Tag Archives: IQbuds2

"If you can annul or enlarge your world, they are like bionics for your ears."

• Excellent sound quality

• Excellent noise cancellation

• Effective and customizable hearing enhancement

• Good call quality

• Good selection of earplugs

• Expensive

• No wireless charging

• No music EQ settings

• Big and bulky

True wireless earbuds have become a commodity in the last year or so. Rapid improvements in sound quality, wireless reliability, additional features like Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and wireless charging – combined with falling prices – have made it much more difficult for any model to stand out from the crowd.

This is what makes the $ 399 Nuheara IQBuds2 Max so interesting. By integrating hearing aid technology, they are just as interested in hearing the world around you as they are in hearing your favorite music. Even so, their high price is daunting. So let's see if what makes them stand out is enough to justify the extra money.

What's in the box?

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

In the responsibly designed cardboard box, the IQBuds2 Max is in the charging case, along with a fabric carrying case, a microUSB charging cable, six earplugs and paper documentation with quick instructions. Unlike all of the other wireless earbuds we've tried, the IQBuds2 Max don't come with earbuds from the factory. You must first select a set and install it.

That sounds impractical, but it's actually pretty smart for Nuheara. Most people stick to the standard middle tips and forget to try the other sizes. With the IQBuds2 Max, this process of finding the right fit is integrated into the unboxing process.

design

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The IQBuds2 Max does not win beauty pageants. Their matte black basic bodies are functional and designed in such a way that they attract as little attention as possible. But despite their stealthy appearance, these are pretty chunky earbuds. They're bigger than the Jabra Elite 85t, Sennheiser CX 400BT, and Amazon Echo Buds – three of the largest earbuds we tested.

Your charging case is just as massive. It's almost big enough to hold a bunch of workout buds like the Powerbeats Pro, and it dwarfs the AirPods Pro case when the two stand side by side.

Although they are big, they are also solidly built. Nuheara may not have designed the IQBuds2 Max with sturdiness in mind, but I think they will withstand non-water breakdowns better than many other models. They don't have an official IPX rating to keep them safe from water or dust, but Nuheara claims they are sweat and rainproof.

I'm a little surprised that Nuheara didn't add wireless charging or USB-C to the case for $ 399. These features have been seen on earbuds priced less than $ 75. But Nuheara tells me that when the company designed the IQBuds2 Max in 2018, they weren't as on the radar as they are now. Apparently the next version will have both.

The IQBuds2 Max are great. Some people may find this uncomfortable.

The earbuds snap easily into their charging sockets with a magnetic click, and an indicator light in front of each socket immediately confirms that they are properly seated and charged.

It can be a little trickier to get them back out, but once you master the sideways roll maneuver it shouldn't be a problem anymore.

Convenience, control and connections

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The IQBuds2 Max are big – there's no getting around them. As a result, they create a very distinct feeling of fullness when you wear them. Some people, especially those with smaller ears, may find this uncomfortable. The choice of earbuds definitely helps, and I love that Nuheara includes three sizes of Comply Memory Foam tips as well as the standard silicone tips.

The advantage of the larger buds is that they have excellent contact with the entire concha and provide a very secure fit. The IQBuds2 Max are not meant to be training buds, but they are unlikely to loosen on their own if you get them working.

The IQBuds2 Max have responsive, touch-sensitive controls. However, as with many touch controls, you need to make contact with the center of the earbuds – tapping on the edges will not be registered. Each earbud has a single, double and long touch command that can be customized using the IQBuds app for iOS and Android.

Unfortunately, Nuheara limits these options. For example, the right earbud is the only one that can control the various listening modes, including ANC. Some touch commands, like a single touch of the right earbud, can only be used for three functions: turn ANC on / off, turn ANC off, and pause music or do nothing at all. To be fair, since you can't use the IQBuds2 Max independently, it's no big deal, and it's worth noting that you can choose from a variety of functions for the left earbud, including volume, play / pause, track forward / Skip backwards and access the voice assistant.

Pick a bass heavy track and you'll hear it – the low end has a luxurious weight to it.

The IQBuds2 Max are equipped with wear sensors and can pause and resume your music automatically, but only when you remove / replace the left earbud. Doing the same with the right bud has no effect.

Bluetooth range is average for a number of wireless earbuds. Indoors, I was able to move one floor away from my phone before it was disconnected, while outdoors it was closer to 50 feet.

Sound quality

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The IQBuds2 Max are primarily intended as hearing aids, but are also great for sound quality. They have a rich and warm tonality with a bass response that is wonderfully resonant. Pick a bass-heavy track and you'll hear it – from Billie Eilish's villain to Hans Zimmer's Time – the low-end has a luxurious weight. Better still, this resonance doesn't affect the mids or highs, both of which are easily noticeable.

Vocals come through with clarity and precision and the soundstage strikes a good balance between breadth and intimacy. All of this is amazing considering the IQBuds2 Max only supports the lowest throughput bluetooth codec (SBC) on an iPhone (they support aptX on Android).

I wish Nuheara only had the option to adjust the EQ in the app.

Managing external sounds is the IQBuds2 Max's secret sauce.

You will get the best sound quality with ANC fully enabled, but even if you use one of the many "World On" modes (more on that in a moment), the IQBuds2 Max will deliver great sound.

Noise cancellation, transparency and hearing aid

Managing external sounds is the IQBuds2 Max's secret sauce. They give you an unprecedented level of control over what you hear, from total silence to focused amplification. However, there are a number of aspects to how this works. So let's take them one by one.

