Audio-Technica ATH-CK200BT Neckband Review – Good Audio And Comfort But A Pricey Affair

Non-Tangle Cable But Magnetic Earbuds Are A Miss

The ATH-CK200BT features a compact design with small earbuds making it easily portable. The control bar and the battery pack are neatly connected with the cable. They do look bulky but do not add any noticeable weight to the unit.

While most the wireless earphones today offer magnetic-lock earbuds, the CK200BT misses on it. This is a major drawback as the magnets saves the earphones to fall off the neck when not in use.

The quality of the cable is good and is tangle free which is the best part of the design. The control bar has the power key sandwiched between the volume adjusters and the microUSB port for charging.

The notification LED is placed just above the controls and glows in blue/red colors. The keys have a protruding design and can be controlled easily without giving any glance.

The earbuds have a snug fit design and are comfortable to wear for longer durations. The rubbers used for earbuds are soft and you get different eartips sizes in the retail box. Changing the earbuds is also easy.

All you need to do is pull out the earbuds outwards and use the size best suited for you. There is no IP certification as well, so, there is no protection against water and dust. The design is decent; however, missing IP certification and the magnetic eartips are major bummer.

Audio Performance

The Audio-Technica ATK-CK200BT packs 9mm audio drivers which deliver a loud and crisp output. The headphones come with a sensitivity range of 20- 24,000 Hz and produces an impedance of 100 dB/mW.

The wireless neckband performs well with every genre of the music. The mid and lows are balanced and there is no distortion at maximum audio levels. The highs produced are also crisp and there is no distortion or muffling at peak volume.

The neckband supports SBC codec which is a subband codec identified by Bluetooth SIG certification agency for Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP). This codec allows the headphones to produce good quality audio at medium bit rates.

The C2K200BT wireless neckband also performs well with online media streaming. We tested the unit with Amazon Prime Videos, Netflix, Hotstar, and YouTube among other online streaming platforms and the results are satisfactory.

The punchy bass on produced by the pair makes it optimum for modern music such as pop, electro, and others. The crisp and clear audio with loud output and punchy bass should impress the audiophiles.

Battery And Connectivity

The wireless earphones are backed by a DC 3.7 V lithium polymer battery. The battery can be charged using the standard microUSB port placed at the control bar. It takes around three hours for the device to be charged from zero to 100 percent.

The battery gives a backup of up to 7 hours with one single charge and continuous music playback of up to 7 hours (around 60 percent audio levels).

It offers a standby time of up to 200 hours which is quite impressive. Though, a faster charging would have been appreciated considering the 4K price tag of the earphones. The retail box ships with a 30 cm USB cable for charging. You can use a standard smartphone charging adapter to connect the cable for charging.

The earphones use Bluetooth v4.1 for wireless connectivity. It is compatible with all the devices that use this connectivity option such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets, etc. Pairing the earbuds with other device is easy.

If you are connecting a device for the first time then you need to press and hold the power key for a while to turn on the pairing mode. Once activated, head to the Bluetooth settings on the device that need to be connected and locate ‘ATK-C2K200BT'. A single tap will connect the earphones with the respective device.

The connectivity range is up to 10 meters beyond which you will notice some audio breakups. The earphones also have in-built microphone support using which one can answer calls. The call quality is also good on these pairs.

Verdict

Audio-Technica is well known for its quality audio products and the latest ATK-C2K200BT is no different. The wireless neckband offers a tangle-free lightweight design with loud and crisp audio output. The earbuds are not only suitable for music but also for streaming media online. But there are some drawbacks which makes it less competitive for its price range.

The wireless earphones are priced under sub 5k segment but still don't come with any IP certification. This means no protection against natural elements such as water and dust. Also, the earbuds don't have any magnetic lock which can be found in the sub 3k price segment of wireless neckbands.

If you are ready to overlook the aforementioned flaws, then you can go for this pair. However, we would suggest you consider some other options from Jabra, Sony and other brands in the same price segment before making a final decision.