Audio-Technica ATH-AL5NC Open-Back Wireless Headphones Offer LDAC, ANC and Up to 75 Hours of Battery Life

Consumers are hardly suffering from a shortage of wireless headphones. The category is packed at both ends, with increasingly capable budget models fighting for attention below $200 and premium designs from Sony, Bose, Sennheiser, Apple, Bowers & Wilkins, and others pushing well beyond $400. The $250 to $300 range has become particularly competitive, and the arrival of Sony’s new $299 WH-1000XM4C only makes that fight more difficult for everyone else.

Audio-Technica is taking a somewhat different approach with its newly announced ATH-AL5NC Wireless Headphones, combining a lightweight, open-back over-ear design with wireless connectivity, high-resolution LDAC audio, noise reduction, and up to 75 hours of battery life. Rather than simply adding another closed-back ANC model to an already crowded market, the ATH-AL5NC attempts to deliver the more spacious presentation associated with traditional open-back headphones without requiring listeners to remain tethered to a headphone amplifier or source component.

Following the success of the R-Series (ATH-R30x, ATH-R70ax and ATH-R50x) developed for music production, and the recently expanded ADX Series for audiophile listening, the ATH-AL5NC rounds out Audio-Technica’s open-back headphone lineup by adding both wireless and wired connectivity.

Open-Back Sound With Wireless Freedom

Targeted at hi-fi music listeners, remote workers, gamers, and others who value sound quality, long-term comfort, and greater awareness of their surroundings, the ATH-AL5NC offers an alternative to both traditional wired open-back headphones and more isolating closed-back wireless models.

The ATH-AL5NC incorporates 53 mm dynamic drivers designed to produce a wide, detailed soundstage with a natural presentation.

For wireless listening, the ATH-AL5NC supports Bluetooth with high-resolution 24-bit/96 kHz LDAC audio, along with AAC and SBC codec support. The open-back design also allows listeners to maintain greater awareness of activity around them than they would with most closed-back wireless headphones.

Bluetooth Multipoint pairing allows the headphones to remain connected to two Bluetooth devices simultaneously, while a built-in microphone supports calls, virtual meetings, and gaming communication.

For those who prefer a physical connection, the ATH-AL5NC includes a 1.2-meter (3.9-foot) cable terminated with a 3.5 mm (1/8-inch) stereo mini-plug. The cable also incorporates an electret condenser microphone.

Active noise cancellation is available with both wireless and wired connections. Audio-Technica also includes a Sound Leakage Prevention mode, designed to reduce the amount of sound escaping from the open-back earcups and minimize disturbance to people nearby.

Comfort is another major part of the design. The open-back earcups promote airflow to reduce heat buildup, while the headphones weigh just 240 grams (8.5 ounces). Audio-Technica also says the earpads rest gently around the ears with minimal clamping pressure, which should make the ATH-AL5NC better suited to extended listening sessions.

Battery life extends up to 75 hours of continuous playback with Bluetooth enabled and noise cancellation switched off. With noise cancellation enabled, that figure drops to a still substantial 50 hours. A 15-minute quick charge provides up to eight additional hours of playback.

The Audio-Technica CONNECT app provides additional customization, including adjustable EQ, preset and flat sound settings, codec selection, a headphone-locating function, low-latency mode for gaming and video playback, and Soundscape, which offers nature sounds, masking noise, and meditation audio.

Comparison

The Bottom Line 

We don’t yet have enough information about the ATH-AL5NC’s tuning and overall performance to make a meaningful comparison with Audio-Technica’s R-Series or considerably more ambitious ADX models. What is already clear, however, is that Audio-Technica is trying something rather different in a wireless headphone market overflowing with closed-back ANC designs.

The ATH-AL5NC attempts to bridge two categories that rarely overlap: the spacious presentation, ventilation, and long-term comfort of an open-back headphone with the convenience of Bluetooth, LDAC, active noise cancellation, wired connectivity, and up to 75 hours of battery life with ANC switched off. At just 240 grams, that combination could make it especially appealing for music listening, gaming, and remote work where comfort and some awareness of the surrounding environment are more important than complete isolation.

There is, however, an obvious trade-off. Open-back headphones intentionally allow outside sound in and some of your music out. Audio-Technica’s Sound Leakage Prevention mode should help reduce the latter, and ANC can reduce lower-frequency background noise, but neither feature turns the ATH-AL5NC into a conventional closed-back travel headphone. They might work on a train at moderate volume, but commuters who want maximum isolation from rail noise and minimum annoyance from the person sitting beside them, will probably be better served by a closed-back alternative.

That is also what makes the ATH-AL5NC interesting. Instead of building another Sony or Bose clone, Audio-Technica has taken some of the qualities that make open-back headphones attractive for serious listening and attempted to make them substantially more practical for everyday use. If the sonic performance lives up to that premise, the ATH-AL5NC could occupy a rather useful middle ground.

But what about the competition?

At $299, the Sony WH-1000XM4C takes the more conventional route with a closed-back wireless ANC design aimed squarely at commuters and travelers. It also supports wired listening, but its stronger isolation makes it a more practical choice on trains and airplanes. Its 27-hour battery life, however, falls well short of the ATH-AL5NC’s maximum 75-hour rating.

The Final UX5000 is an even closer price rival at $249.99. It supports Bluetooth, LDAC, aptX Adaptive, ANC, and a 3.5mm wired connection, with up to 65 hours of playback with ANC switched off. Like the Sony, however, it uses a closed-back design intended to provide substantially greater passive isolation than the ATH-AL5NC.

That leaves Audio-Technica with a rather unusual proposition. Sony and Final offer the isolation most commuters expect from wireless ANC headphones, while the ATH-AL5NC trades some of that isolation for airflow, environmental awareness, and the more open presentation associated with traditional open-back designs.

Price & Availability

The ATH-AL5NC Open-Back Wireless Headphones are available for a price of $279 at Audio-Technica and Authorized Resellers.

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