The Nuraphone has a hybrid design that is both in-ear and over-ear, and it powers up automatically when you put it on
13 February 2020 - 05:00 Nafisa Akabor
The Nuraphone
Cool factor 5 /5 Usability 4/5 Value for money 4/5
Wireless headphones are not new, but the market has been flooded ever since Apple dropped the 3.5mm audio jack on the iPhone 7. Naturally it has become difficult for brands to stand out from the crowd, yet the Nuraphone has managed to do exactly that.
These wireless headphones offer tailored sound to the user: once you pair them over Bluetooth and download the Nura app, you have to take a hearing test.
The Nuraphone headphones sit snugly in your ear canal, and hearing is measured by reading sensitivity of low, mid-and high tones played into the ear. After a 60-second test, a hearing profile is created and displayed in a graph on the app. The technology that senses and adapts to each individual is patented and unique to the Nuraphone.
When you listen to music, the sound you hear is adapted to your hearing profile; using someone else’s settings will likely sound terrible to you.
The Nuraphone has a hybrid design that is both in-ear and over-ear, and it powers up automatically when you put it on. The touch panels on both sides allow you to customise it to either play or pause, take calls, or toggle between sound modes.
It is somewhat limited, though, because you cannot adjust the volume or skip a track.
It features active noise cancellation, which makes it ideal for travelling and a "social mode" for passing external sound during conversations, and it offers an immersive experience through rich sound and bass you can feel.
The headphones come in a nifty protective case with a magnetic enclosure, a proprietary USB charging cable and two additional tips in small and large sizes, above the standard medium ones. However, you’d need a decent amount of space in a backpack if you plan to travel with them.
The Nuraphone feels like a design from a future that is already here and, dare I say, it will be too modern for some. It holds more appeal to an audiophile and quality comes at a price of R6,999, available at the iStore.
