AV Quick Takes: Denon Acquires Australian Headphone Maker Nura

Denon
has acquired Nura, the relatively small Australian headphone maker known for its
personalized sound technology. Nura’s headphones and earphones
automatically tune themselves to the user’s unique hearing capabilities. Denon
fans will know that this acquisition comes on the heels of another surprising
purchase — just a year ago, Denon’s parent company, Sound United, was bought by
Masimo, a global medical technology company that develops and produces a wide array
of monitoring technologies, including sensors and patient monitors. Denon says
that the combination of Nura’s personalized sound technology, Masimo’s 30-year expertise in signal
processing, and the world-class acoustic engineering from Masimo’s consumer
audio businesses will all come together in a new platform called Masimo
Adaptive Acoustic Technology (AAT). Masimo AAT
creates personalized listening profiles for each user by measuring the user’s
hearing sensitivity and adjusting the sound accordingly. This ability to
address unique hearing complexities, which vary from one person to the next,
will enable new products to ensure that “no instrumental detail or sound
subtlety is left unheard,” according to Denon.

Nura
first came on the scene in 2018, with the introduction of the $399 Nuraphone
headphone at CES in Las Vegas. As the company explained it, the Nuraphone
“plays a range of tones into the ear, and then measures a very faint sound that
your ear generates in response to these tones, called the Otoacoustic Emission
(OAE). This tiny signal originates in the cochlea and vibrates the ear drum,
turning it into a speaker and playing sound back out of your ear. Encoded in
the returning sound wave is information about how well you heard the sound that
went in.” It’s not hard to see why Denon might be interested in such a
technology, nor is it a stretch to imagine that Masimo’s experience in the
medical field greased the wheels of the acquisition. Denon says the goal is to
“deliver enhanced listening experiences for consumers.”

Nura
made headlines again in 2022 when the company released the NuraTrue Pro earphones ($329), which were the
first wireless earphones compatible with Qualcomm’s aptX Lossless bluetooth codec. But it’s Nura’s
audio personalization technology that seems to have attracted the interest of
Denon and Masimo. According to Denon, the addition of Nura’s award-winning otoacoustic emission
measuring technology into Denon products will allow users to “enjoy their
favorite music as if they are there in the front row thanks to custom sound
implementation. The combination of Denon’s leadership in sound engineering with
Nura’s revolutionary personalized listening technology will offer extraordinary
audio detail and set a new standard in personal listening to enjoy audio at
unprecedented levels.”

Nura’s technology is a perfect complement
to Denon’s mission to expand human experiences through acoustic innovation. We’ve been committed to sound
engineering for 113 years and counting, and we know that personalized audio is
the future. This evolution with Nura is a natural fit, as we continue to
innovate for the most discerning of audio consumers and push the boundaries of
what’s possible.

—Trip Randall,
Denon brand President

All
Nura products will continue to be supported throughout the warranty period.
Existing Nura customers can feel confident that their Nura device will be
supported through this transition, including customer support and warranty
support. The Nura app will continue to function as it does today, so you will
still be able to create personalized hearing profiles and use all app
functions.

—
Nura 

The
first Denon product featuring Masimo AAT is expected to be introduced later
this year, with more information becoming
available in mid-2023. Of course, Denon isn’t the only company investing in
audio personalization for its headphone products. PSB has worked with another audio personalization
company, called Audiodo,
to add custom sound calibration to some PSB headphones, including an upcoming
flagship wireless model, the $500 M4U 9.

Denon AH-C630W earphones

Will
audio personalization be the next big thing in headphone technology? Only time
will tell, but it’s wonderful to see well-known brands working toward a future
in which people with partial hearing loss will be able to enjoy their favorite
music more easily and more completely.