With the introduction of ATH-CKS50TW, the leading Japanese audio company Audio Technica, as always, provided a pair of earbuds that pushes the limits of the ordinary earbuds in the market. With the ATH-CKS50TW, Audio Technica focused heavily on battery life, longevity, and bass, resulting in a pair of earbuds that can run for an astonishing amount of time, which gives even the longest-running Airpods a hard time! But can it actually prove to be a better alternative than the Airpods Pro in terms of power and audio quality? Let’s find out!
Sound & Comfort
Audio Technica produced the ATH-CKS50TW with the idea that this pair of earbuds will be a cut above the average. And they mostly deliver on their promise! This sleek and beautiful looking pair of earbuds is really comfortable and has a good fit, thanks to the newly developed structure that makes sure the earbuds don’t pop out from the ears, while the increased contact surface between the buds and the ear drastically reduces the burden and provides a relatively light and natural fit. However, AirPods Pro does actually provide a relatively good, secure, and comfortable fit as well. Both of these earbuds have a top-of-the-line ANC feature that eliminates the ambient noise to make you more immersed in your music. Where the AirPods Pro provides a really useful transparency mode where it gets easier for you to maintain a conversation with people with your AirPods on.
Audio Technica has a Quick Hear-Through function that automatically detects conversation and lowers the music volume while enhancing the vocal bandwidth, though this could be a hit or miss with some users, given the accidental volume mitigation scenarios. With comfort comes the topic of weight, and Audio Technica’s ATH-CKS50TW weighs 15.8 grams, which makes them 5 grams heavier when compared to the AirPods Pro. Audio Technica justifies the weight by talking about their 9mm HD drivers that deliver tight and punchy bass. Audio Technica also comes with Sony’s 360 reality audio for spatial surround sound. Combine that with the low-latency feature, and you get a pair of earbuds that will instantly attract gamers everywhere!
Battery Life
With the ATH-CKS50TW, Audio Technica promises to provide an incredible battery life, which will cater to the needs of all you audiophiles out there who just want to listen to music without worrying about recharging the buds over and over again. The ATH-CKS50TW is also the most long-lasting earbuds in their lineup. From what we see here, Audio Technica is flexing its high-capacity battery that can deliver up to 20 hours of uninterrupted musical playback without ANC. Even with ANC turned on, they can run for up to 15 hours non-stop! The fun doesn’t stop there though, as with the charging case combined, what you’ll be getting from Audio Technica, is a mind-blowing 50. Hours. Of battery backup, that has a quick-charge function that’s able to play for 90 mins after a 10 min charge.
When we look at the AirPods Pro and do a basic comparison, it becomes obvious how the Audio Technica ATH-CKS50TW is giving the AirPods Pro a hard time, considering the AirPods pro provides a combined battery backup of a mere 24 hours, which is 26 hours less than Audio Technica. When AirPods Pro was first released, we all remember the hype it created regarding its incredible 24 hours battery backup. Now, after the announcement of the ATH-CKS50TW, it’s making the Apple AirPods Pro appear as merely a mediocre competition, given the 26-hour difference. Another factor that’s often overlooked in the earbuds industry, is sidetone. SideTone is basically a feature with which you can monitor your own voice when talking. Audio Technica saw this opportunity and instantly applied the feature inside their ATH-CKS50TW, which gives it another advantage, no, another reason for people to choose Audio Technica over Apple.
Waterproofing
And finally, whereas the AirPods Pro comes with an IPX4 rating, Audio Technica infused their earbuds with JIS/IEC rating, which, to be honest, is just another way of saying how it has an IPX4 rating, and both of the earbuds will be protected from splashes or sweat.
Final Verdict
Taking all that into consideration, who’s the winner and which one should you go for? Unfortunately, the answer isn’t that simple. But, to make it easy for you, if you prefer a long battery life with a sidetone feature, just leave everything else and go for Audio Technica, since these are the only two bargaining chips that Audio Technica has over Apple. Also, Audio Technica ATH-CKS50TW is relatively more affordable, which makes it more available to the average customer. But then again, if you’re into the Apple Ecosystem, we understand your brand loyalty and respect your decision of staying inside the ecosystem. At the end of the day, it all bogs down to your personal preference.
