I tried out this audio personalization engine, and now I don't think I can live without it
Everyone's ears are, in some way, completely different. They're differently shaped, their ear canals are deeper or narrower or wider. As a result everyone hears their music differently to one another, and the headphones and earbuds that we use need to be able to make some form of a difference between the different hearing abilities of various users.
I've been lucky enough to have a super interesting demo of an example from Audiodo — and it's very cool indeed. Unfortunately, a lot of the tech involved is currently very much in pre-release phase, so I'm not really allowed to share any screenshots of photos. What I can do, however, is tell you all about my experience. Hopefully, it'll come to more of the best headphones soon.
Interestingly, I've been able to play with Audiodo's personalization before. It's been packed into some of my favorite buds — the Noble FoKus Rex5 and the FoKus Amadeus — and it's been one of my personal favorite audio personalization systems ever since.
It works much the same as many of the other systems that you've seen. Press play, and the system plays a series of beeps and boops into your ears at different frequencies. Press the button when you can no longer hear them, and you're done. It takes about 5-10 minutes, and you need to be in a lovely, quiet space for optimum measurements.
Once you're done, you're given the personalization for you to listen to. In my experience, both with the demo hardware and my Noble buds, the customization made effective adjustments across the frequency range to make sure that I could hear all the parts of my music that I might otherwise have been missing, while bringing down those that might cause problems.
Beyond just making your music sound better, the Audiodo personalizations can also be used in other aspects of your headphones and earbuds. It can be used to make the ANC even better, effectively dealing with the frequencies that you might be more susceptible to.
The biggest is for spatial audio. A personalization that would allow to hear spatial mixes is a very welcome addition to the headphone space in my mind, given that I've often found them to be less than stellar. Perhaps my ears are to blame. To take that out of the equation with a spatial audio personalization that could make these mixes better for my ears would be pretty special.
Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.
I got a small taste of the ANC and spatial audio talents from my demo, but I also can't say too much, given that it might be down to the unreleased earbuds I was sent. But there did seem to be some difference between the ANC and the 3D audio presentation, although how much of this is some kind of sonic placebo remains to be seen.
I'll admit, until I'd tried out Audiodo, I wasn't entirely sure about personalized audio. There's always been a part of me that thinks "It's not how the audio tuners intended the product to sound, so I don't really care." But when my slightly mismatched ears got their drums on the tuning, I was so impressed that my thinking shifted.
Now, I could get a hearing profile that makes sure that I can get the best sound from my earbuds. I hope that it takes off, I really do — especially Audiodo, given how well it worked in my short demo.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Tom's Guide
a day ago
- Tom's Guide
I tried out this audio personalization engine, and now I don't think I can live without it
Everyone's ears are, in some way, completely different. They're differently shaped, their ear canals are deeper or narrower or wider. As a result everyone hears their music differently to one another, and the headphones and earbuds that we use need to be able to make some form of a difference between the different hearing abilities of various users. I've been lucky enough to have a super interesting demo of an example from Audiodo — and it's very cool indeed. Unfortunately, a lot of the tech involved is currently very much in pre-release phase, so I'm not really allowed to share any screenshots of photos. What I can do, however, is tell you all about my experience. Hopefully, it'll come to more of the best headphones soon. Interestingly, I've been able to play with Audiodo's personalization before. It's been packed into some of my favorite buds — the Noble FoKus Rex5 and the FoKus Amadeus — and it's been one of my personal favorite audio personalization systems ever since. It works much the same as many of the other systems that you've seen. Press play, and the system plays a series of beeps and boops into your ears at different frequencies. Press the button when you can no longer hear them, and you're done. It takes about 5-10 minutes, and you need to be in a lovely, quiet space for optimum measurements. Once you're done, you're given the personalization for you to listen to. In my experience, both with the demo hardware and my Noble buds, the customization made effective adjustments across the frequency range to make sure that I could hear all the parts of my music that I might otherwise have been missing, while bringing down those that might cause problems. Beyond just making your music sound better, the Audiodo personalizations can also be used in other aspects of your headphones and earbuds. It can be used to make the ANC even better, effectively dealing with the frequencies that you might be more susceptible to. The biggest is for spatial audio. A personalization that would allow to hear spatial mixes is a very welcome addition to the headphone space in my mind, given that I've often found them to be less than stellar. Perhaps my ears are to blame. To take that out of the equation with a spatial audio personalization that could make these mixes better for my ears would be pretty special. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. I got a small taste of the ANC and spatial audio talents from my demo, but I also can't say too much, given that it might be down to the unreleased earbuds I was sent. But there did seem to be some difference between the ANC and the 3D audio presentation, although how much of this is some kind of sonic placebo remains to be seen. I'll admit, until I'd tried out Audiodo, I wasn't entirely sure about personalized audio. There's always been a part of me that thinks "It's not how the audio tuners intended the product to sound, so I don't really care." But when my slightly mismatched ears got their drums on the tuning, I was so impressed that my thinking shifted. Now, I could get a hearing profile that makes sure that I can get the best sound from my earbuds. I hope that it takes off, I really do — especially Audiodo, given how well it worked in my short demo.
