Headphones with energetic noise cancelling (ANC) are nothing new. They embody microphones that pattern the ambient noise round you after which reproduce that sound after shifting its part by 180 levels and mixing it with the unique. The two out-of-phase sounds cancel one another out, lowering the extent that reaches your ears. This works finest on steady-state, low-frequency sounds, such because the fixed din of engines inside an airplane.
The Audeara A-01 is simply such a headphone, and it provides a really attention-grabbing further profit—customized equalization tailor-made to your particular listening to profile. It’s an excellent thought, and it really works pretty properly, a minimum of with ANC turned on.
Features
The Audeara A-01 is a circumaural (over-ear) headphone that options energetic noise cancelling. In addition, the built-in microphone used for ANC additionally enables you to discuss on a linked cellphone through the headphones.
Each closed-back earcup features a 40mm Mylar driver, and the required frequency response extends from 20Hz to 20kHz (no tolerance given). The 3.5mm audio enter presents an impedance of 32 ohms.
The energy swap is on the backside of the left earcup. Below it’s a 3.5mm analog-audio enter, whereas the central button above it controls play/pause, skip ahead/again, reply/cling up cellphone name, and Bluetooth pairing; the flanking buttons enhance and reduce the quantity. The ANC on/off swap is on the backside of the precise earcup, together with the micro USB port (not seen right here) for charging the battery.
The main enter, nonetheless, is Bluetooth—on this case, model 4.2. It helps the SBC, aptX, and cVc codecs and the A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, and HSP profiles. Audeara is engaged on including the aptX LL and HD codecs (low latency and excessive definition respectively), which can be rolled out in a firmware replace.
All of that’s pretty commonplace fare for ANC Bluetooth headphones. But the A-01 additionally provides one distinctive function. The companion Audeara app, which is freely out there for Android and iOS units, measures your particular person listening to profile and makes use of it to program the headphones with an equalization curve tailor-made to that profile. Theoretically, this allows you to hear extra of the music with out having to show it up. You may even retailer a number of profiles for your loved ones and pals. How cool is that?
Scott Wilkinson / IDGThe listening to check consists of setting the hardly audible stage of repeating beeps at every frequency for every ear (left, middle). Once you declare the check full, the app shows your audiogram (proper). Tap on “Experience Audeara” to add your profile to the headphones.
The A-01 is powered by a chargeable 1000mAh battery. Happily, the principle energy and ANC may be turned on and off independently, letting you maximize battery life. With ANC solely—and utilizing the 3.5mm enter—the battery is specified to last as long as 65 hours. If you additionally activate Bluetooth and the Audeara EQ by turning on the principle energy, the battery ought to last as long as 35 hours. Turning off ANC whereas preserving the principle energy on will increase the battery life as much as 45 hours.
The included charging cable plugs right into a microUSB port on the backside of the precise earcup. It takes about six hours to completely cost the battery from a totally drained state.
Another cool function is Audeara’s elective BT-01 Bluetooth transceiver ($99, or $40 if you happen to purchase it with the A-01). This little gizmo accepts audio from an optical TosLink cable or analog 3.5mm cable and transmits the sign to the A-01 through Bluetooth. It additionally comes with an adaptor with two RCA plugs on one finish and a 3.5mm connector on the opposite finish for units with RCA outputs. It’s nice for individuals who need to take heed to their TV or older stereo wirelessly on the headphones.
In addition, the BT-01 can work in the other way—it may well settle for audio through Bluetooth and ship it to non-Bluetooth gear through digital-optical or analog cables from its outputs. Very cool!
Scott Wilkinson / IDGThe elective BT-01 Bluetooth transceiver enables you to join the output from a TV or different audio gear and ship that sign wirelessly to the A-01. Interestingly, it may well additionally obtain Bluetooth indicators and convert them to bodily connections. A helpful little gizmo!
The headphone feels very sturdy and substantial, although the extenders that pull out of the scarf really feel considerably tough of their motion. In addition, it’s a bit small for my admittedly massive head. I had to make use of the utmost extension of the scarf, and the earcups felt fairly tightly squeezed in opposition to my head. On the plus facet, this makes for a great seal, which is vital for sound high quality, noise isolation, and acquiring a great end result from the app’s listening to check.
User interface and listening to check
The onboard controls embody a primary energy swap on the backside of the left earcup and an ANC on/off swap on the underside of the precise earcup, every with a tiny LED to point its standing. The solely different controls are three small buttons on the again of the left earcup. The central button is multifunction: play/pause music and reply/cling up cellphone name with a single faucet, skip ahead with a double faucet, skip again with a triple faucet, enter Bluetooth pairing mode with an extended maintain. The flanking buttons enhance and reduce the quantity.
After pairing the A-01 with my iPhone XS, I downloaded the Audeara app and ran the listening to check. There are three checks to select from: Standard (eight frequencies), High Detail (16 frequencies), and Ultimate Precision (32 frequencies). Standard and High Detail check frequencies from 100Hz to 16kHz, whereas Ultimate Precision extends from 100Hz to 20kHz. The course of begins with a brief tutorial on methods to carry out the check, which is easy but informative.
