New Products

You think you’ve seen it all in the ever-bustling category of wireless headphones, but here’s something new: over-ear ’phones designed for listening to high-resolution music over Wi-Fi.

Unveiled in April at the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show in Anaheim, CA, the Unity wireless headphones from Switzerland’s HED Technologies are built around a proprietary “Full-Fidelity” standard that supports lossless streaming at resolutions up to 24 bits/96 kHz.

The Unity headphones incorporate a dual-core processor and a nine-axis head-tracking motion sensor for immersive listening plus an array of 12 microphones that support active noise cancellation and “crystal-clear” calling.

A companion iOS/Android app (the Unity Multisource Music Player) provides access to the Qobuz, Spotify, and SoundCloud streaming services or you can stream FLAC files from a DLNA/UPnP personal storage device; the app also includes an equalizer offering presets and the ability to create your own custom response curve.

Rated battery life is 6-8 hours but the company says it is always working to extend streaming time and deliver improvements via software updates. It takes 90 minutes to reach full charge but 6 minutes gets you an hour of playback in a pinch.

Playback is controlled by buttons on the headphone’s outer shell, one of which can be programmed to provide quick access to the feature of your choice, and there is a minijack input for use with wired audio sources.

For comfort and flexibility, the Unity’s headband is made of “strong yet flexible polyamide” and connects to earcups fitted with memory foam-plus-cooling gel earpads covered in a velvet-like microfiber. The cups, each of which houses a 1.5-inch (40mm) titanium-coated driver, are precision-milled from a block of 6063 architectural-grade aluminum alloy combined with a carbon-fiber-infused nylon chassis to reduce vibration and can be adjusted up or down to distribute weight evenly across your head. The outer aluminum layer boasts an elegant anodized finish that stays cool to the touch.

The Unity headphones sell for $2,199 and come with a carrying case. For more information, click here.