Whether we realise it or not, everyone hears things differently.
Nura, an audio company, takes full recognition of this and makes headphones and earphones which use AI to adapt sound quality to the wearer's specific hearing.
When the firm first released its NuraTrue earbuds, we were blown away by the personalisation feature, even if it didn't quite fully deliver the 'perfect sound' the company promised.
READ NEXT: New York bans teachers and kids from using AI that can cheat on every exam
Now, Nura has taken things a step further towards that goal. Billed as the world's first earbuds offering lossless CD-quality audio over Bluetooth and priced at £299, the NuraTrue Pro is targeted at music fans who probably invest more money on their tunes than the monthly £9.99 Spotify subscription.
But that's not to say it won't benefit every day listeners. Typical Bluetooth technology tends to compress audio in a way that lowers the sound quality, but the NuraTrue Pro is designed to support lossless audio so you can hear your music perfectly clearly.
To test it out, I picked up a pair of NuraTrue Pro earphones and gave them a shot. Having tried the earlier (non-Pro) edition, I was already familiar with the nifty Nura app which tailors the sound to your ears using AI. This worked a treat and it's still incredibly impressive to hear the difference in sound once the AI has done its work.
The sound quality definitely delivers when it comes to using music streaming apps like Spotify, allowing me to be fully immersed in what seems like 360-degree surround sound with much crisper clarity than before. The bass is particularly impressive, and almost has the range of a large Function One soundsystem you'd find at a festival (without shaking your bones in quite the same way).
To test the lossless audio, though, I was going to need something much more than Spotify. Tidal, which is part-owned by American rapper Jay-Z, offers lossless and high-quality audio that you can play straight from your phone.
I started off by comparing a few tracks by Underworld, Faithless, and the Chemical Brothers on Spotify versus Tidal's lossless 'Master' setting.
Scary Microsoft AI can build robo-clone of your voice after just 3 seconds
While the difference is subtle, it's definitely there. Higher pitched hi-hat sounds and vocals in particular are much more crisp. Meanwhile, on classic hip hop tracks by Ghostface Killah and AZ, the bass just throbs. I get the feeling it's going to be very hard to go back to regular audio quality after this.
However, I also noticed a few faults with the NuraTrue Pro pretty quickly. The build quality is certainly better, with a swish metal ring around the casing of the earbuds. But the noise cancelling technology is noticeably a bit worse.
Like before, you can switch off the 'Immersion Mode' to better hear the world around you through built-in microphones. However, these sound quite tinny and make some noises far too loud.
Bionic 'exoskeleton' robo-suit gives you superhuman strength – and could save your life
On the flipside, I found it very difficult to get good noise cancellation with the 'Immersion Mode', particularly on noisy trains. Whereas the normal NuraTrue earphones did a good job of blocking everything out, it was still possible for me to hear most if not all noises around me.
This just may be a problem with the fit of the earbuds to my ears, so if you do experience this issue, just make sure you're using the right sized buds for your ears.
Overall, the NuraTrue Pro earbuds are an impressive step forward for the AI audio company. For something that's only a little more expensive than Apple's AirPods Pro 2, it offers a huge improvement in sound quality and fidelity for audiophiles and music lovers alike.
Check out Nura's products on their website
READ MORE:
- Real-life Transformers unveiled that can actually transform
- Elon Musk breaks Guinness World Record for 'biggest loser' as net worth plummets
- Bionic 'exoskeleton' robo-suit gives you superhuman strength and could save your life
- Deepfake TV show sees Harry Kane, Stormzy and Greta Thunberg become bickering neighbours
- iPhone 'invisible ink' hack lets you send hidden messages to your contacts
Source: Read Full Article