The way we listen to music is different for each and everyone one us, as we all have certain preferences when it comes to sound. Some like to have a flat even sounding profile, while some might like to really hear the bumping of the lows. Headphone manufacturers are producing headphones with bigger drives to cater to music fans who want deep attacking bass, but what does that mean for the rest of the audiophiles whose ears aren’t geared for that?
Nura, a headphone company birthed from a crowdfunding campaign looks to change the way headphones are made. What they’ve created is a headphone that learns and adapts to your unique hearing. With their Nuraphone, what they’ve essentially done is taken away the need for any third-party equalizers and instead made it so their headphones will be automatically tuned to how your ears register sound.
Design
The Nuraphone has a very minimalistic design and it’s gorgeous to look at. There’s no unwanted bulk and unnecessary hard lines. Instead what you get is a headphone that truly contours to your head. You won’t find any physical buttons, instead you’ll get touch-sensitive controls on the left and right ear cup that’s fully customizable. The headphone is made from a single piece of metal that’s lightweight, durable, and flexible. To provide maximum comfort, the headband and ear cups are lined with soft rubber-like material
The one distinct design of the Nuraphone that really stands out is the ear cups. The ear cups combine the designs of over-the-ear headphones and earbuds. This distinct design serves a dual purpose. The earbuds will provide the mids and highs, while the ear cup will deliver the deep pulsating lows. The dual earcup design also provides a complete active noise cancellation that truly blocks out any outside noise.
Along with the brilliantly designed headphone is the accompanying clamshell carrying case. It’s not often that we’re impressed with a headphones carrying case, but this one definitely stood out. Once you pick up the carrying case you can really feel the durability it has. The material the case is made from offers strength but at the same time is very light. The clamshell case is secured with a series of magnets. The outside of the case is lined with a magnet to keep it together while an added magnetic clasp adds a level of security. Inside the case, you’ll also find another case that houses your charging cable and extra earbud tips which are secured inside the clamshell case with a magnet.
Performance
When it comes to the sound the Nuraphone does not disappoint. On a neutral profile, the highs and mids are clear and smooth, while the lows offer a pretty decent thump. But these headphones aren’t meant to be listened to on a neutral profile. The entire concept of the Nuraphone is the adaptive hearing engine, and we’ll have to say that this is the coolest thing we’ve ever seen on a pair of headphones. This feature alone is what makes the Nuraphone my go-to pair of headphones. The self-learning engine takes about a minute to set up, and the only thing you’ll need to do is to make sure the Nuraphone is on your ears with a nice seal, but don’t worry, the Nuraphone app will help you make sure that you have a perfect fit. Over the course of a minute, you’ll hear a series of tones, which lets you know the headphone is doing its thing. You’ll even get the chance to look at your custom hearing profile while it’s being built.
Once the custom sound was made, we heard an exceptional difference. What really surprised us was that the profile it built for us was basically the way we always set the equalizer, which is a bass attacking profile. The mids and highs came in even clearer and clean, while the lows had that definitive punch that you can really feel.
We wanted to see how adaptive the hearing engine was so we had another person build a sound profile. And if we had any skepticism about the adaptive engine, it was immediately dispelled after we saw the profile it had built for another set of ears. There we were able to see how the engine really works, as it built a profile that focused more on the high and mids rather than the lows like it did for me. On the profile, the highs and mids came in rich and full sounding while the lows hid in the background giving a nice delicate thump.
Aside from the learning engine, the Nuraphone is packed with some really great features. The one feature that really struck a chord with me is the sensory feature. Every time we put on the headphone, it would automatically turn on and connect with my phone. And every time we took it off, the headphone would shut down and conserve the battery power. Not once did we ever need to fumble with any buttons to get the headphone going. And as we continue to use the headphone, an auditory voice would always let us know when the headphone is connected or disconnected, as well as let us know what battery percentage we were at.
Along with the CleanANC, the headphone also has a “social mode,” which essentially lets you easily hear what’s around you with a touch of the button, without having to take your headphones off. Activating this mode will turn the volume down and turn off the CleanANC. The Nuraphone is also built with an “immersion mode.” This mode will basically turn up the amount of power that’s coming from the lows so you can truly feel every rumble. You can also adjust the intensity of the immersion mode to your liking.
Final Reaction
When it comes to headphones, the Nuraphone has become my daily driver. Its simplicity in controls makes it easy for me just to pick up, put on my head, and get going. The minimalist design makes it a very streamlined attractive set of headphones, while the ear cups produces some of the cleanest, clearest tones we’ve ever heard. The Nuraphone is a pricey pair of headphones for any audiophile coming in at $399, and if you want to add extra cables to it, that will set you back even more. But the adaptive self-learning engine adds a level of uniqueness to the pair that makes this a perfect and personal pair of headphones.
Score: 5/5 Atoms
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