Audio-Technica ATH-S300BT Review: Why Isn't this Excellent Bluetooth Headset Making Waves?

The Audio-Technica ATH-S300BT in a nutshell

The Audio-Technica ATH-S300BT has been available since early June 13 for $99 a pop. Those who are interested can also check out online stores like Amazon. 

• Our comparison of the best Bluetooth headsets with ANC

Design

The design of the Audio-Technica ATH-S300BT is minimalist in nature. There's no huge logo, no shiny metal bits, and 'suffers' from a lack of touch-sensitive controls. If you like understated consumer electronic devices, you're in for a treat. However, this Bluetooth headset is also extremely comfortable to wear.

Pros:

• Minimalist and discreet.
• Very comfortable.

Cons:

• Lots of plastic parts.
• Few color choices.
• No IP certification.
• Not foldable.
• No carrying case

Simplicity and comfort sum up Audio-Technica's design philosophy for these headphones. There are two colors to choose from: black and beige. The colors are uniform, with a slight contrast around the earcups. Plastic is omnipresent with the exception of the headband temples, which are part metal. This plastic is matte and soft to the touch.

The ear and headband pads are well cushioned, even if the headband pad is very small indeed. The headset cannot fold. There's no carrying case. Thankfully, the earcups can be rotated 90°, allowing you to wear them around your neck and store them flat in your bag. It has no IP certification for water and dust resistance.

The design is far too plain for my taste. I found the Audio-Technica ATH-S300BT very comfortable to wear though. It's perhaps one of the most comfortable Bluetooth headsets I've reviewed this year. It doesn't place unnecessary pressure on the head and sits in its place well. The absence of an IP rating is a real shame, even for a mid-range wireless headset.

Audio quality

The Audio-Technica ATH-S300BT may not look like much but its audio quality far exceeds the humble expectations I set given its price. The audio signature is very warm while the stereo soundstage is also very wide, especially for a circumaural or "closed-back" headset.

Pros:

• Warm rendering
  • Responsive bass.
  • Detailed mids.
  • Low treble.
• Suitable for wired and passive applications.

Cons:

• No equalizer

I mentioned this Bluetooth headphones produce a very warm sound. This means that it places more emphasis on bass and lower midrange. This leaves the sound a little rounded, with nothing to ruffle your eardrums. The mid-range remains fairly detailed, while the treble is a little on the low side. The stereo soundstage is also fairly wide, to the naked ear.

On the technical side, we have the classic 40 mm dynamic drivers featured here. The frequency range from 20 to 20,000 Hz is equally well-loved. Supported codecs are sparse, with the basic SBC and AAC staples available.

This is an audio signature found on many other headphones. The bass isn't particularly deep, and the headphones don't drop too low. Thankfully they're responsive, they impactful, and don't drag or spill over into the rest of the musical message. The higher frequencies are clearly audible.

• A guide to the audio quality of your headphones and earbuds

Vocals and instruments are fairly detailed and easily identifiable. Treble frequencies are a tad subdued. Personally, I like that. There's no need to worry about sibilance with over-accentuated "F", "S" or "Ch" sounds that make your ears strain. It's classic. Overall, it masters audio beautifully in a well-contained manner.

Do note the headset can be connected to another device with the included 3.5mm cable. It also works passively, i.e. when switched off, but Active Noise Cancellation will be disabled.

Active Noise Cancellation(ANC)

The Audio-Technica ATH-S300BT features Active Noise Cancellation. There's also a transparency mode to amplify ambient noise. Both leave something to be desired.

Pros:

• -

Cons:

• Active Noise Cancellation is not effective enough.
• Transparency mode is too unnatural.
• ANC and transparency cannot be adjusted.

This Bluetooth headset's Active Noise Cancellation works manually and cannot be adjusted. You have to press the dedicated button on the right earcup to switch between ANC, transparency, or nothing.

With ANC activated, only constant, solid-borne noise is properly attenuated. These are mainly low-pitched noises resulting from contact between two surfaces. Public transportation noise, footsteps, etc. Airborne noises, such as voices or alarms/bells, are not filtered sufficiently in my opinion. We're clearly not living in a bubble of silence when you put on a pair.

Transparency mode also lacks naturalness. Noises are not sufficiently amplified. Above all, for more distant noises, the headphones forces itself too much, which causes quite a bit of distortion. I also think it's a pity that none of these modes are adjustable. It's not all bad but it's not good either, even at this price range.

Features and applications

No, there is no app. Audio-Technica doesn't let you set up your headphones via your smartphone. That's a shame. You can't customize the controls and, above all, there's no equalizer to play around with. At least the physical buttons provide a bare minimum for controlling the headphones without too much trouble.

Pros:

• Multipoint connectivity with two devices.
• Physical controls.

Cons:

• No application.
• No equalizer.
• No customizable controls.

Audio-Technica does have an app for Android and iOS but the ATH-S300BT is not supported. It's impossible to make any adjustments. This leaves the user high and dry without any equalizer, no wear detection, no Find My Device, which is a shame, really, even pitiful. Thankfully, we do have multipoint connectivity, which is something.

As for controls, there are four physical buttons. Three are located on the left earpiece, and you can't customize these controls.

I haven't had the presence of mind to ask Audio-Technica whether the headset will receive software updates. Without an application, I hardly see how this could happen. Longevity-wise, it's not great.

Battery and charging

The major highlight of the Audio-Technica ATH-S300BT is its 90-hour battery life. This is quite simply the best battery life among all models reviewed by nextpit.

Pros:

• 60 hours with ANC, 90 hours without ANC.

Cons:

• -

According to the manufacturer, the Bluetooth headset can last 90 hours without Active Noise Cancellation and 60 hours with it. That's a long time. Even if you used the headset 12 hours a day non-stop for a whole week, you'd never run out of battery.

Personally, I used the headset at these settings:

• 100% charged.
• Put on standby at the end of each use.
• No charging between uses.
• Active Noise Cancellation is always enabled.
• 50% listening volume.
• Paired to an iPhone.
• Bluetooth listening only.

To be honest, I didn't time my entire usage. However, I was able to last for over 12 days without any problems on a single charge. I used the headphones for at least half of my working day, averaging 4 to 5 hours. The same goes for weekends. If we take the high average of 5 hours a day for 12 days, we have an amazing battery life of 60 hours.

Technical specifications

	Technical specifications
Device	Audio-Technica ATH-S300BT
Image
Design	Circum-aural | weight 258 g | No wear detection | Physical controls
Audio	40 mm drivers
Frequency response	20 - 20,000 Hz
ANC	Yes, manual and non-adjustable
Bluetooth	5.1 | codecs SBC, AAC | Multipoint
Autonomy	90h without ANC 60h with ANC 3 minutes recharging = 1.5 hours listening time
Price	$99