Audio-Technica ATH-AL5NC: $279 Open-Back Wireless, 75-Hour Battery
Audio-Technica has released the ATH-AL5NC, its first wireless open-back over-ear headphones, at $279 in the US, £219 in the UK and AU$499 in Australia. They are on sale now in a single black finish, and the headline number is battery life: up to 75 hours of playback on a charge.
Open-back headphones are normally a wired, sit-at-a-desk product, because the vented earcups that give them their airy sound also let noise in and out. Putting Bluetooth and a noise-cancelling circuit on that design is unusual, and it is the reason the specification sheet needs reading carefully.
What the "NC" in the name actually buys you
Descriptions of the noise handling have not been consistent since the announcement, so here is what the manufacturer's own specification table says. The continuous playback rating is quoted two ways: a maximum of approximately 50 hours with Bluetooth on and noise cancelling on, and approximately 75 hours with Bluetooth on and noise cancelling off. A circuit exists, and it costs you about 25 hours of runtime when you switch it on.
What it will not do is behave like a sealed pair of travel headphones. Some coverage has framed the feature as a noise-reduction toggle rather than full active noise cancellation, and at least one report described the headphones as having none at all. The physics point the same way whichever label you prefer: an open earcup cannot form a seal, so low-frequency rumble on a train or a plane will still reach you. Treat this as a way to take the edge off a room, not to silence a commute.
There is a related mode going the other direction. Sound Leakage Reduction, toggled in the A-T CONNECT app, is aimed at how much of your music the person next to you can hear — the usual objection to wearing open-backs anywhere but a private room.
The specification sheet
- 53mm dynamic drivers, open-air type, 52 ohms impedance, 103 dB/mW sensitivity
- Quoted frequency response of 20Hz to 40,000Hz
- Bluetooth 5.3 with multipoint pairing to two devices, roughly 10m (33ft) of line-of-sight range
- LDAC, AAC and SBC codecs; LDAC carries 24-bit/96kHz at up to 990kbps
- Approximately 240g (8.5oz)
- Full charge in about 3.5 hours; a 15-minute top-up returns up to eight hours of playback
- MEMS microphone in the headphones, plus an electret condenser microphone on the supplied cable
The box holds a USB Type-A to Type-C charging cable, a 1.2m 3.5mm stereo cable and a pouch. That analogue cable matters more than usual here: it is the fallback when the battery dies, and it is also the input for anyone who wants to drive the drivers from a headphone amplifier rather than over Bluetooth.
Where $279 puts it
The price lands below the flagship noise-cancelling tier and above the budget shelf. The closest direct rival is the Grado GW100x, another open-back wireless pair, listed at £249 / $275 / AU$440 — so the two are within a few pounds or dollars of each other in every market, and the choice comes down to sound and battery rather than money.
Against sealed competition the comparison is less like-for-like. The Sony WH-1000XM4C arrived recently at $299.99 with a 27-hour rating, and the Beyerdynamic Aventho Y at $149.99 quotes 90 hours. Both are closed-back, which is what you want on a plane. Neither will give you the open, unboxed presentation that is the entire point of the AL5NC.
Availability and what to check before buying
Stock is listed at Audio-Technica and authorised resellers, and early retailer listings in the US were already showing the model as out of stock on launch day, so availability may be uneven in the first weeks. Prices above are the manufacturer's figures for the US, UK and Australia; Audio-Technica has not published a separate figure for other markets, and local pricing is never a straight conversion once tax and duty are added.
Two practical checks. If you listen mostly in shared spaces, the open-back design is the wrong tool no matter what the noise-cancelling toggle does. And if you want the 24-bit/96kHz LDAC path, confirm your phone supports LDAC first — it is standard on most Android handsets and absent on iPhone, which falls back to AAC.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do the Audio-Technica ATH-AL5NC cost?
The ATH-AL5NC is priced at $279 in the United States, £219 in the United Kingdom and AU$499 in Australia. It is on sale now through Audio-Technica and authorised resellers in a single black finish. Audio-Technica has not published pricing for other markets.
Do the ATH-AL5NC have active noise cancellation?
The headphones have a noise-cancelling circuit, and Audio-Technica's own battery ratings are quoted separately for it being on and off. Because the earcups are open-backed rather than sealed, it cannot block low-frequency noise the way a closed-back pair does. Published descriptions have varied between calling it active noise cancellation and calling it a noise-reduction mode; either way, do not expect flagship travel-headphone isolation.
How long does the ATH-AL5NC battery last?
Audio-Technica quotes a maximum of about 75 hours of continuous playback with noise cancelling switched off, and about 50 hours with it on. A full charge takes roughly 3.5 hours, and a 15-minute charge returns up to eight hours of listening. There is also a 3.5mm cable in the box for when the battery runs out.
Do the ATH-AL5NC support LDAC and hi-res audio?
Yes. The headphones support LDAC alongside AAC and SBC, and LDAC carries 24-bit/96kHz audio at up to 990kbps from a compatible source. LDAC is available on most Android phones but not on iPhone, which will connect over AAC instead.
Are open-back headphones a bad idea in public?
Open-back earcups let sound pass in both directions, so people nearby can hear your music and outside noise reaches your ears. The ATH-AL5NC includes a Sound Leakage Reduction mode in the A-T CONNECT app to limit how much escapes, but the design is still best suited to home, office or studio use rather than a shared commute.
