review: Audio-Technica ATH-ANC25

The typical set of noise canceling headphones is bulky enough that it comes with an eight inch tall hardshell travel case. But the new ATH-ANC25 from Audio Technica is geared toward those who are looking to travel more lightly, as evidenced by the fact that they instead come with a fairly small drawstring bag for stowing. The trick is that in addition to being a little slimmer and lighter than expected, they also hold in half when not in use. Instead of being true cups, the headphones are actually pads that sit against your ears instead of enveloping them. I wasn’t expecting the pads to be nearly as comfortable as cups, but as it turned out, they came close.

The audio quality is about what I expected: at $99 they don’t come close to the company’s own higher end $219 ATH-ANC7b product. A more apt comparison would be Able Planet’s new $129 product; the Able Planet wins on audio quality but a smallish but noticeable margin, but that’s to be expected as the ATH-ANC25 is a more portable product.

Even though I have more expensive better sounding noise canceling headphones available to me, I could see myself using the ATH-ANC25 instead for shorter flights or shorter trips where I’m looking to pack more lightly – so in that sense this product achieves its goal. And good-sounding sub $100 noise canceling headphones are a steal in general. The built-in volume control slider is a bonus.

Learn more about the Audio-Technica ATH-ANC25 at Audio-Technica.com