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Audio purists have had a lot of great new lossless technology hitting, allowing them to have digital transmission of their tunes without any loss of fidelity (ie, the compression our favorite streaming services normally use). However, to get the highest-quality sound, they were normally limited to wired headphones. Now, due to a new collaboration, the HED Unity headphones cut the cord.
From the Unity side of the equation, you have lossless – and wireless, courtesy of WiFi – headphones. From the HEAR360 side, you get spatial audio technology. What’s that? Well, that means that, as you move your head around in the space, the sound hitting your ears shifts, just as if you were sitting in a room where the music was being performed.
Here’s how they describe it:
The result is Unity, the first headset in the world to feature “Full-Fidelity™” – streaming true lossless audio over Wi-Fi – powered by HEAR360’s Spatial Audio Engine. Never before have audio aficionados been treated to hi-res lossless audio with unlimited wireless range and head-tracked spatial audio all in the same product. Full-Fidelity™ allows listeners to experience bit-perfect transmission of lossless content in spatial audio, completely untethered, in stunning clarity and rich detail.
On-board Wi-Fi means lossless audio can stream directly to the Unity headphones, bringing out the detail and nuance of your favorite music, and eliminating the side effects of compression, which can cause bass to sound bloated and highs to sound synthetically sharp. Now even listeners with the most discerning ears can experience music and movies the way artists and directors intended.
There is a LOT of tech built into these headphones, meant for the audio afficionado. Unless you really think your at-home Teams calls setup could benefit from these, our guess is that the $2,199 headphones are going to be reside in the home listening lounge. For more details, and to order your own, head on over to getunity.com
Tech Specs
Advanced Functionality
- Full Fidelity WiFi streaming True Lossless sample rates up to 24bit/96kHz
- True Lossless streaming of FLAC and Hi-Res music files from music streaming providers or local media server without compression or data loss
- Multisource Music Player – Access the catalogs and sync existing favorites within multiple music streaming provider accounts or connect directly to your local media server with the Unity App
Premium Headset Functionality
- Bluetooth – SBC and AAC
- Noise Cancelling
- Programmable function button for quick or frequently used functions
- EQ – presets and user customizable
- Wired passive listening
- Phone Call Clarity – Beamforming noise cancelling microphones
- iOS and Android companion mobile app
Electronic Specifications
- Processor – Dual core 650 MHz 32-bit ARMv7 Processor
- RAM – 1GB 800 MHz DDR3L Memory
- Onboard Storage – 16GB eMMC
- Wireless – 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n + BT / BLE 4.2
- Motion Sensor – 9-axis motion sensor (accelerometer, gyro, magnetometer)for head tracking and Audio AR
- USB Type C – Charging and wired audio
- Battery – Lithium-ion 3.8V, 1680mAh, 6.38Wh
- Charging – USB 5V, 500mA / 1A adapter for faster charging
- Operating time – 6-8 hours of Hi-Res or Bluetooth listening; We are constantly working to optimize and extend our streaming time by OTA software update
- Charging Time – 15min = 20%1h = 80%; 1h30 = 100%
- Software Update- OTA
Audio
- Drivers- 40mm Titanium coated
- Impedance – 24 Ω
- Frequency Response – 20Hz – 22kHz
- Sensitivity – 102 dB/mW @1kHz when connected via a cable with the headset off. 105 dB/mW @1 kHz when connected via a cable with the headset on
- Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) – Passive wired <0.2% Active <1% @1kHz
- Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) – at 1kHz Full Scale – 74 db
- Wi-Fi – 24bit /96kHz lossless
- Microphones – 12 [8 digital 4 analog]
