HI-FI OR SCI-FI? NURASOUND - THE FUTURE OF HEADPHONES

When looking at a new manufacturer or new product release I find myself in one of two possible mindsets… Either, I’m as giddy as an excited child on Christmas morning, eagerly awaiting their latest toy - Or, I’m a cynical old fart asking “Why bother, surely we have enough of those already” … Often the latter comes to pass with products where the market is already oversaturated with well-established, industry standards that we all know and love. Now on occasion I’ll start with my dreary, negative outlook, only for it to be washed away by a surprisingly refreshing product. I found myself doing just that with my review of Jern Speakers, and now we have NuraSound…

Established in 2016 as the brainchild of medical doctor and auditory scientist, Dr Luke Campbell and electrical engineer, Dr Dragan Petrovic. Inspired by Dr Campbell's research, the duo set out to answer a single question, "What if each of us could hear music perfectly tuned to our unique hearing?". What they didn’t realise at the time is that over the course of the following two years, the pair would find themselves reinventing headphones as we understand them.

In 2018, NuraSound launched what transpired to be Australia’s largest-ever Kickstarter campaign, raising approximately £1.35 Million, which allowed the two doctors to bring their two models to the market. The flagship Nuraphone: a ground-breaking in-ear/over-ear hybrid, noise cancelling, wireless Bluetooth headphone. And the Nuraloop: An ergonomically designed pair of noise cancelling, Bluetooth earphones durable enough for active use.

So how does Nura technology work?

Once you’ve downloaded the free dedicated Nura app, your chosen product plays a range of tones and sine waves into the ear and then measures the impulse response created by the inside of your ears. This returning sound is called the Otoacoustic Emission (OAE) and this tiny signal originates in the cochlea and vibrates the eardrum, turning it into a speaker and playing sound back out of your ear. This sound is about 10,000 times smaller than the sound that went in, yet encoded within the returning soundwave is vital information about how well your ears perceived what went in. Both models use an extremely sensitive microphone to detect and measure this returning sound wave, and a self-learning engine built into the app to create your bespoke profile. This process is all automated. No buttons, knobs or a working knowledge of auditory science required. The whole process is complete in around 60 seconds.

Once the Nura app has created your hearing profile it sonically shapes and equalises your music playback so that it perfectly matches your hearing and delivers a tailored listening experience to get the most out of the music you love!

So that’s the “How” out of the way. Let’s take a look at the products themselves...

Nuraphone

I must admit, on first inspection of these headphones I was a little concerned with how far the inner ear section stuck out from the cup and felt I was in for an Alien-like probing of my ear canal! Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised by the comfort of the headphones. I also admire the sturdy charging port design as well as the inclusion of an analogue cable with a 3.5mm jack allowing you to use these with your existing Hi-Fi system.

On to the set-up. Downloading the app was a fairly painless experience, even with the obligatory firmware update you come to expect from a “fresh out of the box” product.

(It is worth noting that the headphones did require charging before I could use them. I know some products come out of the box fully charged, so I thought this was worth a mention).

Once the firmware had updated, I eagerly moved on to setting up my listening profile. The first part of this is a series of sounds sent through the ears to test the fit of the headphones. This wasn’t exactly straightforward as the “Seal” my ears were creating wasn’t very stable. After several attempts of trying to improve this by adjusting the headband and positioning of the cups, the app suggested moving on… So, I did. Following the test for the seal comes the measurement of the impulse responses of your ears. This cacophony of sine waves transported me back to any given 60s or 70s Sci-Film. You know the part where a computer or robot is trying to work something out and this action is portrayed by a jumble of random tones and notes? Yep, just like that!

From here, a preselected piece of very well produced music is played for you without any of the adjustments in what is known as a Neutral setting. Then, with a click of the button in the app, your personalised listening experience is brought to life. You also have the chance to play with the Immersion Mode – an adjustment of low-end resonance designed to recreate a live listening experience.

