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Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022 – High-fidelity wireless headphones

Audio-Technica Ltd. promises nothing less than a superior listening experience for the new Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022, which marks the company's 60th anniversary and which it describes as an innovative high-fidelity wireless headphone.

Story Highlights
  • For the on-the-go studio experience, Audio-Technica Ltd.'s latest solution in personal audio devices, the Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022, should do the trick.

The new Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022 is the first wireless headphones from Audio-Technica Ltd. to offer a superior listening experience. The company therefore also speaks of a wireless high-fidelity headphones and a solution, with a series of other products completely in the sign of the 60th anniversary of Audio-Technica Ltd. is. Accordingly, the company has focused on particularly innovative equipment and high-quality workmanship here, which is ultimately intended to provide a studio experience on the go.

Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022 – The studio experience on the go

As just mentioned, the new Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022 is a headphone that is supposed to meet particularly high demands and can thus be presented as a worthy solution for the 60th anniversary of Audio-Technica Ltd.

The manufacturer would have to offer here a set of equipment characteristics, which one uses for the first time in the range headphones and which one describes as particularly innovative. This begins with the actual driver, goes over the signal processing to the special housing, which has to offer the new Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022.

Foto © Audio-Technica Ltd. | Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022
Foto © Audio-Technica Ltd. | Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022

45 mm HD driver for high-fidelity sound

Of course, the focus here is first and foremost on the driver itself, which is used in the Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022. The manufacturer refers to a 45 mm HD driver that was specially developed for the new Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022 and that features a particularly powerful magnetic circuit and a membrane coated using the DLC (Diamond-like Carbon) process. This, Audio-Technica Ltd. promises, guarantees a particularly detailed, dynamic sound experience.

Separate construction for left and right channels

It is also particularly exciting that the developers of the new Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022 rely on an almost completely separate construction for the left and right channels to achieve the promised high level of quality.

Thus, a pair of ESS ES9038Q2M digital-to-analog converters from specialist ESS Technology Inc. is used here right away, featuring 24-bit, 96 kHz signal processing. Likewise, the Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022 with the MUSES05 chips and thus in the opinion of Audio-Technica Ltd. best operational amplifiers from the house Nisshinbo Micro Devices Inc. is used.

Foto © Audio-Technica Ltd. | Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022
Foto © Audio-Technica Ltd. | Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022

Bluetooth 5.1 with LDAC and AAC

The signal transmission of the new Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022 takes place via Bluetooth 5.1 and it is, in addition to the lossy SBC also LDAC and for the connection to Apple iOS solutions AAC supported.

It should also be mentioned that the new Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022 allows multi-point pairing and thus the permanent connection to two devices and can also be used as a hands-free device. For this purpose, a particularly high-quality condenser microphone with a diameter of 10 mm is available, which guarantees a crystal-clear sound. Of course, the Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022 can also be used with voice control solutions, be it Apple Siri under Apple iOS, or Google Assistant under Google Android.

Foto © Audio-Technica Ltd. | Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022
Foto © Audio-Technica Ltd. | Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022

Separate batteries for right and left channel

The aforementioned separate design of the left and right channels in the new Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022 even goes so far as to use a separate battery for each ear cup. This is to achieve an unprecedented sound fidelity free of any sound interference and crosstalk.

According to the manufacturer, the playtime of the integrated batteries should be up to new hours, whereby the battery is charged via USB-C.

However, this USB-C interface can also be used to connect to a source device, so seamless playback is possible even when the battery capacity is exhausted. For this, the manufacturer not only supplies a USB-C to USB-A cable but likewise a USB-C to USB-C cable, both of which are said to present themselves as a 1.5 m 6N-OFC audio cable.

  • Foto © Audio-Technica Ltd. | Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022
  • Foto © Audio-Technica Ltd. | Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022
  • Foto © Audio-Technica Ltd. | Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022
  • Foto © Audio-Technica Ltd. | Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022
  • Foto © Audio-Technica Ltd. | Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022
  • Foto © Audio-Technica Ltd. | Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022
  • Foto © Audio-Technica Ltd. | Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022

Ear cups made of fine wood

Probably the most outstanding feature of the new Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022, however, is that the ear cups here are made of fine wood. This is a combination of solid flamed maple, walnut and mahogany, each type of wood with its own very special acoustic properties to ensure the best possible reproduction.

The cabinets also offer separate acoustic and electric chambers, so that the integrated electronics should not have any negative impact on the performance.

Of course, it must also be mentioned that the ear pads as well as the headband are made of high-quality Alcantara and thus guarantee luxurious wearing comfort in warm and cold environments.

Control directly on the earcups or via app

The new Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022 features buttons integrated directly into the earcups for easy control of playback, volume and phone calls. Via the so-called A-T Connect app for Apple iOS, the Bluetooth Low Latency mode can be activated and an equalizer can be used, and even otherwise the control of the Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022 can be adjusted according to one’s own preferences.

Foto © Audio-Technica Ltd. | Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022
Foto © Audio-Technica Ltd. | Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022

Nobly packaged

The Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022 comes with an exclusive case made in collaboration with Zero Halliburton, as Audio-Technica Ltd. puts on record. A manufacturer who, after all, was responsible for the transport solution of the moon rocks of NASA’s Apollo 11 mission.

Prices and availability

The new Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022 is said to be available immediately from retailers, but will only be offered in limited quantities. The suggested retail price is € 3.000,-.

Getting to the point

It’s only natural to treat yourself and your customers to something exclusive on a memorable occasion like your 60th birthday, and that’s how Audio-Technica Ltd. is keeping it. Among the various products celebrating the company’s 60th anniversary is a special pair of headphones, namely the Audio-Technica ATH-WB2022, the company’s first wireless headphones that offer the best hi-fi sound on the go.

PRODUCTAUDIO-TECHNICA ATH-WB2022
Price€ 3.000,-
BRANDAUDIO-TECHNICA
ManufacturerAudio-Technica Ltd.
DistributionAudio-Technica Ltd.
More about this manufacturer at HIFI BLOG
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Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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