The NuraTrue Pros are my new favourite wireless earbuds. So much so that I’ve not reached for my other casual-listening headphones since unboxing them. Why? It’s simple – they just sound far better than the rest: rich, deep, detailed, and exciting.
There’s a very good reason for this – they’re built with the same sound personalisation technology found in the Australian brand’s flagship Nuraphone headphones. The Nuraphones were met with immense praise upon their release in 2017, being the first pair of ‘phones to sport personalised sound. Plus, being wireless and equipped with ANC helped cement them as a favourite among music lovers. Nura is again breaking new ground with the NuraTrue Pro – the first pair of wireless earbuds with lossless audio and personalised sound.
At £299, the NuraTrue Pros ask slightly more from your wallet than other major brands, such as Apple’s AirPods Pro 2, Sony’s WF-1000XM4 and Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 3. But that also makes them £50 less than the Nuraphone. So why are they worth the high price tag?
Unboxing pro
As you’d expect for wireless buds, the box contains a charging case, the NuraTrue Pro buds, a USB-C charging cable, and different size ear tips and wing adjustments to ensure the right fit.
NuraTrue Pro’s aesthetic seemed strange to me at first – flat, round discs that are slightly bigger than the competition. After a few trips out with them, though, I found that the design made it a breeze to deploy ANC and pause, play and skip the music. It also makes for a secure fit – always a key consideration when you’re talking about expensive but easily lost wireless buds.
You’ll get eight hours of playback on the buds on a single charge, with an additional 24 hours with the case. This is plenty of time to get through your playlists and favourite albums – I’ve charged mine a handful of times in the past month and am yet to run out of juice on my travels. That extra battery life compared to its rivals comes at a price however – the case is much bulkier than the AirPods Pro, though it’s still easy to fit in your pocket. You can charge the case wirelessly or via USB-C, which is handy.
Getting personal
You’ll need to connect the earbuds to your phone via Bluetooth and download the Nura app before you can start listening to music. You’re asked to apply an update to the NuraTrue Pro upon opening the app and, once it’s done, run through the personalisation process.
This takes less than five minutes and involves listening to a series of bloops and bleeps so that the earbuds can analyse your hearing. As you’ll know, everyone’s hearing is different – you’ll hear your favourite track slightly differently from your friends and family. Most listening devices are tailored to the average listener, but Nura’s process ensures the sound is catered to your individual ears. Nura achieves this by using Otoacoustic emissions, which helps the brand’s devices understand and adapt to your ear’s frequency response.
Once your personalised hearing profile is complete, you’ll hear Sasha’s 2016 track View2 play with a fairly flat response. You can then switch over to your profile when you wish and feel the music come alive in your ears. It’s a fantastic gimmick, but I’m dubious of the comparison – my AirPods Pro certainly don’t sound that flat without all the fancy tuning. Still, I have to admit it’s a clever way to lure you into continue using the NuraTrue Pro. Happily, you can also tweak the bass of the buds using the Immersion Mode slider, which takes effect in realtime.
For reference, my hearing profiles on the NuraTrue Pro and the Nuraphone are similar, so there’s certainly consistency in the technology.
Using the app, you can set the controls for increasing Immersion Mode and switching between ANC and Social Mode, the latter being a transparency mode that lets you hear your surroundings. The ANC does a stellar job of attenuating background noise, from train journeys to busy roads. It’s not so strong with loud voices and high-frequency content, but you should feel fairly immersed in your music in normal listening conditions.
Hearing true
If you have a compatible listening device, you can take advantage of NuraTrue Pro’s aptX Lossless codec. This transmits audio in CD quality, which few other earbuds on the market can offer. If like me, you’re primarily using the buds with an Apple device, you’re limited to Apple’s lossy AAC format for the time being, so I couldn’t really make the most of this – and unless you’re on an Android device and subscribed to a lossless streaming service like Tidal Hi-Fi or Apple Music, you likely won’t either.
Regardless, I adore the sound quality of the NuraTrue Pro. My go-to reference track, Dreams by Fleetwood Mac is a stunning listen. The low end is more pronounced than in the AirPods Pro 2, and the highs glisten far brighter. It’s actually disappointing to revert to the AirPods after listening on the NuraTrue Pro.
Home’s 2014 track Resonance is packed with warm synthesizers, deep low-end content, punchy drums, and a distinct, emotive lo-fi feel. Listening to it on any device is always a treat for me – I hear everything I need to on the AirPods Pro. Until I switch to the NuraTrue Pro. The track becomes wider, more detailed and backed with a more prominent bassline.
I may not be listening in lossless audio, but I’m thrilled by the uptick in quality when switching to the NuraTrue Pro. I can’t guarantee the difference will be dramatic on your entire music library but I found most of my music to sound more alive with the NuraTrue Pro.
Personal choice
The NuraTrue Pro would be a strong choice for anyone wanting wireless earbuds with supreme audio playback capabilities and useful features. The main barrier is the price tag, which is £70-100 more expensive than competing major brands, but you pay extra for spatial audio, lossless support, and Nura’s incredible personalised sound. However, another frustration is the lack of aptX Lossless compatibility across devices; there’s only a handful of Android devices that support the CD quality format, which is sure to change in time – though perhaps not for Apple products. Keep this in mind if lossless is important to you.
Nura says that the NuraTrue Pro offer “unrivalled audio performance,” and I’m happy to report that this claim rings true.
