Simple Man’s review – Nuraphone (399 USD)
This is called simple man’s review because they are based on the sound of these earphones directly from my smartphone (HTC 10) using 320 Kbps mp3 tracks.
No expensive gears nor lossless tracks,no EQ, and all that hi-fi stuff.
Product Specs :
Driver:
Double dynamic, with one outer-larger driver for the woofer, and another for the in-ear component playing mid and high frequencies.
Impedance:
Nura responded, with apologies for the delay.
Inner Ear = 17 ohms
Outer Drivers = 45 ohms
As the nuraphone has an in-built DAC, there is no need to connect to external amplifiers. While we provide an analogue input which means you can use an external DAC, we recommend that you use the digital interface for lossless audio
Weight: 329 grams
Battery: Lithium Ion – upto 20 hours (verified)
Bluetooth: Aptx HD / AAC
Materials: High grade stainless, aluminium cups, hypoallergenic silicon pads
Cable: Universal Wired (Lightning, USB-C, micro-USB, analog) – Not included with headphones (I had to add an Analog cable for 20 dollars to my shopping basket when i ordered)
Build & accessories– 4/5
The headphones themselves look beautiful, and are super sturdy and heavy. They look unbreakable. The ear cups swivel a bit, but cannot be bent or turned outwards.
The ear-cups are unlike your normal fair. These are not ear-pads but ear-cups. The ones used here are some next-gen stuff made of soft silicon like material. The good news is they are awesome. They are soft and comfortable although there is no cushion (for pushing). They cover my entire ears, provide a great seal, and it feels like they wouldn’t ever need replacing. If they ever do, i don’t know how one can replace them though (Nura doesn’t sell any spare ear pads as far as i know). There are also holes around the outer cups to circulate air inside and prevent hot ears.
The headphone hard-case looks premium and has a magnetic belt to keep them securely fastened. This is worth 50-60 dollars by itself. Inside the case you have a very thoughtfully positioned magnetic silicon pouch thing to hold the charging cable. This is very useful as Nura employs a proprietary cable to connect to the headphones, and you can’t afford to misplace them. The hard case and the essential charging cable are the only accessories that come with the Nuraphones.
Ear-tips and nozzle used are also strange. The nozzles are very oval, and the stock tips have wizard-sleeves. The provided tips also have a thin dust filter atop. The in-ear probe is held by rubber/silicon swivel interior (not exactly swivel) which allows movement of the in-ear bit. Attention to detail is amazing. All the vents/holes in the inside of the ear-cup are covered with dust protection mesh.
No extra tips provided! This could be bad news if they don’t fit you (like me), and if you don’t have a plethora of spare tips. The proprietary connection and lack of extra tips cost them a point in this section.
Check out the pics. The whole package is shipped in recyclable paperfoam
Fit & Comfort– 3/5
The in-ear part of the headphones refused to sit on my ear with the stock tips. It is absolutely essential to get a proper and secure fit because if you don’t, the unique profile created for you will be messed up, meaning- they will sound like crap. Luckily for me, the JVC spiral tips worked perfectly (i’m using the medium-large JVC tips).
These were ordered (as a customer from their website) on 23rd December, and I received them by 28 Jan. I mention this because i believe these are the second iteration of the model. One of the “backers” had commented that the first batch which he received early in 2017 fit him perfectly well with stock tips whereas he could hardly get a fit with the second one which he received a couple of couple of months ago.
I’ll talk more about the fit and creating the unique profile when talk about the Nura app in detail.
Although the headphones are heavy, they are very comfortable to use while upright, even when you are walking. I walk with them everyday when i leave the house. The weight and comfort (lack of it) can start bothering you after an hour or so, but until then they are quite comfortable.The headband start sliding down when contacted freely by gravity- while lying down, or if you bend your neck downwards/upwards, the headband starts to slide. This is the only downslide
Isolation & Sound leakage – 5/5
No sound leakage at all. And sound isolation is simply amazing – Ety level.
Nura App –
Let’s talk about the app dependency. Without the Nura App, one basically cannot use these headphones. Also, it must be noted that the app works only when connected to the headphones via Bluetooth. When you are connected with the wire, the app does not open. Connecting to the app also means connecting to Nura server. This means you must have internet/mobile data ON.
The first thing you essentially need to do is create your own unique hearing profile. Wear the headphones, get them connected, open the app, and follow the voice directions.