Tom's Guide
a day ago
- Tom's Guide
I've been testing these bright red earbuds, and they live up to their Mozart namesake
As a big fan of both listening to and using classical music to test headphones, I am intimately familiar with the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. So too, it would appear, are British headphone manufacturer Noble, which has named its newest pair of earbuds after the maestro. Named the Noble Fokus Amadeus, they're even clad in crimson to echo their namesake's red coat — and they look all the better for it. I've been testing them since their release, and I've come to absolutely adore them and their little red shells. Here's why. Noble turns its incredible audio tuning to a slightly lower price point with the Amadeus, and the result is a truly spectacular pair of earbuds. They're very comfortable, feature solid ANC, and they sound sublime. They're only available in red, but they look pretty special with their jewel-like red shells. Noble's products always have a pretty attractive look, due in part to lower production runs. These earbuds are built to look like jewelry, with incredible resin surfaces of multiple colors and cases made from anodized metal. The Amadeus are the next in line for 'most attractive wireless earbuds" after the wicked green FoKus Rex5, and in a way, I think they're almost more attractive. The swirled red panels on the earbuds house the touch controls, and they make sure that you feel like you're getting your $329 worth. Sadly the case is unavoidably large. It's the largest earbud case on my desk at the moment, though it does bring its own charm in the form of excellent battery life — to the tune of around 42 hours of use. That's some of the best battery life I've ever seen, and it's a worthy trade off for a larger case. When you connect the buds to your phone, the first thing you're going to want to do is install the Noble app. From there, you'll find a bunch of extra useful features, including the ANC settings, EQ, and more. My favorite is the hearing profile function. It's incredibly clever, testing your hearing and then creating a profile that ensures they sound excellent no matter the health of your ears. I've found it the most useful hearing customization feature of any pair of earbuds or headphones I've tried. The buds recognized the difference in hearing ability between my left and right ears, and accommodated that in my hearing profile. Once you've set your hearing profile, you can still change the EQ and get the earbuds sounding just right. Finally, you can change the function of the touch controls and how they change between ANC modes. They might not have some of the hi-tech features of the likes of the WF-1000XM5, but they're easily up there with the best wireless earbuds. The big reason you buy the Amadeus is the sound. Thanks to some very impressive internals, the Amadeus are some of the best sounding earbuds at the $300-$350 price point, with a very detailed sound signature that shows you all the smallest parts of your favorite music. They are similar to my current favorite earbuds, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8, although where the B&W option has a warmer signature, the Noble are more precise. I love the way both sound, although I'd be lying if I said that the extra detail of the Amadeus wasn't tantalizing. That's not to say there's not enough bass from the buds. There's some precise low-end on offer, and it goes further down the frequency range than others. It's not jaw rattling, but there's plenty of impact for everything from bass guitars to bass drums. Getting Ghaal's Words latest going revealed all that lovely detail. Braiding the Stories had loads of detail in the cymbals and calm moments, and the strummed guitars had plenty of edge. The drums hit hard enough without being too overbearing, while the guitar solos do a good job of bringing some extra dimension. Instrument separation is top notch, with each member of the group placeable within the mix. The Amadeus do a fabulous job of bringing the slightly lo-fi edge to the surface. It'd be remiss of me not to play some Mozart, given the buds' name. The Piano Concerto No.1 in F Major happens to be a personal favorite, and the buds relish the opportunity to show off some very fine detail throughout. The piano is beautifully clean and clear, while the orchestral support is wide and spacious. There's loads of space to the recording that I chose, and the Amadeus do a fabulous job of making things feel airy. Given the number of different earbuds that I'm able to pull from, it's tricky to land yourself a permanent spot in my rotation. The Amadeus more expensive cousins, the FoKus Rex5, managed it, and I'm happy to say that these have too. The Amadeus earbuds bring a different enough sound signature to the table that they stand out from their very impressive stable mates, and they more than make a name for themselves in a very busy space. Now, should you buy a pair? If you're an audiophile looking for the best way to get stunning sound on the go but you can't quite stretch to the Rex5, go for it. They're excellent. Given their lofty price, however, AirPods fans are better off looking at $250 options — although if you can stretch for the extra, they're well worth it. If you can find a pair, at least. They've been extremely popular amongst online earbud fanatics, and it means they're sold out almost everywhere. Don't give up — just keep searching on the Noble website and more dedicated audio outlets, and you'll get there eventually. And when you do? You're in for a treat.
