They won’t fit a lot of budgets, but if you’re an audiophile who has long wished for a set of wireless headphones that can deliver truly lossless, hi-res audio, the Hed Unity are the first product that can grant your wish. The over-ear cans use Wi-Fi as well as Bluetooth and can store hi-res music within their onboard storage for access to those hi-res tracks even when you’re not at home on your Wi-Fi network. The price for this ultimate level of wire-free listening? $2,199 and you can order them starting April 12 at getunity.com.
Hed
The Unity is the first set of headphones from Hed, a Swiss audio company. The company calls the Unity’s Wi-Fi-based audio Full-Fidelity. “We believe that everyone should be able to listen to audiophile quality audio, whenever and wherever, 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 it’s impossible to go back.”
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Hed says you’ll be able to listen to lossless hi-res tracks at up to 24-bit/96kHz via 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 like LDAC, aptX HD, and aptX Adaptive, and because of the nature of Bluetooth connections, it can be hard to reliably maintain the bandwidth needed for truly hi-res audio. Curiously, the Unity Bluetooth codec support is limited to just SBC and AAC, neither of which can handle hi-res or lossless audio.
The Unity launch comes just a few weeks after PSB Speakers announced that it would be the first to deliver hi-res capable headphones. However, PSB’s headphones aren’t planned for release until 2024, and the company plans to use ultrawideband (UWB) technology instead of Wi-Fi to deliver the extra bandwidth hi-res audio requires. UWB support is far from universal on smartphones and other devices, whereas Wi-Fi is nearly ubiquitous.
At launch, you’ll be able to stream hi-res audio directly from Qobuz, and non-hi-res support includes both Soundcloud and Spotify. Tidal support is coming, according to the company but no word yet on Amazon Music or Apple Music.
Along with the Unity headphones, you can use Hed’s Multisource Music Player inside the Unity app for iOS and Android. This gives you access to catalogs and lets you sync existing favorites within multiple music streaming provider accounts or connect directly to your local media server over DLNA or UPnP network protocols.
If you want to take your music to go, the Unity’s onboard 16GB of storage is enough for about 100-267 songs that have been encoded as lossless FLAC at 24-bit/96kHz, depending on length, or about 600 CD-quality lossless tracks.
Hed
Strangely, despite offering playback compatibility with hi-res audio formats, the headphones themselves are not hi-res certified by the Japan Audio Society because they don’t meet that organization’s requirements for high-frequency reproduction at up to 40kHz. The Unity’s claimed frequency response is 20Hz to 22kHz.
The Unity are also active noise canceling (ANC) headphones and sport a huge array of 12 microphones. According to Hed, four of those mics support ANC, while the other eight are beamforming and background noise canceling for phone calls. By using dense materials that reduce the outside noise, the ANC may not produce the same sensation of pressure that can be common on other ANC headphones.
Hed has also loaded the Unity with a 9-axis motion sensor (accelerometer, gyro, magnetometer) which will be used for head tracking and augmented reality. At launch, these features (plus Hed’d own version of spatial audio) won’t be available, but the company says it will roll them out with future firmware updates.
Hed
Though the Unity’s design won’t strike everyone as beautiful, Hed hasn’t spared any expense on the materials — as you would expect for a $2,199 set of headphones. The ear cups are milled from a single block of architectural-grade aluminum alloy and combined with a vibration-reducing, carbon fiber-infused nylon chassis. Hed claims this design offers a strong, lightweight structure with a radiant finish.
The Unity’s battery charges quickly — from empty to 100% in 1.5 hours — but it doesn’t last very long. The company says you 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 to listen to lossless, hi-res audio on a wireless set of headphones, the price of the Hed Unity is bound to give many folks pause. At $2,199, they’re one of (if not the most) expensive wireless headphones you can buy.
Are they worth it? If we get an opportunity to put them through their paces in a full review, we’ll let you know.
MQair is the new hi-res Bluetooth audio codec for fans of MQA
Just when you thought it was safe to step back into the turbulent waters of Bluetooth audio, we have yet another Bluetooth codec to consider. In addition to SBC, AAC, LDAC, and the constantly expanding family of aptX codecs, you can now add MQair (em-kyoo-air).
MQair (known also by its technical label, SCL6) is the latest technology from MQA, the company founded by British audio pioneer Bob Stuart of Meridian Audio fame, and it has just been granted permission by the Japan Audio Society (JAS) to use the society's Hi-Res Audio Wireless logo. It's the third Bluetooth codec to receive the certification, the other two being LDAC and LHDC.
Audio-Technica’s $2,700 wooden wireless headphones do something no other headphones can do
Audio-Technica (A-T) has been doing some wild things in honor of its 60th anniversary, like creating a $9,000 phono cartridge, and bringing back its quirky Sound Burger portable record player from the 80s. But those are just fun frivolities. The really impressive birthday gift that this 60-year-old is sharing with the world is the ATH-WB2022, a set of wooden, wireless headphones that claim to be the very first to have built-in balanced stereo.
I know, you may be scratching your head, wondering how this feature can possibly justify an insane $2,700 price tag, but audiophiles are going to be salivating right about now.
Focal’s first wireless headphones promise ANC and hi-fi sound for $799
Well-heeled audiophiles now have a new choice when it comes to wireless headphones. Focal, the French audio icon known for its superb but pricey wired headphones, has released its first-ever Bluetooth, noise-canceling headphones, the $799 Focal Bathys. The black and silver cans are available starting October 4 at a limited selection of retailers.
The Bathys take their name from the word bathyscaphe, a specialized submarine capable of extremely deep dives, which, Focal says, is the embodiment of absolute silence and calm. Focal fans will find plenty of familiar touches, like the Bathys' deeply padded, leather-wrapped ear cushions and headband, a set of perforated earcup grilles that use Focal's distinct multi-circle pattern, and high-quality materials like aluminum and magnesium.