When you are ready, you will be directed to adjust your earcups until it seals your ears properly.
So, you will know that they fit you properly when the earcups in this screen goes dark. I could never get these dark with the stock tips. I tried my JVC spirals and they fit me perfectly. Hurray!!
Next, you will hear some strange sounds like from 8-bit video games for about a minute, and then your hearing profile is created.
This is how the hearing profiles look, and this is what they mean.
I created my hearing profile atleast a dozen times with various tips, and four out of five times they had the dips and peaks at the same places, only with slight differences in the amplitude – but no two were exactly the same. The colour codes were also similar most of the times. I’m not sure if the colours mean anything. Although i must say that a couple of times the profiles were way off-sounding and significantly different from the usual ones. So, i would say we need to do this ritual several times to be sure you got your best profile set up.
This is my final hearing profile that i like the most.
Generic vs Personalised
The generic profile is so bad you can't listen to them. They sound terribly tinny, instrument separation is bad, bass is not adequate. I believe it's the setting with all the frequencies brought down in the EQ. And so, switching to the Personalised setting will obviously sound amazing in comparison. I believe you can leave the setting in Generic and apply your own EQ (I haven't tried) if that's your thing. The drivers are definitely responding to EQ in a big way.
There are also a couple of other things the app is needed for. That is to setup the behaviour of the buttons on the earcups. You can tap on the buttons to do specific actions which are defined in the app. To use these buttons you need to be connected via Bluetooth. For some reason they don’t work when the wires are connected.
Once the profile is created, and once you’ve setup the amount of immersion you need, you don’t need the app.
When you connect with wires, nuraphone will play using the last profile/immersion level used.
Sound –
To put it very simply, Nura are the best sounding cans i’ve ever heard among all my headphones and IEMs. I can confidently say that this is the way music is meant to be heard (for me), and i’m sure everyone’s personal profile will satisfy them like mine does me. They are extremely detailed and at the same time so fun and musical in a way that i thought was really impossible. The best part about them is that the bass frequencies are played from the outer cup where the sound enters you through your skin, while the mids and highs go directly in via the in-ear probe. They can never overlap the mids the way all the other earphones do. With the immersion mode you can get them to basshead level, and still enjoy all the detail and clarity in the music. You can see that the warmth in the sound (when you increase the immersion) is created inside your ear as opposed to created by the tuning. It’s mind-blowing. Adjustable bass can also make sure this satisfies anyone that might want more bass than they need. Me, personally, i keep them at around 20-30% - where 100% (or Front Row) really rattles those ear cups. It’s an amazing experience and is worth 20 dollars by itself, even if for a few minutes.
One thing to note though is that even when i get the Immersion mode to zero, or least bass, the basic bass quantity that my profile demands is still present. This means that if you think your hearing profile added more bass than you generally prefer, then you are at a loss and you can never get rid of this. Based on this, i think the only ones who may not enjoy these earphones are those who generally prefer anemic levels of bass or those who are overly bass shy. Or, those who forced their taste towards a treble tilted sound. Of course, you might still like them because of their innovative delivery of bass. But, you must try them to see where you stand. Nothing that an app EQ can fix anyway, i guess.
I’m not doing the usual Bass-Mids-treble sections here because they are all just simply perfect. I can’t fault any of them. No part of the frequency is overdone, and none is left wanting- even a teeny bit. This can only mean that the drivers they are using are the best in the industry and that they respond to EQ in a fabulous way.
Before we do some comparisons i must drop a word or two about Bluetooth here.
I must warn that some of the lines written below can deeply offend audiophiles here. However, i can’t hold back.
I’m so glad my HTC 10 upgraded to Oreo recently and since then i have AptX HD in my phone.
I’ve used Nuraphone with the analog cable, USB, and with Bluetooth, and i can say honestly that my ears can find no difference in sound quality. If any, i would say AptX HD sounds slightly more exciting than wires. AptX HD adds a little amplication to the sound and maybe that’s why i prefer them to wired music. Nevertheless, I’m a fan and sometimes i’m using bluetooth adapters on my wired headphones as well.