Tom's Guide
a day ago
- Tom's Guide
I swapped out my favorite premium earbuds for this $89 pair, and I wasn't expecting to have such a good time
I am a snob. Generally, when it comes to the best headphones and earbuds, you'll find me daily driving something that costs anywhere between $300 and $500, whether that's over- or in-ear. For the last few months, it's either been the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds and the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 — both options that set you back a fair chunk of your dollars. It's also true that I'm a big fan of budget buds and headphones. And there's one company that makes some of my favorite low-cost audio products: Japanese firm Final. So when I recieved the Final ZE3000 SV in the mail, I was excited to give them a go. I finally decided to take a look a couple of weeks ago. I placed my B&W buds into a drawer, and exclusively used the Final buds as my out-of-work heroes. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting to be quite as impressed as I was. Getting hold of a pair of Finals' latest budget buds might be tricky, but it's well worth it. They don't cost very much at all, but they'll wow you with a comfortable fit and the best sound (bar none) for the price. I've tried out other buds that Final has made, and they've all got one thing in common — the fit. Final seems to know how to make a comfortable pair of earbuds with well-judged shapes, excellent silicone eartips, and light construction. The ZE3000 SV are no different. They're super small, incredibly light, and their silicon tips come in enough shapes and sizes to fit just about anyone. I took them on a trip to London, where I wore them for almost the entire day. Not only were there zero fitting issues, they didn't fall out and for the most part I forgot they were even there. I don't think you can expect the most incredible noise canceling around out of something so cheap, but I was surprised by how much noise they managed to block out. Even during my walks through the busy London streets. They're not as good as my Bose QuietComforts or the Bowers & Wilkins pair, but for something that costs so little the performance is incredibly impressive. My trip on the train was quietened, silencing the noisy soccer fans at the other end of the carriage, and kept the noise of the train at bay. Engine noise was barely audible, and the rhythmic clacking of wheels on tracks was dampened. In London itself the ANC continued to impress. The sounds of the streets were much quieter, as loud tire and engine noises where drowned out by a combination of ANC and my music. The chatter of passers-by was much more tolerable, and I was able to hear more of the actual music as a result. If there's one thing that Final always gets very right, it's the sound quality. The ZE3000 SV are another feather in Final's cap, featuring the best sound quality I've heard for the price. There's top notch detail on offer out of the buds, making sure that you can hear even the most subtle elements of your tracks with great resolution. The mids and the bass are good too. There's some lovely low end representation for bass guitars and other lower frequencies, Guitars and vocals are well recreated by the wide and spacious mids. I found myself very quickly forgetting that I wasn't using my favorite buds. In fact, in some ways, they sounded better than the Bose pair — especially when it comes to detail. Circuit Bender from Intervals allowed the buds to show the full spectrum of the sound abilities. There's plenty of body for the heavy, distorted guitars, afforded a certain extra edge by the highs. Calmer parts are clear as crystal, while the all important guitar solos move across the frequency range smoothly. The drums are vibrate your jaw impactful, but there's still plenty of thump on offer from the rhythm section. Mr Bungle's Squeeze Me Macaroni brings the madness in spades, and the ZE3000 relish the occasion. The shift in tone is well handled, and the mad-cap vocal part is well reconstructed. The acoustic guitar parts cut through the mix with accuracy, and then the louder and more intense sections are perfectly bonkers. Loads and loads of fun — and the Final buds have no problem keeping up. The battery life is very solid, the app is competent, and multipoint connection is very useful. There's not a lot I would complain about when it comes to the buds, even when taking their price into consideration. I've come to love the little guys, and while they might not perform like my current chosen buds from Bowers & Wilkins, they're a great way to get incredible sound for not a whole lot of money.
