ATH-S220BT: Autonomous and inexpensive, the Audio Technica headphones have convincing arguments

The tsunami of 100% wireless headphones (or “True Wireless”) hasn’t stopped this fall. However, many people remain attached to Bluetooth headband headphones. With its new ATH-S220BT, Audio Technica is targeting a young clientele with very affordable equipment (69 euros) which could well satisfy both the wallet and the pleasure of the ears. 20 Minutes tested it for several days and gives you its verdict.

Light but not foldable

The ATH-S220BT are on-ear headphones. This assumes that his pads sit on the ears and not encompass them. Advantage: the user remains fully aware of the universe around him. Disadvantage: a feeling of less immersion in its musical bubble. Unpacked (it is supplied without a carrying case), the helmet reveals a small weakness: it is not foldable. If its ear cups can be laid flat, its frame cannot be folded up, as is the case for example with the Marshall Monitor II ANC, a fully foldable headset, but which, at 299 euros, does not play in the same court.

When tested, the ATH-S220BT proves to be extremely light (180 g, lighter than a smartphone, etc.), which is an advantage if you don't want to part with it when you go long periods in transport, for example. And its port is pleasant. Although firm, its sturdy headband doesn't wrap around the head too much and never bothered us, even after two good hours of continuous listening.

Mids on the podium

We tested these headphones with both music and videos. Among other things, the album De Película by The Limiñanas and Laurent Garnier, but also a few episodes from the last season of La Casa de Papel. The impression that emerges is that the ATH-S220BT diffuses a rather balanced, warm sound, but which flourishes more in the low mids. The bass, so often courted by music lovers on the go, is present but sometimes a little too muffled. For their part, the most chiselled highs struggle to emerge. An application with equalizer would have made it possible to better adapt these settings to his ear…

Good point nevertheless for our TV series episodes: the absence of latency makes the viewing very pleasant, no lag being to report (as sometimes) between the movement of the lips of the characters and the sound of their voice. This is one of the strengths of the ATH-S220BT, which will thus be greatly appreciated for video games.

Multipoint connection

During listening, three buttons on the shell of the left speaker of the headphones allow you to modulate the volume, but also to pick up/end calls received. A double-click on the central button launches the personal assistants SIRI or Google Assistant, a very practical function for making a call, requesting a calendar reminder or answering any other question.

Finally, the ATH-S220BT is multipoint. This assumes that it can connect to two Bluetooth players, such as a smartphone and a computer. The idea is obviously not to listen to two audio streams at the same time, but to avoid any pairing manipulation. We checked this specificity with an iMac and an iPhone 12 and it works perfectly. It is thus possible to watch a video on the computer screen and take an incoming call without worrying about anything.

60 hours of autonomy

One of the strengths of the ATH-S220BT remains its autonomy. Audio Technica claims it up to 60 hours. Admittedly, we didn't go that far, but our tests, which ran for more than a week, did not deplete the battery of the headphones which, in just 10 minutes of charging, can regain 3.5 hours of autonomy (a cable USB-A to USB-C is provided). With the Marshall Major IV headphones that promise up to 80 hours of battery life, these Audio Technica headphones are one of the heavyweights in this sector. Even if we run out of battery, listening could continue in wired mode using the supplied cable.

Sold for 69 euros, the ATH-S220BT, which is available in black or white, remains an entry-level Bluetooth headset that meets most needs. At this price, it dispenses with a noise reduction system, but takes advantage of a very correct listening quality at its price level, the possibility of reducing latency, but above all a monster autonomy that many models at the same price, are entitled to envy him. But it is not the only one to race in the lead: at the same price, but in a supra-aural form (which rests directly on the ear), the Jabra Elite 45h also promises around sixty hours of autonomy. .