Taotronics TT-EP01 ANC earphones

Rating: 3/5

Review:
Good quality but hiss with ANC

I was sent these Taotronics EP01 earphones for review and I think they are good; build quality is high, with effective Active Noise-Cancelling and the sound is very good.  However, there is significant hiss when ANC is activated which is audible at low music volume.

The earphones look stylish. They are well packaged and come with extra silicone tips and ear-anchors to fit smaller or larger ears, a micro-USB charging lead, an airplane adaptor and a decently produced User Manual. However, the manual doesn't specify exactly how to use the multi-function button.  Trial and error suggests:

- single click: answer/end call

- double click: next track

- triple click: previous track (This almost never works for me on any headphones and these are no exception.  I think I got them to do it once, but don't rely on it.)

Functionally they work well, with the microphone, multi-function button and volume controls on a small panel at the junction of the left and right leads. The Active Noise Cancelling is controlled by a switch on a separate very neat in-line panel and is very effective: general background noise is very significantly reduced and almost vanishes much of the time. I can still hear when someone speaks to me and they don't keep out sudden, loud noises, but they perform very well. They also work fine as passive, unpowered earphones with the ANC turned off. 

The sole flaw in these earphones is, to my ears, an unacceptable level of hiss when ANC is turned on.  It's a great shame because the sound is very good otherwise.  It is well balanced with clear articulation and a good response throughout the frequency range. I have a Test Playlist which I use for audio products beginning with 15th Century choral music, ending up with The Rolling Stones, Leonard Cohen and London Grammar and going through most things in between; these perform well throughout.  If you like your music on the loud side then the ANC hiss may not be a problem for you, but at low volumes or in quiet classical passages I find it intrusive.

In summary, these are good as passive earphones, but the ANC hiss problem means that I can only give them a qualified recommendation.

(You may like to have a look at this guide to noise-cancelling earphones at Reviews.com, who seem to do a pretty good job of assessing various models.  
https://www.reviews.com/noise-canceling-headphones/  )
 

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