It’s fair to say that 2020 was a fairly decent year for Klipsch; the audio brand released not one, but three variations of its T5 II TWS earbuds that included a standard, Sports, and McLaren Edition. As good as they sound, they all lacked one thing that the competition was offering: active noise cancellation (ANC). Enter then, the Klipsch T5 II ANC.
Essentially a reworked version of the original T5 II, the T5 II ANC comes equipped with the much-awaited ANC feature, along with a handful of other features and minor changes. For a start, the improved earbuds also come built with new AI-powered technologies, courtesy of two other companies: Bragi and Dirac HD Sound.
For a select few, the name Bragi may ring a bell. The brand was of the first companies in the industry to build and introduce the TWS earbuds idea to the world, way back in 2016. Mind you, this was also long before Apple chimed in with its own AirPods. Then, in 2019, the company made the decision to sell off the hardware portion of its business and shift its focus instead, towards the development of AI-based software.
On that note, the T5 II ANC are the first of the brand’s earbuds to integrate that AI-powered technology, including the ability to answer calls by simply nodding your head or skipping tracks by shaking your head to the left or right.
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From Dirac HD Sound, the technology offers a “digital audio optimisation” function which, as the description suggests, optimises the audio in the T5 II ANC through a recalibration process. That Klipsch says it will improve overall sound quality, while still allowing you to apply custom EQ settings.
Beneath the hood, Klipsch says that the T5 II ANC is fitted with a redesigned 5.8mm driver, along with a diaphragm that is thinner than the current 3µm which is – stating the obvious here – really quite thin. On a slightly sadder note, the T5 II ANC is only IPX4 rated for water resistance, unlike it’s non-AC brethren that are IP67 rated. Oh, and the casing also supports wireless charging.
Klipsch says that the T5 II ANC earbuds are available starting today and retails for US$299 (~RM1263). Like the T5 II Sport, the brand is also offering a McLaren Edition of the T5 II ANC that includes the same Papaya orange accents and carbon fibre motif for the casing. Price-wise, the special edition retails at US$349 (~RM1474).
At the time of writing, there is still no local pricing or availability. We’ve reached out to Klipsch’s primary distributor in the region, TC Acoustics, for details.
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