Nuraphone
Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 10:00 pm
I'm sure I've posted about this on here before, but can't find any mention of them.
Click
Many months ago these piqued my interest, however ultimately were written off as being (i) too expensive, and (ii) not practical, as I generally use in-ear phones.
Fancying a change from my RHA MA750s, I noticed the introduction of the NuraLoops, which seemed like a perfect replacement. Placed my order, with delivery initially due this month. Given it's a new product, I emailed Nura's customer service team to see if delivery was on schedule, when I was advised that they had now been delayed until December. Given I've some upcoming long-haul flights, I really didn't fancy the prospect of not having some decent headphones and so enquired about the big boy Nuraphones. Given the delay, they offered me a set for one month free on their NuraNow scheme (£14 quid a month, no minimum term). Very impressed with their customer service so far, with them being very attentive and delivery was quick.
Anyway, they arrived the other day and have had the joy of playing with them over the weekend. For those of you not familiar with the concept, their party trick is to tailor the listening experience to your ears' frequency response by way of Otoacoustic Emission. In essence, it fires reference tones into your ear canal for a minute or so, which in turn vibrates your cochlea. The ear cup is fitted with a super sensitive microphones which then picks up the vibrations reflected back out of your ear canal and can therefore tune a unique hearing profile based on the response. They have a curious in-ear and over-ear configuration - the "in-ear" drivers handling mids and highs, with the "over ear" drivers handling the low end.
Once set up, you then have the ability to listen to music in "neutral" or "personalised" mode. I'm under no illusion that neutral mode will have been set up so as to flatter the personalisation profile, but holy moly what a difference. I've spent quite a bit of time going back over favourite music and the detail and clarity they provide is outstanding. They seem to handle pretty much all types of music with aplomb, with great timing and rhythm.
Another neat feature, if a bit of a gimmick, is Immersion Mode. Being dual driver, they're not exactly short on punch, but in addition they have a (not so subtle) vibrating element in the cups. They definitely tickle the ear at 100% immersion, but the bass becomes somewhat blown out and muddy as a result, much like standing too close too a speaker at a gig or in a club. I think this is probably as a result of the bass not being relative to sound-pressure resulting in a weird sensation. Set at about 40%, it gives just the right amount of oomph whilst still remaining taut.
There's loads of other nice little trick features - active noise-cancelling is excellent, and given they've got six microphones planted in them you can push a button to allow a pass through of the exterior sound if you need to let the outside in for a moment. Each cup has a programmable button which can be assigned a variety of functions based on either a tap or double tap. They automatically switch on and off when you put them on or take them off your head respectively. Build quality seems excellent, with the headband being made of stainless steel and they're very comfortable to wear (albeit odd if you're not used to in-ear monitors). They've even got Tesla valves fitted to allow cooler air into the cups so your lugs don't get all sweaty.
To check whether it's a gimmick or not, I've set myself up three times, with an almost identical profile being created every time. I've also had someone else set up a profile and flicking between our respective profiles we both agreed that the technology seems the real deal. We both each vastly preferred our respective profiles for listening.
All in all, I'm really quite taken with them and almost don't want to send them back when the NuraLoops arrive. If the smaller NuraLoops can even approach the sound quality and overall user experience of the Nuraphones, I'll be very happy indeed.
Click
Many months ago these piqued my interest, however ultimately were written off as being (i) too expensive, and (ii) not practical, as I generally use in-ear phones.
Fancying a change from my RHA MA750s, I noticed the introduction of the NuraLoops, which seemed like a perfect replacement. Placed my order, with delivery initially due this month. Given it's a new product, I emailed Nura's customer service team to see if delivery was on schedule, when I was advised that they had now been delayed until December. Given I've some upcoming long-haul flights, I really didn't fancy the prospect of not having some decent headphones and so enquired about the big boy Nuraphones. Given the delay, they offered me a set for one month free on their NuraNow scheme (£14 quid a month, no minimum term). Very impressed with their customer service so far, with them being very attentive and delivery was quick.
Anyway, they arrived the other day and have had the joy of playing with them over the weekend. For those of you not familiar with the concept, their party trick is to tailor the listening experience to your ears' frequency response by way of Otoacoustic Emission. In essence, it fires reference tones into your ear canal for a minute or so, which in turn vibrates your cochlea. The ear cup is fitted with a super sensitive microphones which then picks up the vibrations reflected back out of your ear canal and can therefore tune a unique hearing profile based on the response. They have a curious in-ear and over-ear configuration - the "in-ear" drivers handling mids and highs, with the "over ear" drivers handling the low end.
Once set up, you then have the ability to listen to music in "neutral" or "personalised" mode. I'm under no illusion that neutral mode will have been set up so as to flatter the personalisation profile, but holy moly what a difference. I've spent quite a bit of time going back over favourite music and the detail and clarity they provide is outstanding. They seem to handle pretty much all types of music with aplomb, with great timing and rhythm.
Another neat feature, if a bit of a gimmick, is Immersion Mode. Being dual driver, they're not exactly short on punch, but in addition they have a (not so subtle) vibrating element in the cups. They definitely tickle the ear at 100% immersion, but the bass becomes somewhat blown out and muddy as a result, much like standing too close too a speaker at a gig or in a club. I think this is probably as a result of the bass not being relative to sound-pressure resulting in a weird sensation. Set at about 40%, it gives just the right amount of oomph whilst still remaining taut.
There's loads of other nice little trick features - active noise-cancelling is excellent, and given they've got six microphones planted in them you can push a button to allow a pass through of the exterior sound if you need to let the outside in for a moment. Each cup has a programmable button which can be assigned a variety of functions based on either a tap or double tap. They automatically switch on and off when you put them on or take them off your head respectively. Build quality seems excellent, with the headband being made of stainless steel and they're very comfortable to wear (albeit odd if you're not used to in-ear monitors). They've even got Tesla valves fitted to allow cooler air into the cups so your lugs don't get all sweaty.
To check whether it's a gimmick or not, I've set myself up three times, with an almost identical profile being created every time. I've also had someone else set up a profile and flicking between our respective profiles we both agreed that the technology seems the real deal. We both each vastly preferred our respective profiles for listening.
All in all, I'm really quite taken with them and almost don't want to send them back when the NuraLoops arrive. If the smaller NuraLoops can even approach the sound quality and overall user experience of the Nuraphones, I'll be very happy indeed.