Open-ear headphones have garnered a lot of interest lately because of their better-sounding acoustics, lesser pressure on the ears and the ability to listen to the outside world. All these features are very handy when traveling or commuting when you need to be aware of the ambient noises around you. That way you never miss out on any transit announcements or vehicles passing by on the road.
More commonly known as open-back headphones, the options are plenty but finding the one that keeps your music in focus without any sound leaks is important. NTT sonority wants your search to end with its nwm ONE open-ear headphones that employ a deeply researched noise suppression tech dubbed Personalized Sound Zone (PSZ) for next-gen sound.
Designer: NTT sonority
The headphones have 2-way drivers – a 35mm main driver for pristine audio in your ears and a smaller 12mm driver to cancel out unwanted ambient sounds to minimize sound leakage. Together they work to amplify the high and low frequency sounds to create a perfect balance between a high-quality audio listening cocoon and audible peripheral sounds that are important. In conjunction with the PSZ, there’s the Magic Focus Voice technology with advanced beamforming tech to accurately focus on anyone talking to you, and the Spectral Filtering to diffuse other noises that are not important.
All these technologies are developed in-house by the NTT Computer & Data Science Laboratories resulting in a next level three-sixty degree sound that’s comparable to surround sound speakers. It goes without saying that no matter how much technology is stuffed into headphones if they are not comfortable, lightweight and aesthetically pleasing, the whole purpose is defied. Thankfully nwm ONE open-ear headphones don’t disappoint with their sleek form that sits on any ears without being uncomfortable after long sessions of listening.
They weigh just 6.5 ounces and clamp onto your head and ears without any uncomfortable pressure. The promise of these open-ear headphones seems good on paper but how they’ll perform in real life and justify their price of $299 remains to be seen. However, we are confident the pair of cans will live up to their claims and become a daily driver for many audio lovers!