EarID

When you connect the IQBuds2 Max for the first time and start the IQBuds app, you will be invited to a hearing test. Some wireless earbuds, like the Jabra Elite 85t, use a test to determine which frequencies you cannot hear in order to improve your music experience. The IQBuds2 Max take the opposite approach and use a similar test to determine which external sound frequencies need a boost.

The test takes about 10 minutes and leads you to a series of tones with different frequencies and volumes. This is done for each ear. The result is a kind of map that shows you where your hearing is not sensitive.

In my case, it said I was only missing a tiny amount of the highest frequencies at the lowest volumes. I know this is true because I have my hearing checked annually by an audiologist and that is exactly what these professional tests have shown.

Once the test is complete, you can toggle EarID on and off to see how it affects what you hear. As was to be expected, with my near-perfect hearing, I couldn't see much of a difference.

Locations

The next step is to explore the app's locations. Think of these as sound enhancement presets for scenarios where you want to hear part or all of the outside world. The labels (home, office, restaurant, driving, road, training, and airplane) are self-explanatory. For each of these seven locations, you can keep the default settings or adjust them. You can also select up to four of the seven as favorites, which you can then cycle through with the right earbud – very handy.

The four sound improvements are:

volume

As the name suggests, the volume control allows you to increase or decrease the microphone gain. Do you have overall hearing problems? Turn it up. Feel overwhelmed? Turn it down. The caveat is that when you turn up the volume, you will also hear more ambient hissing if it is relatively quiet around you.

Here you can also switch to ANC or switch off all external sound processing. If you select ANC or “Off”, all four sound enhancement settings are disabled (as they are only used to optimize incoming sounds).

SINC (Speech in Noise Control)

With the SINC extension, you can prioritize either ambient or speech sounds or a mixture of both. For example, the training location places an emphasis on ambient noise so you can maintain better situational awareness in the gym or while running outdoors.

World EQ

This extension allows you to filter out certain frequencies. When using the aircraft location, lower frequencies are filtered out to aid in the quiet roar of jet engines so you can focus on the voices around you. Meanwhile, the office location switches off the World EQ so that you can hear all frequencies equally.

focus

Focus is a simple on / off setting that is perfect for one-on-one calls in noisy environments. When it is turned off, sounds from all directions are amplified equally. When it's on, only the sounds in front of you are given priority. The restaurant's location is a classic example of when Focus would come in handy.

The IQBuds2 Max are amazing for noise cancellation.

Fortunately, I tested the IQBuds2 Max during a pandemic. Local lockdowns have resulted in my inability to access restaurants, planes, an office, or a gym, which has severely limited my ability to test these hearing enhancements in the real-world locations they are intended for. But that hasn't stopped me from using them at home, on the street, and out shopping, and I am very impressed with the performance of these earbuds.

Although my hearing is considered very good, lately I've found it harder to focus on voices in busy environments. When I use the SINC setting with an emphasis on speech and focus on, I don't have to concentrate nearly as hard to separate voices from the background.

But even if you never use the hearing enhancements, the IQBuds2 Max are incredible for noise cancellation. Activating this feature by touching the right earbud is like dropping a cone of silence over your head. They're better than the AirPods Pro and better than the Sony WF-1000XM3. I haven't had a chance to compare them to the Bose QuietComfort Ear Buds, but I would be shocked if the Bose were significantly better.

And thanks to their continuously adjustable positions, the IQBuds2 Max win the award for the best transparency in a range of true wireless earbuds.

Battery life

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Nuheara claims to use five hours between charges if you're streaming music or eight hours if you're just using them to improve hearing. The charging case holds enough juice for three full charges. In practice, I found that after six hours of mixed use, the earbuds dropped to around 15% battery level, which in my opinion puts the IQBuds2 Max slightly below these claimed numbers. The earbuds fully charge in 90 minutes, but there is no quick charge feature.

Many true wireless earbuds compress your voice, but the IQBuds2 Max deliver a far more natural sound.

It would have been great if Nuheara increased those numbers a bit, but I think for most people the battery life is probably okay.

Call quality

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The IQBuds2 Max do a very good job of maintaining the voice quality when making calls. Many true wireless earbuds compress your voice and give it a thin sound that speaks through the pipe. The IQBuds2 Max, however, deliver a far more natural sound.

They also do a good job of canceling out competing noises like traffic. I can't tell how well they handle windy conditions – my time with them was in unusually calm winter weather – but I suspect they won't unless you try to make a critical business call amid 40 mph gusts. I will do fine.

Our opinion

While the $ 399 price tag is a little on the wallet, the IQBuds2 Max rewards you with incredible sound and the ability to focus (or ignore) as much of the outside world as you want – a combination you won't find in any You can find another set of real wireless earbuds at all costs.

Is there a better alternative?

We haven't found a range of true wireless earbuds that have the same features as the IQBuds2 Max, which means there really is no real alternative.

However, if the IQBuds2 Max's hearing enhancements are of little value to you, Sennheisers can save you $ 300 in savings and get equally good sound quality Momentum 2 True Wireless, Jabras $ 230 Elite 85t. $ 230 from Sony WF-1000XM3or Bose's $ 280 QuietComfort ear buds – and all of them also offer very good or excellent ANC.

How long will they last?

With a one-year warranty from Nuheara, the IQBuds2 Max appears to be very well built using high quality materials. The biggest question is how long the battery will last. Given their role as a hearing enhancer, it is possible that people might want to wear them for long hours every day.

Should you buy it?

Yes. If you've ever wanted a personal audio device that doubles the performance as a hearing enhancer and high quality music companion, the IQBuds2 Max are excellent in both areas, making them versatile, true wireless earbuds.

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