Once the check begins, the app performs repeating beeps in every ear at totally different frequencies, and also you alter the quantity of the beeps at every frequency till you’ll be able to simply barely hear them. This requires a quiet surroundings in order that extraneous noise doesn’t intrude with the check.
AudearaHere you’ll be able to see instance audiograms for the three ranges of precision.
The check show seems like a graphic EQ. You can drag the slider for every frequency up and down, however the quantity doesn’t change till you’re taking your finger off the slider. You also can faucet a button labeled “Can Hear” if you happen to can hear the beeps, which lowers the quantity of the chosen frequency. If you’ll be able to’t hear the beeps, you faucet the button labeled “Can’t Hear,” which raises the quantity. When you’ll be able to barely hear the beeps at a specific frequency, you faucet the button labeled “Barely Audible,” which strikes on to the subsequent frequency. You also can choose the frequency to regulate by tapping on its slider.
I used to be involved that the cellphone’s quantity setting would have an effect on the check, but it surely doesn’t. The quantity management is disabled throughout the check, so the degrees you hear are utterly constant.
I discovered a couple of quirks on this course of. For one factor, the change in quantity as you faucet the Can Hear and Can’t Hear buttons isn’t instantaneous; it takes a second to catch up, which was complicated at first. Also, holding these buttons doesn’t trigger the slider to scroll as I anticipated.
As I used to be enjoying with the check, I introduced some sliders all the best way to the underside and high of their vary. When I attempted to push a slider under its minimal worth, it merely stayed there. But after I tried to push a slider above its most worth, the slider disappeared and the app jumped to the subsequent frequency. An “X” appeared over the lacking frequency, and tapping that introduced the slider again to its most worth. That looks like very odd habits; I want it might merely cease on the high and never reply to makes an attempt to extend it additional, simply because it does on the low finish of the slider’s vary.
When I requested Audeara about this, they replied, “The X represents ‘can’t hear’ at that particular frequency within the testing range of the headphones. This alters the way that particular frequency response is incorporated into the algorithm and ultimate sound profile.”
Once the check is completed for each ears, the app provides the chance to return and alter the outcomes. This labored high quality, besides that the app unexpectedly performed a tone very loud every now and then, which was startling. Once I used to be happy, it let me title and save the profile. I might carry out and save the check with totally different names as many instances as I wished, and they’re all related to me as a consumer. Others might do the identical and affiliate the outcomes with them individually.
Once a check is full and saved, it can’t be modified additional. If you need to alter the outcomes, you will need to carry out the entire check once more. According to Audeara, this lets you monitor your listening to over time.
Scott Wilkinson / IDGThe Audeara app’s homepage (left) enables you to begin a listening to check or choose one of many beforehand established profiles. Starting a brand new check, you’ll be able to choose three totally different ranges of precision (proper).
When the check is full, the app will present you the listening to profile of your left and proper ears; this graph is named an audiogram. You can faucet on “More Info,” which first reminds you that this isn’t a medical analysis, it then takes you to the World Health Organization’s webpage about listening to impairment.
I carried out the Standard check twice and the High Detail check as soon as, with related outcomes every time. Those outcomes comply with a roughly related contour because the skilled audiogram of my listening to that was carried out just a few months in the past, however there have been a few discrepancies. For instance, the Audeara outcomes point out that my proper ear is barely worse than my left under 1kHz, however the professional audiogram reveals the other.
Back on the hearing-profile web page, the subsequent step is to faucet the button labeled “Experience Audeara.” This uploads the EQ derived from the chosen profile to the headphones. Then, you specify the power of this system to use, from 0 to 100 p.c in 25-percent increments; 0 p.c is described as having no impact. Once the music begins enjoying, you’ll be able to return to the Audeara app and alter the power of this system, which let me examine totally different strengths on the fly.
Performance
Using the High Detail profile established by the listening to check I carried out, I began my listening with “Night by Night” from Steely Dan’s basic Pretzel Logic. As I listened, I attempted totally different strengths of impact. At 0 p.c, the sound was very boring with just about no highs in any respect. Moving as much as 25 p.c improved the sound considerably, whereas 50 p.c sounded significantly better, with fairly balanced highs. At 75 and 100 p.c, the sound was means too vibrant and brittle, with overblown highs that shrieked uncomfortably in my ears.
Returning to 50 p.c, the frequency ranges had been pretty properly balanced. The vocals sounded good, however the bass was a bit tubby and unfastened.
AudearaThe Audeara-01 felt a bit tight on the writer’s head (observe: that is not the writer).
Next up was “Good Lava” from Esperanza Spaulding’s wonderful album Emily’s D+Evolution. The vocals, guitar, and cymbals all sounded good, however once more, the bass was considerably unfastened and muddy. The similar was true on “Ladies’ Choice” by Joanna Cazden from her album Living Through History, which I engineered. As earlier than, the bass was a bit bloated, however on this case, the vocals had been considerably veiled with overemphasized sibilants.
