacking a bit in the clarity department but when I prioritized sound quality in the settings and engaged Sony’s DSEE (Digital Sound Enhancement Engine) in Sony’s companion SoundConnect app, the sound improved. That said, you’re just not going to get the more refined and accurate sound of Sony’s flagship WF-1000XM5 earbuds, which sound smoother and more articulate (with some tracks I encountered a touch of distortion). The sound isn’t quite as good as the more expensive LinkBuds Fit, which I like a little better because those buds are smaller and include sport fins (however, that model’s battery life is only 5.5 hours).

Battery life is rated for up to 8.5 hours on single charge with noise canceling on and audio played at moderate volume levels, though that number will dip if you engage DSEE. With the improvements, the CF-C710N are overall appealing earbuds but they’d be easier to enthusiastically recommend if they cost $99. Hopefully we’ll see them hit that price later this year as their predecessor, the WF-C700N, is on sale now for $75.