Lianne Dhalla | 9 Nov 2022 04:26 PM
Audio comes in many forms but Audio Technica has decided to celebrate 60 years with a new wireless headset that sports the wooden finish of the past. The ATH-WB2022 combines all that is good about both eras with a full wooden enclosure treatment, which tends to be reserved for ultra high-end models.
It’s not just any wood. Audio Technica has created a blend of solid flame maple, walnut, and mahogany woods to absorb unwanted vibrations, enabling the 45mm drivers to deliver studio-level sound quality. The Alcantara-wrapped ear cups and headband provide a luxuriously comfy fit to keep you listening away for hours on end. They have gone all out with the extras too, with the inclusion of on-ear buttons for music and volume controls, muting the built-in microphone (handy for voice calls) and waking your phone’s voice assistant.
On the inside, the headset has an ESS ES9038Q2M DAC and a separate battery which powers each channel, for a completely independent left-right balance that remains unaffected by cross-talk. They are capable of playing 24-bit/96kHz wirelessly using the LDAC Bluetooth codec or wired over USB. The wire allows for listening even once the batteries are completely drained. On the go, the headset should last about nine hours.
These ultra-exclusive over-ears are no joke when it comes to pricing. You either have to be uber-wealthy or uber-obsessed with sound quality to drop £2600 (₹2.5 lakh approx.) on wireless headphones! Only a limited number of headphones will go into production, and Audio Technica is keeping this mysterious by not revealing the exact number of units that will make their way off the catalogues…so if you are keen on it, time is of the essence!