Nura / Denon PerL Headphones Owners & Discussion Thread

[Benje]

Further to my note above.

 

Did a listening session with my wife, who loves music more than I do.

She has always preferred more treble adjustment when she listens to music.  Sounds thin to me.

I listen to the nuraloops with her settings set for her ears, and there it is - the higher treble balance.

Her ears are just different to mine.

 

I am now starting to question whether I should care about the opinion of others on the quality of speakers.

I still do, but now I appreciate how different what I hear is from what they may hear.

Quality sound is quality sound, so that is good.  But whether the balance of sound/bass/treble/mids is right will depend on the individual's ears.  Definitely a case of 'your mileage may vary'.

Of course, my ears are 61 years old, and so my opinion might not apply equally to someone not yet 30 with better hearing.

 

Would I take the opinion of someone with red/green colour blindness on whether a piece of art had the right colours?  No. 

But I probably don't know that what they see is different to what I see.

 

I am impressed with the technology in such a small package. I do like technology though.

 

If any SA friends here on SNA want to see/try, send me a message (sms or IM).

I'll be delighted to share 20 minutes with you and to undertake your own personal hearing adjustment.

Edited May 18, 2020 by Benje

[Hytram]

Ordered mine on Monday afternoon, arrived at work Thursday, picked them up today and just got them going.. 

 

Social mode, wow that's going to be a game changer.. 

 

So simple to turn social mode on and off, volume up and down and pause and play. 

 

As for sound, they sound great but I don't really have anything highend headphone wise to compare them too, all my head phone listening is in crappy environments, I have never listened to headphones for critical listening at home.

 

Testing has only been with my S9+ and Spotify, and that's all they will probably ever get use for except when on a plane. 

 

The thing that caught me out is the Audio setting on the phone, I had profiles set up for adapt sound and eq on, this seem to translate with the testing and playing, I turned all that off and recalibrated and got a different shape on the app. 

 

Happy so far, let's see how they work in a data centre on Monday 

[Monk]

22 minutes ago, Hytram said:

Ordered mine on Monday afternoon, arrived at work Thursday, picked them up today and just got them going.. 

 

 

I had to look up my order number for support.  Turns out I received them a year to the day exactly after I ordered them.  

 

[Guest]

Mine were sold on Gumtree the day after I received mine. 
 

Basically, everything about them from sound to fitment I hated. 
Ive used the Nuraphone and loved them for so long that the loops were far behind. Different headphones I know, but when I put on my AirPods Pro directly after wearing the Loops and much prefer the AirPods, well the loops had to go. That bloody cable behind your head was the worst thing about them. 
They were sold and never looked back. 
personally, I think they should have stuck with making an improved Nuraphone Mk2 instead of making a behind the times wired canal phone. 

Edited May 30, 2020 by Sime

[Hytram]

I am giving mine another couple of days, getting better with the fitment, but it takes so much experimentation. 

 

The cable at the rear annoyed me the first day, few days later didn't know it was there, people with long hair might have a problem 

 

I have to have a cable at the rear as I hang them around my neck while not in use, I would lose airpods in a instant 

 

Happy with the sound and ANC in data centres but people are complaining they can't hear me in calls, 

 

Some great positives with these headphones... Some major negatives too

[Benje]

I went and saw a fellow SNA'er yesterday, and had the Nuraloops in the car.

 

So, we did a test with his ears - not a perfect test as the seal wasn't great and his 2 year-old daughter was singing at the same time.  Anyway, the profile was fascinating.  He isn't a young dad, so his hearing reflected his age.  This was a very quick session, so don't read too much into this.

 

His stereo system is genuinely hi-fi (well known to many here in SA and on SNA) and some here find the bass a little strong (I don't).  So, I listened to my nuraloops with his profile and what do I hear - a strong bass, particularly the left channel. Stronger than my profile needs.

 

Now, if I could just visit @Kensell21 and check his profile, we will probably complete the story.

I am certainly understanding why our systems might sound different to each of us that are middle-aged.  Our hearing isn't as good as our opinions are.

 

Benje

[Jovan.s1987]

Given in to curiosity & ordered a pair of Nuraloops last Thursday, expected to arrive tomorrow. Main thing that's gotten me to do it has been seeing people post they have managed to fit Comply Foam tips onto them. Will report my thoughts after some listening.

[Hytram]

On 14/06/2020 at 6:07 PM, Jovan.s1987 said:

 Main thing that's gotten me to do it has been seeing people post they have managed to fit Comply Foam tips onto them. Will report my thoughts after some listening.

I never though of that! 

 

Been having issues with getting them to stay in, had to turn off the 'buttons' because I was touching them so often I was constantly Turing the social mode and music on and off.. 

