The Technics AZ80 have a great full-range noise isolation performance. While they don’t have the foam tips and excellent passive isolation of the Sony WF-1000XM5 Truly Wireless, they have an active noise cancelling (ANC) system that does a solid job of blocking out noise across the entire frequency range. With the maximum ANC level, they attenuate more bass range noise than the Sony. However, this could be because the Technics’ ANC system isn’t adaptive and isn’t constantly adjusting to environmental audio. As a result, they do an excellent job of blocking out noises like rumbling bus engines. This extends to the mid-range, too, so background conversations are effectively blocked out, and these headphones provide a considerable amount of attenuation against treble-range noises, too. However, this is more down to the passive isolation provided by their in-ear fit.

Using the controls, you can switch between the ANC and ambient sound mode, which uses the mic to feed in external audio and keep you aware of your surroundings. While these modes are toggleable by the physical controls, you can blend the two via the companion app to find a balance that works best for you.