For some large-ensemble tracks, I performed “Thunder and Blazes” as carried out by the Eastman Wind Ensemble underneath Frederick Fennell on the album Screamers, in addition to an association of Frank Zappa’s “The Dog Breath Variations” carried out by the Cincinnati Wind Symphony underneath Eugene Migliaro Corporon on their album Songs and Dances. In each instances, the tubas had been tubby (not in a cute means!) and barely overbearing, whereas the upper elements sounded barely veiled.
For an actual torture check, I listened to “The Happy Soul” as organized for tuba quartet by my father, Robert Wilkinson, and performed by the Dutch Tuba Quartet on their album Escape From Oom-Pah Land. As anticipated by now, the tubas sounded a bit unfastened and tubby.
Moving to small ensembles, I performed “Lester Leaps In” from an unreleased recording by trombonist Steve Wilson and that includes guitar legend Mundell Lowe. The guitar, piano, and cymbals had been good, although the acoustic bass was muddy, and the trombone was a bit veiled. I additionally listened to “The Fairie Round” from A Festival of Renaissance Dances by the Southern California Early Music Consort. I performed bass sackbut (renaissance trombone) on that album, and it sounded a bit bloated and unfastened, although the cornett, shawms, and tamborine sounded significantly better.
Just for grins, I created a totally flat EQ—I left all sliders at their default place, resulting in a totally flat audiogram. Interestingly, totally different power settings modified the sound; 0 p.c was nonetheless boring and lifeless, whereas 100 p.c was very overemphasized within the highs. A setting of 50 p.c sounded finest, although nonetheless a bit tubby within the bass. It appears to me {that a} flat EQ ought to sound the identical at any power setting, but it surely positively doesn’t, and I don’t know why.
I listened to every of the tracks with energetic noise cancellation on and off. As I’ve skilled with a number of different ANC headphones, the A-01 truly sounded higher with ANC on. The bass was tighter and the general sound was cleaner with much less veiling. With no music enjoying, nonetheless, I might hear some noise that disappeared after I turned ANC off. That shouldn’t be an issue in a loud surroundings.
Speaking of noisy environments, I took the A-01 to a freeway underpass in addition to a spot proper subsequent to the freeway to check the noise cancellation. The ANC labored very properly, lowering the extent of low frequencies fairly successfully.
AudearaThe A-01 packs flat in its slim case with room for a small bag of cables and different equipment.
Comparison to PSB M4U 8
After listening to how boring the sound was at 0 p.c, I puzzled if my listening to was actually that dangerous. So, I introduced out the PSB M4U 8 Bluetooth ANC headphone, which turned my reference product on this class after I reviewed it for TechHive. I breathed a sigh of reduction after I in contrast the M4U 8 to the A-01 set to 0 p.c—the PSB sounded means higher!
In specific, the PSB’s bass was a lot tighter on all tracks, and the general sound was extra pure, even when the Audeara was set to 50 p.c. By comparability, the sound of the A-01 had a barely synthetic high quality.
As I famous in my evaluate of the M4U 8, I choose its sound with ANC off, whereas I choose the sound of the A-01 with its ANC on. Still, I give the nod to the PSB underneath this situation, although the distinction is way smaller than with ANC off in each headphones. As far as noise cancellation is anxious, I assumed the 2 fashions had been roughly equal in reducing the extent of low-frequency noise.
I discovered the M4U 8 extra snug to put on, particularly for lengthy durations. As I discussed earlier, the A-01 is fairly tight on my head, which isn’t an issue with the PSB.
Bottom Line
The thought behind the Audeara A-01 is great—measure the consumer’s listening to profile and alter the headphone’s EQ to compensate for any deficits. In its present iteration, nonetheless, it falls a little bit quick. In specific, the audiogram I obtained didn’t match my professionally administered audiogram in some areas, although it did comply with a roughly related curve.
Still, the sound high quality was actually higher with the outcomes utilized to the headphone, however that’s partly as a consequence of how boring it sounds with no EQ. I discovered myself questioning if Audeara voiced the headphone’s native response to be so poor within the highs. I don’t know, however in any case, I might a lot choose having a extra impartial response if no EQ is utilized.
Setting the power to 100 p.c resulted in a buzz noticed with screeching highs, whereas 50 p.c with ANC on supplied the very best sound. Of course, that can drain the battery the quickest, however Audeara charges the battery life at as much as 35 hours with all electronics on, which is rather more than wanted to final an intercontinental flight.
By comparability, the PSB M4U 8 sounded higher, with tighter bass and a extra pure steadiness. Plus, it’s extra snug to put on for lengthy listening periods. On the opposite hand, the M4U 8 carries an inventory worth of $399, which is $100 greater than the A-01. And the Audeara sounds fairly darn good at 50-percent power with ANC on.
I applaud Audeara for developing with an ingenious product, which I hope will get extra individuals involved in studying about their listening to profile. The A-01 has nice potential to assist these with listening to deficits to extra absolutely get pleasure from music, and it goes a great distance towards fulfilling that potential. If the corporate can refine the app to supply a extra correct audiogram and scale back the slight tubbiness of the bass, will probably be a slam dunk.