 

So as soon as I got home I removed the rubbers off my old Panasonic inner earphones (could wear those Melbourne > London) and they fitted straight on and straight in my ears.. 

 

Did a recalibrate, shock, completely different.. 

 

The orginals are very shallow, the aftermarket are quite deep, my thinking is because the Nuraloops measure the shape of your inner ear, deeper plugs are going to affect that testing 

 

But the biggest change was swapping the wax screens, mine were totally covered in ear funk.. 

 

Must clean the ears every morning.. 

 

The deeper aftermarket rubbers might help the lessening of build up of wax on the screens too

 

 

Original profile when I first got them 

 

With the Panasonic tips

Once I replaced the ear wax screens with the Panasonic tips

 

On a side not, the mic quality in loud environments seems to be an known issue of the sound processing take a bit time to kick in, people seem to be able to hear me well with it actually kicks in

 

Here is the email I got from Nura this week regarding the issues

Quote

Hi

 

My previous email was an update on the shipping status of your NuraLoop and I hope you have been enjoying your experience since receiving them. However, if, like a portion of our customers you have experienced some issues, I would like to assure you that we are aware of them and are working toward some resolutions.

 

Our top priorities include:

 

Improving automatic on/off function

 

On occasion, the NuraLoop enters deep sleep mode while still in use and this can result in difficulty in turning them on again. We believe we can make improvements to this and a potential solution may be the addition of a manual on/off mode.

 

Voice calls

 

On occasion the voice processing software does not initialise correctly which results in your voice sounding quiet or muddy to the other person on the call. We will be looking to improve this.

 

TouchDials

 

When the earbud is not sitting well in the ear the TouchDial functionality is disabled. We are confident the majority of these issues can be corrected with a relatively simple firmware update.

 

Sealing the ear

 

We will look at improving the current app settings for fit detection so that the personalisation process is easier for customers to complete.

 

Our team of engineers and developers are dedicated to fixing these issues and we aim to have a software update available in 4-6 weeks. During this time, our 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee will be extended to 60 days to accommodate for the resolution of reported issues

 

If you do run into problems, we want to reassure you that every enquiry to Customer Service is handled by a Nura team member located in Melbourne, London or L.A. All know the products in detail and give time and care to each enquiry.

Our standard response time is 24 hours but currently, we are responding within three days due to a larger number of enquiries than we anticipated. We expect to get back to a reasonable response time within a couple of weeks. Please be patient while we work through this as customer care is very important to us.

 

We are also on track with the ‘NuraLoop Replacement Cable Program’ and we expect deliveries on the replacement cable to begin from June 15th. We will be in touch nearer the time with your tracking number and instructions.

 

I’d like to thank you again for being one of our valued customers. I know this journey has been a long one for many of you; thank you for being a part of it. The Nura team is fully focused on ensuring the NuraLoop is the best it can be and you have the best experience possible.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Dr. Luke Campbell

 

Edited June 15, 2020 by Hytram

[Guest]

No regrets selling mine the next day, went back to work, popped on the Nuraphones and moved on. Love them. 

[Hytram]

Can't do over the ear in the environments I work in or in a plane... 

 

Each to their own. 

[Jovan.s1987]

Have had a few days of listening with them now. Firstly, much prefer the fit with foam tips. I'm currently using T-400 isolation with wax guard from Comply, which I usually use on my Sony Wf-1000xm3. I managed to setup another hearing profile with the foam tips & the results came back a little different to the stock tips, but not major. I have ordered another set of foam tips, without wax guard, as I've read a fair bit the wax guard can muffle the response.

 

Sound quality wise, there is a fullness in the sound which I can't recall hearing in any other in-ear phones before, that including my Sony true wireless, Shure 425's & Westone W30's. Guessing it's the way Nura have implemented the bass response, but whatever it is, it's pretty damn good. 

 

Still not sure about the cable, sometimes it annoys me, others I don't notice it's there.

 

Just on the Comply tips, I ordered T-400 isolation without wax guard from minidisc, I was notified Comply Australia are discontinuing the numbered series of tips - I'm not sure what the solution will be. In any case, I'm trying out the T-200 tips as that's what they had available.

[Monk]

So I got a working pair this week, or was it last week?  I have no idea these day with working from home, every day is the same.  Whatever.  Haven't listened to them much, but they sound okay.  Not going to test the noise cancelling for a bit probably, but it does seem quieter i guess.  Still, should be useful if I ever go back to having to commute to work.

