Recently a lossless Wi-Fi headset from an unknown Swiss start-up company has attracted the attention of the audio industry. This headset, called HED Unity, is the world’s first headset that can have Wireless headphones that enable lossless, high-resolution audio streaming over a local Wi-Fi network at 24bit / 96kHz quality.
The emergence of HED Unity has made people look forward to whether well-known brands such as Apple and Sonos can follow up and launch their own Wi-Fi headsets. Currently, Apple’s AirPods Max and other Bluetooth headsets suffer from data loss, which cannot be completely avoided even with the new codec. The Wi-Fi headset can ensure the complete transmission of audio signals, allowing users to hear the original music.
HED Technologies calls its lossless technology “better than high-fidelity, Full-Fidelity”:
Unity's proprietary Full-Fidelity™ standard delivers unprecedented, truly lossless audio so you hear your music as it is. Immerse yourself in pure sound and rediscover your favorite tunes in all-in-one, all-inclusive, completely wireless comfort.
The HED Unity is also well designed, with earcups made of high-grade aluminium with carbon-fibre-reinforced nylon bases and memory foam ear pads inside, and cooling gel for comfort. The headset is equipped with a 40mm titanium alloy driver unit, supports active ambient sound management (noise cancellation with 12 microphones), and has a nine-band equalizer to customize the sound. In addition, it also supports head-tracking motion detection, which can provide an immersive three-dimensional surround sound effect, similar to the spatial audio of AirPods Max.
When not streaming over Wi-Fi, HED Unity uses Bluetooth 5.3 with support for SBC and AAC codecs.
Users can use the company’s Unity Multisource Music Player app to connect to music libraries or streaming services such as iHeartRadio, Qobuz, Spotify, Soundcloud, and more, and the headphones support personal NAS devices, DLNA, UPnP, and FLAC files. The headset is powered by a dual-core processor and can receive over-the-air software updates to improve functionality.
Of course, such a high-end Wi-Fi headset is not cheap, and its price is as high as 2199 US dollars (currently about 15107 CNY), far exceeding competitors such as AirPods Max. However, for those users who pursue the ultimate sound quality, it may be a worthwhile investment.
