Several years on the making, the Unity headphones are a product of HED Unity, a Swiss company focused on delivering an authentic sonic experience featuring the highest possible audio quality for the consumer and professional audio markets. Their first product is the world's first wireless headphones to stream lossless audio through a trademarked technology called Full-Fidelity. By leveraging the power of both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, HED Unity pioneers a new way forward in headphone design.
While there continue to be doubts that the Unity headphones do indeed stream lossless audio, wirelessly, the NAMM show allowed skeptics the opportunity to experience the sound quality for themselves. With six years of development, the headphones use Full-Fidelity, an onboard Wi-Fi functionality, that allows listeners to experience true wireless and lossless sound that supports high-resolution streaming up to 24-bit/96kHz. All is needed is to use the HED Unity Multisource Music Player Unity App as a source to access their local media server or sync with Hi-Res music services like Qobuz. Bluetooth 5 is also built into the Unity headphones, although the added layer of SBC and AAC compression disables a truly lossless stream - but at least Unity owners will be able to use their headphones outside of Wi-Fi range.
But the Unity headphones are also designed as a platform that will evolve to support spatial audio applications. With an integrated dual-core processor, for memory and storage, Unity headphones go beyond the capabilities of traditional wireless headphones. An onboard 9-axis IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) – made up of a 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer and a 3-axis compass – delivers head-tracking motion detection for an immersive listening experience. And HED Unity’s very own audio platform ensures that the listener will have access to over-the-air (OTA) software updates to help improve the experience and add functionality over time.
The headphones come with intelligent features including a companion app (available on iOS and Android) creating an unparalleled user interface where the customer can setup and update the headphones, customize EQ, connect to a Wi-Fi network for Full-Fidelity streaming and sync with partner services like Qobuz. The function button nested on the outer shell of the headphones is defaulted to toggle noise cancelling on/off, but through the app the user can reprogram the button to functions like EQ on/off and more with future updates. Unity headphones also come bundled with an adapter for wired listening if desired.
Unity’s closed back headphones, constructed of CNC sculpted aluminum alloy, raise the bar in audio industrial design while featuring 40mm, titanium-coated drivers that minimize distortion for smooth playback with a wide-range frequency response of 20Hz-22kHz. The earcups are precision milled using CNC from a single block of 6063 architectural-grade aluminum alloy and combined with a vibration-reducing, super rigid carbon fiber-infused nylon chassis. The outer aluminum design offers an incredibly strong, lightweight structure with a radiant finish.
By effectively reducing the outside noise with dense materials, HED Unity’s ANC works smarter so listeners won't feel the pressure in their ears that is common with ANC in other headphones. There are 12 microphones in total; 4 support active noise-cancelling while 8 are beamforming and background noise cancelling for calls.
Unity’s durable headband is constructed with a strong yet flexible polyamide, paired with height-adjustable ear cups, to offer a perfect fit that evenly distributes the weight across the entire head to minimize the need for excessive clamping around the ears. With memory foam ear pads that feature a cooling gel and velvety-soft microfiber, the Unity headphones can be worn for hours. The lithium-ion battery can be charged to 100% within an hour and a half and will last for 8 hours of Bluetooth streaming or 6 hours of Hi-Res Wi-Fi Streaming.
www.getunity.com
