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Audio-Technica ATH-CK3TW review: Decent, affordable true wireless earbuds

Gallery: Audio-Technica ATH-CK3TW review
There's no denying  was Audio-Technica's most interesting announcement at IFA. The prospect of $99 true wireless earbuds from a company you could trust to deliver decent sound could have a huge impact on the competition. And even though the company increased the price to 119$ before they went on sale, the point stands. Audio-Technica already has premium and mid-range options. Now it's trying to bring its true wireless formula to a budget device. And as you might expect, a cheaper price comes with a few sacrifices.
Pros
  • Price
  • Automatic pausing
  • Five charges in case

    • Cons
  • Fit can be uncomfortable
  • Frustrating touch controls
  • No customization
  • IPX2 rating
    • SummaryThe ATH-CK3TW are a great deal at $119, if you’re willing to overlook a few issues. They aren’t very comfortable and the touch controls can be frustrating to use. However, the sound quality is solid and the case holds five additional charges. For half the price of some of the competition, you can probably live with the caveats.
    The charging case is different, too. For the ATH-CK3TW, Audio-Technica constructed a taller flip-top holder that stands upright on its own -- even when it's open. The competition doesn't always achieve this, and when they don't, it's frustrating. Most of the time you have to put earbuds in a specific spot to get them to snap into place in a case. With the ATH-CK3TWs, if you get anywhere close the hardware finishes the job for you. The magnets are noticeably stronger than normal. This isn't something that should sway your buying decision, but it's a design choice that's worth pointing out.
    There's a USB-C jack on the side for charging, with a single red LED indicator that lets you know when the whole set is powering up. It doesn't flash or offer any other kind of status update that's common in cases like this. There's a white light on the buds themselves as well, but again, it only tells you when they're actively charging, in pairing mode or connected to a device, not how much battery they have left.

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