[Hytram]

new FW released today
 

I have been using these almost everyday for work since I have got them, bit of a love hate relationship with them

(when they do work, they are great for music and call in high noise environments) 

to get them to point where I don't throw them in the bin is I had to turn off all functions of pressing the buttons, replace the rubber tips with generic tips from some off headphones and they seemed to work ok except turning off for no reason

hopefully with the new FW they will work closer to what they were originally designed to do 

 

Quote

NURALOOP FIRMWARE UPDATE

Hello Marty, The NuraLoop firmware is ready for download. This update will address your most reported issues and improve the functionality of your NuraLoop. How to Update Your NuraLoop Step 1 Ensure your NuraLoop has at least 30% charge, the update will take around 20 minutes to complete. Step 2 Update your app via the iOS App Store (Apple) or Google Play Store (Android). Step 3 Connect your smartphone and NuraLoop via Bluetooth. Step 4 Open the Nura app to view instructions on how to complete the update and follow the prompts. For more assistance, you can visit our support page here What The Update Includes Manual On/Off Mode (recommended) –– New setting to manually turn your NuraLoop on/off. Double Tap Functions –– Further customise your TouchDials with double tap. Voice Calls –– Improved reliability and quality of voice calls. Sealing The Ear –– Improved fit detection for easier calibration. Plus –– Additional bug fixes, including improved analog latency experienced by musicians. Thank you for your patience and support. Your feedback is always valued, and we look forward to hearing about your improved experience of your NuraLoop. Sincerely, Dr. Luke Campbell

 

[p.laver]

Do these headphones still have the mic issue when using WIN10

[Monk]

I assume it's bluetooth related, but i quite often, but not always, have trouble with the sound cutting out or stuttering when I've got my phone in my front jeans pocket.  As soon as I take it out, the sound is normal.  That's a bit annoying.

[Hytram]

Had the a similar issue when the screen went off

 

This fixed it

 

https://eu.community.samsung.com/t5/galaxy-s10e-s10-s10-s10-5g/bluetooth-cuts-off-as-soon-as-device-locks/td-p/985172#:~:text=It's probably the 'Adaptive battery,hopefully it works for you.

[gator2310]

I received my Nuraloops yesterday. I knew when I bought them that Nura is really doing something different - and to be honest I was more interested in how the personalised sound would deal with Middle aged ears, tinnitus and a lifetime of doing gigs.

I know a couple of people with the larger Nuraphones and was tempted to go there after really positive reviews from both, but I have really great on-ears already - and was looking for something more portable - alhtough I'll admit that I was expecting something of the 'wow' factor that my friends had expressed in regard to the Nuraphones.

 

 

The setup took a little while as there was a firmware update that seemed to stall a couple of times before restarting everything and reloading the app.

Everything works fine - the touchdials very sensitive and adjusting the fit results in turning things on and off which is a bit annoying. Once I got the fit right and ran the hearing 'fit test' the ambient environment changed - and the importance of the seal becomes apparent. I have a little hearing loss in one ear and some HF loss in both.

 

Firstly with the phone - and everything (ANC, Immersion and personalised settings) on.  I've never been a huge fan of the audio from my iPhone. iTunes and my Hi Res player app re- compress  everything - even with decent on-ear phones. Given that the Nuras have profiled my hearing - it was a mixed bag of deep low end and rather processed sounding highs.

Acoustic instruments have never sounded that convincing through the iPhone - so just to A/B I plugged the Nura analog cable into my old iPod classic and the piano at the beginning of  Rickie Lee Jones 'Pirates"  sounded more organic than the iPhone. The Nura's highs and high mids were less mechanical through the iPod - and listening to a few more tunes I realised that the Nuras - like most in- ear buds are sensitive to any type of compression - in my personalised mode at least.

I tend to do a lot of hifi listening with vinyl so Im super critical of digital audio at the best of times.

Acoustic guitar in the middle range on its own sounded really present - but the bass and lower mids  (with immersion at about 60%) and overall ambience was something unique from other headphones I have tried. Interestingly my tinnitus was noticeably more understated while the Nuraloops were on.

.

The audio improved again when listening from my iPad - milder artifacts in the high end but mids (female vocal and acoustic guitar) were warmer and more forward in the mix.

 

As a final test I used them to watch Bladerunner 2049 on Blu Ray - and they captured all of the sonics really well. Most of the soundtrack is electronic - and the Nuras sounded 'at home' with these textures and dynamics - it was very immersive.

 

I have yet to try them with the Hi Res audio stuff I have which always sounds terrific through speakers - it will be interesting.

Fit is good  - the Nuraloops stay stable and quiet while I moved around and went for a walk. The ANC is fantastic. They seem very well built too.

 

As for 'wow?' not exactly. I found the fit and comfort fine. Yes the noise cancelling is terrific, Bluetooth and interface very good and setting up once the update completed was straight forward.. The immersion setting not a typical bass enhancer -  more of a unique ambient and deep bass response that I personally havent heard from in-ear buds before.

