Technics EAH-TZ700

The EAH-TZ700 in-ear headphones really make you sit up and take notice. After all, the Japanese manufacturer is using completely new technology: a ten-millimetre frameless driver is hidden inside the cylindrical magnesium housing with a titanium sound outlet, surrounded by magnetic fluid and an air control chamber sealed by a special aluminium diaphragm, to prevent vibrations and distortion. According to the manufacturer, this also ensures a wide spatial image. Although only one driver is built into the housing, it alone achieves an incredible frequency response from 3 Hz to 100 kHz. The signal is picked up by the two in-ears via the two cables supplied, which dock into the golden socket via an MMCX connector. Although the cables are the same length, one version is asymmetrical and fitted with a gold-plated 3.5-millimetre jack plug to make it compatible with Smartphones and ordinary headphone outputs, the other is a symmetrical version with the four-pin plug required by high-end players.

To ensure a perfect fit with these in-ears – not only as a prerequisite for pleasant wearing comfort, but also for optimal sound reproduction – Technics provides sets of both oval and round earpieces in four different sizes. The inserts are slipped over the upper, slightly trapezoidal widening of the sound outlet, which ultimately ensures a secure fit not only on the ear pod but also in your ear canal. The black silicone attachments cleverly enclose the same width as the housing so as not to interrupt the attractive and aesthetic design. But the Japanese company also show their great taste with the smart Technics branding on the metallic grey surface. This turns these headphones into little pieces of jewellery that literally hide in the ear and sparkle slightly thanks to the golden cable socket.

Wearing comfort

At less than 3.5 grams per ear pod, without the cord, you forget you’re wearing the ultra-light EAH-TZ700. The very soft inserts, which fit perfectly into each ear canal, provide a secure fit in the ear without causing pressure. In addition, they follow your every movement and always stay in position, which should certainly please athletes. Thanks to the firm fit of the inserts on the driver housing, they consistently remain in place when pulled out of the ear. Adaptors that fit too loosely soon get stuck in the ear, which can sometimes lead to a surprise visit to the ENT doctor and I speak from personal experience. These in-ears are very handy and fit into a small trouser pocket, but for protection you should always store them in the stylish leatherette case which is provided.

The Specs

I already let the cat out of the bag about the “sky is the limit” frequency response. But their impedance of a very low 37 ohms, plus a power of 100 mW and a sensitivity of 102 dB/mW also promise a powerful and dynamic listening experience, and this proved to be the case in our sound test.

The Sound

To provide the EAH-TZ700 with music to match their high-quality taste, Technics kindly provided us with a FiiO M11 high-resolution mobile player for this test. Loaded with songs of every musical style, in lossless FLAC format, of course. As soon as the tiny headphones are put into the ears, they reveal their qualities within the first few bars, and these were confirmed during our intensive sound check.

Wow! While immersing myself in the simulated accoustic world of these in-ears, I discovered details that were previously hidden from me. On “Hotel California” you can almost hear every string that Glenn Frey plucks in the intro. When the drums, the bass, and Don Henley’s voice come into play, the drivers open up their full range. The riff is positioned accurately, every note of the bass line on top stands out. The vocals are perfectly defined, crystal clear but not exaggerated. Another highlight of our audio test was Elvis Presley’s “Fever”, whose very warm double bass gave me goosebumps at the beginning of the song. In Peter Gabriel’s version of “The Boy In The Bubble” I even heard background noises from a touch on the keyboard. But the EAH-TZ700s are still very comfortable with Metal à la Judas Priest or Electro made by Deadmaus5. The punchy synthetic bass on “Whispers” pushes you against the wall. Overall: These in-ears excel with their enormous transparency, homogeneity and accurate, undistorted playback of transients, even with the volume control set to an unhealthy level. The well-dosed bass, which provides analogue feel-good warmth, lays a foundation for all the other frequencies layered above it without masking them. If you enjoy music with your eyes closed, you feel enclosed in the production studio and can locate the respective instruments where their tracks may have been recorded in that studio. You forget about your surroundings, because due to their tight fit and their seal in the ear canal these ear pods completely isolate you from other sounds, even without noise cancelling.

When connected to mobile players the EAH-TZ700 reveal the true compression of streamed MP3s. Compared to the lossless format, details and spatial depth are lost. Nevertheless, they still sound very rich, as long as the MP3 in question provides it. Therefore, you should treat the EAH-TZ700 to a high-resolution player or at least a high-resolution audio format to take advantage of their full bandwidth and enjoy the music in its purest form.