Now, whilst I was impressed with the sound being played back at me, I wasn’t blown away! This was supposed to be the listening experience of a lifetime and yet I found it was only marginally better that the wireless noise cancelling headphones I had previously sampled from the already crowded marketplace. Undeterred, I continued to listen, assuming that like a new pair of glasses there would be an adjustment period.

After about an albums worth of listening I found that the inner part of my ear was really starting to hurt. I had assumed that the Large ear bud already fitted on the Nuraphone would be the correct ones due to nature of my oversized head (believe me, buying hats is a nightmare!) Out of sheer curiosity, I removed the Large offending rubber earbuds of pain and replaced them with the included, less offensive Medium size bud (There is also a Small size included should you need it). The fit was instantly better and far more comfortable. So, I thought to myself “Perhaps I had best redo the whole thing over?” Whilst sitting in unadulterated anticipation, I found myself as giddy as the proverbial child on Christmas morning, eager to see what elusive wonder lies beyond the wrapping paper… I gently proceeded through the testing process and arrived at the listening stage of the experiment. The Neutral experience was already better than previous, I clicked on the Personalised button and… BANG! There it was! The experience that had been promised. I could feel a shiver of excitement run down my spine as the hairs on my arms stood to attention and my hearing was transported to a whole new dimension. Songs that I had listened to a thousand times before had come to life in a way never before experienced to my ears. It’s an experience hard to explain… It’s like going from standard TV to HD 4K.

It’s probably worth noting that I’m listening to the Nuraphone as I write this… I’m actually having a little difficulty separating myself from them.

As well as the exciting new performance of audio playback, the Nuraphone boast a comfortable yet sturdy design. With two assignable buttons (four if you include the double-tap feature), These are truly a headphone designed for the individual. So how does the younger brother fair up… 

Nuraloop

Having had the experience of the previous headphones, I had the gift of hindsight to aid me in the set-up. First thing I did was try the different sized buds to ensure the best fit. Funnily enough, this time I found the preinstalled size to be the best fit. From here, the initialisation was a breeze. Unsurprisingly, the earphones had to be charged and a firmware update was hiding in wait. Unlike the Nuraphone’s USB-type connection, the Nuraloop have a very cool magnetic connection for the power and analogue cables. These earphones are clearly designed with a more active/sporty user in mind, with their sweat resistant construction and 16+ hour battery life, they are perfect for the avid runner or gym user that still wants to listen to music in an outstanding fashion.

Now whilst I am incredibly impressed with these earphones, there is one minor set-back. Do you remember I said that I have an oversized cranium? Well, as embarrassing as it is to admit, due to the connecting cable these earphones are a little snug on the back of my head… Whilst they still sound out of this world, the experience is slightly marred by the fit. But hey, I’m the minority here and I doubt it will even be an issue for many of you out there.

Much like its older sibling, the Nuraloop benefit from assignable soft touch controls as well as a dial feature around the buttons to control volume and level of noise cancellation. These truly are the Hi-Fi earphone for the audiophile on the go.

After all, business giants, Forbes Magazine described them as “the last earphones you should ever buy”.

Final Thoughts

I can honestly say, that without a shadow of doubt, that these are possibly the best headphones I have ever listened to! It is obvious that this was a real labour of love for Doctors Petrovic & Campbell. The detail and precision that has gone in to developing this technology is truly incredible. Subtle features such as the assignability of controls is just another step towards distancing themselves from other market competitors. I’m a big fan off the auto on/off feature that detects when the headphones are being worn. And hey, any headphones that say “Welcome back Brad” when I put them on is a winner in my books.

Now I know everyone’s listening preferences aren’t the same, and everyone has different tastes, so these probably won’t be to everyone’s liking, so don’t just take my word for it. Why not get in touch with your local store or if you want to take the plunge, you can order online for delivery right to your door.

Brad Tyler - Audio T Media & Online Manager

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