 

The overall SQ is a work in progress perhaps.  I guess Nura are doing something else with these -as I didnt experience fatigue from listening to them - but they didnt transform the listening experience in every aspect either and the top end seemed out of whack with the quality of other frequencies - but then again my hearing in HF is definitely on the wane..Having read how other users have adapted other headphone tips - this may well be a factor too - and something to experiment with.

I can see how the subscription idea could be really good - as they continue to develop this technology and if one is up for paying for that journey. The Nuraloops process electronic sound very well but for me the timbre of acoustic instruments especially vocal, strings, piano and cymbals and the upper end of the acoustic guitar were inconsistent -  and very dependent on the recording and degree of compression.

 

[Hytram]

2 hours ago, gator2310 said:

the touchdials very sensitive and adjusting the fit results in turning things on and off which is a bit annoying. 

 

 

Turn off all single tap functions and only use double tap.. 

 

It's the only thing that saved me from throwing them in the bin.. 

 

They work quite well with the new FW. 

[Monk]

Lost an eartip while transporting them a while back which was annoying, so I had to use a small size in one ear which didn't really fit properly and gave me 'you don't have a good ear fit please adjust' message fairly regularly and would stop the music.  Finally got jack of that and got a set of SpinFit tips the other day for a replacement.  Winner winner chicken dinner.  Seem to fit better than the original tips, and I've got no problems wearing glasses again.  (most likely due to incorrect tip size on one ear, but even so, it's better on both ears)  Sounds alright.

Edited February 2, 2021 by Monk

[Hytram]

After 11 months and almost week daily use they decided to pack it in. 

 

Unresponsive, do the couple different resets you can do with the charge lead would occasionally bring them back to life but charging them would make the right ear piece red hot. 

 

A few emails back and forth to support and they are sending me a brand new pair. 

 

They mark the S/N of the old ones as faulty so they can't be used, but they are broken anyway. I might pull them apart to see what is inside. 

 

Had 3 different people answer the support emails, all super friendly and a bit of humour thrown in. 

 

Very happy with the service. 

 

I am actually really happy with these now for a headphone/mic for my phone that is mainly used in noisy environments. 

 

As for critical listening.. Dunno, I must say that I don't have anything to compare them with for that. 

Edited April 28, 2021 by Hytram

[gator62]

A year on after that first review under my old username (which seemed to die in cyberspace) my nuraloops  are still going strong with almost constant use. I've had the chance to compare them to a couple of other noise cancelling in-ears and from the NC perspective and in comparison the nuras rely heavily on the ear fit - because the tech is hugely sensitive to it and the NC seems dependent on it.

 

I couldnt get the exact fit with what was included despite there being 3 different sizes (s,m,l) -but persevered with the mediums for months. I ended up getting comply S-400's (large) which are a different design and  the Nura software didnt like, but at least they stayed in. 

I havent ever been fully convinced of the SQ of the Nuraloops for music so they are more a convenience for me as most of my music listening is with on ears or speakers. The Nura's are used mainly for audiobooks while out walking, working on the laptop , watching movies on the iPad and doing the garden or washing up etc. they perform best with film and TV soundtracks to my ears with full range and separation which isnt fatiguing.

The battery life has deteriorated which is pretty stock standard for these things but still work for up to about 4-5 hours on a charge. 

I know there has been a bit of critique of the build quality but I have to say mine have been in daily use - often outdoors and havent failed me yet.

 

 

[Benje]

I love my nuraloops because of their customised adaptation to my hearing frequency capability.  As a 62 year old, my high frequency hearing is diminishing. However, I use them infrequently so take my recommendation with a grain of salt.

 

I have problems with the ear fit with one ear, the other is nice and tight.

I'd love to hear what others have done to improve the ear fit. (pun not intended re 'hear')

Changing the size of ear piece with that supplied by Nura hasn't provided a solution.

 

Benje

[Hytram]

I have no idea what they have changed, but I couldn't get my first pair to fit and ended using the ear rubbers from a set of generic Samsung headphones that came with one of my phones, they worked well 

 

With my second pair the medium rubbers fit and work fine.. 

[Andre28]

My wife won a pair of these things. I dont understand how they claim to personalise / tailor the sound, without asking for any feedback from you? It just plays some tones and then a few minutes later creates a sound profile for you? I didnt particularly like what it came up with. Does anyone know what the deal with these things is?

[Guest]

4 years later, still use these daily at work, own 2 pairs actually and still have not heard a more enjoyable set of Bluetooth headphones, and I’ve been trying to replace them (mainly cause of a strange fitment issue) but nothing I’ve heard yet come even close.