That said, i must admit that there is an occassonal click or two where the Bluetooth connection struggles a bit, especially near traffic lights, or when there is some physical interference. I also notice that the reception is better when the phone is in my jacket pocket compared to my jeans pocket. This mild inconvenience however doesn’t stop me from using Bluetooth because no-wires are super cool. Then again, i must admit that i find it awesome when there is absolutely no interruption in my music when i use the wires. Alas, there’s still a price you pay for everything. I would give wires another 2 years before they become truly useless and obsolete.
Alrighty then! Now that i got this off my chest, let’s do some comparisons!
Nura vs German Maestro 8.35D
8.35D were my go-to cans during winters when i wanted to go out. These closed cans are close to neutral in their signature, have punchy sub bass, neutral mids, have realistic timbre and pack a great amount of detail.
When i switch from GM 8.35D to Nura, i can see that bass i slightly more present in Nura and is punchier and tighter than 8.35D. The instrument separation is also visibly better than 8.35D. The 8.35Ds sound more cohesive and fluid where the details in Nura are more punctuated and better presented. 8.35Ds are definitely great, but Nura, being more fun and detailed, and a little more than twice the price, beats them easily.
Nura vs ATH MSR7SE
After being impressed by 8.35Ds, i wanted another, better, over ear cans and being a fan of ATH, i went for the Special Edition MSR7s. They have visibly more details (compared to 8.35Ds) and are great headphones. They both cost the same.
When i switch from Nura to ATH MSR7SE, i can hear a little more emphasis in the upper-mid and high frequency in ATH. The vocals are also slightly lifted in ATH which gives it a shriller tone compared to more "correct" tone of the Nuras. I also notice that bass quality seems the same but Nura is punchier. When i play a bass heavy track, Nura gives me more bass, whereas the ATH keeps it a little tame. Nura seems to play the sound based on the tracks i choose. ATH splashes a little more details than the Nura in the higher frequencies. I feel these extra details need not be brought to my face, but ATH decides to throw it. It’s tough to pick a winner between these two. The Audio Technica is a great piece of work, but i would still choose Nura due to it’s adaptive personality which never fails to bring out what i think are the most important details in the music.
Instrument positioning is great in both these headphones, maybe Nura is very slightly better, with more air between.
Nura vs ATH CKR100
The CKR100 is my favourite IEM., And these two cost the same.
When I switch from Nura to CKR100, i feel that the soundstage gets a bit congested, and the instruments get closer to each other (Over ear vs In-ear). The separation is still great in CKR100. CKR100 bass sounds a bit loose comparatively. CKR100 sounds thicker and tends to get a bit lush - sometimes unnecessarily. Still ATH is tastefully tuned and it strikes the right balance between details and fun. Nura shows more separation/space between instruments resulting in a more immersive and enjoyable experience. Nura sounds more refined and "correct" in comparison.
Isolation : Nura > 8.35D >= CKR100 > MSR7SE (due to a couple of vents)
Comfort : 8.35D > MSR7SE > CKR100 = Nura (Both heavy and in-ear)
Details : Nura >= MSR7SE > 8.35D = CKR100
Bass : CKR100 > Nura > MSR7SE >= 8.35D
Mids : Nura > CKR100 > MSR7SE = 8.35D
Overall Rating of Nuraphone:
Vocals 5/5
Soundstage 5/5
Instrument Separation 5/5
Detail 4.5/5
Timbre 5/5
Comfort 3/5
While we are here, let me also mention the simplicity and ease of use (after the initial setup) is what makes me pick Nura up every time i want to listen to music. As soon as you wear them, the headphones wake up automatically and welcomes you. And you can start playing your music with a single tap on the headphones. you don't need to connect a wire to your phones, and all that hassle. As soon as you remove them they turn themselves off, thus conserving battery. I'm able to go 2 full weeks without a recharge based on my usage. Plus, they sound incredile.
Conclusion –
I really don’t think i can get a better headphone/IEM experience than what Nura has given. It is both analytical and musical at the same time. Nura is like a chameleon that adapts to the song that is being played. I really hope Nura makes another one like this, which is lighter and more comfortable with re-usable standard parts, like a 3.5mm connector, and an app that uses our local memory to store profiles, etc, so that we won’t have to depend on the Nura server, and their availability.
I would like to immensely thank my girlfriend for gifting me these awesome headphones. I’m the “audiophile” here, spending half a day on head-fi on a daily basis, and she got to know about these on FB and surprised the bejeesus out of my audiophile ass! Thanks, milov, and thank you, Nura! It really works!!