They won’t fit into a big budget, but if you’re an audiophile who’s been longing for a set of wireless headphones that can deliver high-resolution, lossless audio, the Hed Unity is the first product to fulfill your wish. The headphones use Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth and can store high-res music within its built-in memory for access to those high-res songs even when you’re not at home on your Wi-Fi network. The price for this ultimate level of wireless listening? $2,199, and you can order them starting April 12 at getunity.com.
Hed
Unity is the first set of headphones from Heda, a Swiss audio company. The company calls Unity’s Wi-Fi-based audio Full-Fidelity. “We believe that everyone should be able to listen to audiophile-quality sound, anytime, anywhere, simply and without compromise,” said Tim Degraye, co-founder of HED Unity in a press release. “It’s time to demystify the process. Once you hear the difference, there’s no going back.”
Hed says you’ll be able to listen to high-resolution, lossless tracks up to 24-bit/96kHz over Wi-Fi, including peer-to-peer connections when a Wi-Fi access point isn’t available. Most wireless Bluetooth headphones can only support a lossy version of hi-res audio, via codecs such as LDAC, aptX HD, and aptX Adaptive, and the nature of Bluetooth connections can make it difficult to reliably maintain the bandwidth needed for true hi-res audio. Interestingly, Unity Bluetooth codec support is limited to only SBC and AAC, neither of which can handle high-resolution or lossless audio.
The launch of the Unity comes just weeks after PSB Speakers announced that they would be the first to deliver high-resolution headphones. However, PSB’s headphones aren’t scheduled to be released until 2024, and the company plans to use ultra-wideband (UWB) technology instead of Wi-Fi to deliver the necessary extra bandwidth for high-resolution audio. UWB support is far from universal on smartphones and other devices, while Wi-Fi is nearly ubiquitous.
At launch, you’ll be able to stream high-res audio directly from Qobuz, and non-high-res support includes Soundcloud and Spotify. Tidal support is coming, according to the company, but no word yet on Amazon Music or Apple Music.
With Unity headphones, you can use Hed’s Multisource Music Player within the Unity app for iOS and Android. This gives you access to catalogs and lets you sync existing favorites across multiple music streaming provider accounts or connect directly to your local media server via DLNA or UPnP network protocols.
If you want to take your music with you, Unity’s 16GB of built-in storage is enough for around 100-267 tracks encoded as lossless FLAC at 24-bit/96kHz, depending on length, or around 600 lossless CD-quality tracks.
Hed
Strangely, despite offering playback compatibility with high-resolution audio formats, the headphones themselves are not Hi-Res certified by the Audio Society of Japan as they do not meet that organization’s requirements for high-frequency playback up to 40kHz. Unity’s frequency response is from 20Hz to 22kHz.
The Unity is also an Active Noise Canceling (ANC) headphone and has a massive array of 12 microphones. According to Hed, four of those microphones support ANC, while the other eight provide beamforming and background noise cancellation for phone calls. By using dense materials that reduce external noise, the ANC may not produce the same sense of pressure that is common on other ANC headphones.
Hed also loaded Unity with a 9-axis motion sensor (accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer) that will be used for head tracking and augmented reality. These features (plus Hed’d’s own version of surround sound) won’t be available at launch, but the company says they’ll be rolling them out with future firmware updates.
Hed
While the Unity’s design won’t appeal to everyone, Hed didn’t skimp on the materials — as you’d expect for a $2,199 set of headphones. The earphones are constructed from a single block of architectural grade aluminum alloy and are combined with a carbon fiber nylon housing that reduces vibration. Hed claims this design offers a strong, lightweight structure with a glossy finish.
Unity’s battery charges quickly — from empty to 100% in 1.5 hours — but it doesn’t last long. The company says you can only expect between six and eight hours of Bluetooth streaming or Hi-Res Wi-Fi streaming.
Hed
As exciting as it is to finally have the option of listening to hi-res lossless audio on wireless headphones, the price of the Hed Unity is sure to give many people pause. At $2,199, they’re one of the (if not the most expensive) wireless headphones you can buy.
Are they worth it? We’ll let you know if we get a chance to run them through their full review.
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Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn