- Final Audio will use ear scanning to create a personalized tone profile for its new TONALITE headphones
- They feature Bluetooth 6.0, 10mm dynamic drivers, and 6-mic noise cancellation.
- On Kickstarter now: $247 / £188 (around AU$379)
Final Audio has unveiled a new type of truly wireless earbuds featuring a system called TONALITE. The new TONALITE headphones claim to be “the world’s first headphones to deliver personalized timbre, the unique tonal color and texture of sound, by analyzing the individual anatomical characteristics of the listener.” In other words, it scans your ears and adjusts the sound accordingly.
Ear scanning is not new, but it is generally aimed at ensuring the best possible fit and immersive sound. For example, my AirPods Pro 2 (and the new AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 headphones and earbuds) use auditory scanning to adjust their personalized spatial audio.
But Final Audio says its system goes further and personalizes the actual tone of the sound.
What’s different with Final Audio TONALITE?
Final says earbuds and earphones are typically designed as one-size-fits-all products, but of course, each person’s anatomy is different – and different in more ways than just the size of our ears and ear canals.
Sound is affected by the shape of the spaces it is in, which is why there is such variety in the size and shape of musical instruments, in the shape and configuration of speakers, and in the way instruments and speakers sound in different spaces. And Final claims that TONALITE can correct this variety in your anatomy, adjusting the tone of audio based on your unique characteristics.
With TONALITE, you use your phone’s camera to scan your head and ears — a process that Final says takes a few minutes — then the app performs an “acoustic measurement of the ear canal.”
These two data sets are combined, processed in the cloud using Final’s Twin digital audio simulation engine to create a model of how sound waves will bounce around in your head, and used to create a custom sound map to download into your headphones.
As for the material. earphones feature a specially designed 10mm dynamic driver with exceptionally low harmonic distortion; Bluetooth 6.0 with LDAC and AAC; six-mic active noise cancellation; and up to nine hours of playback between charges – all will rival the best headphones.
I’m seeing a lot of press coverage on these headphones, but no reviews so far, so it’s unclear if the headphones make the giant leap suggested by the press release. But if you want to give it a shot, Final is launching these headphones on Kickstarter, with an early bird price of $247 / £188 (around AU$379). That’s 25% off the full retail price.
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