These strange $400 headphones with a hybrid design have ruined normal headphones for me

Unlike most headphones, the Nuraphone headphones deliver sound via the main headphone cup and the in-ear earbud. 

The main headphone cup houses a large bass speaker – or "driver" as they're often called. That's where ultra-low bass frequencies will come from.

Meanwhile, the inner earbud delivers some additional bass, mid, and high audio frequencies. And it makes a lot of sense. It's like having a full sound system in your ears that includes the subwoofer, mid-range speakers, and high-frequency tweeters.

Normal headphones and earphones can deliver all these frequencies with so-called "full range" drivers that deliver bass, mids, and highs. But full-range drivers don't specialize in any one frequency like those in the Nuraphone do. The thinking behind the Nuraphone's hybrid design is that huge amount of bass can be delivered without drowning out the mid and high frequencies. 

The unique design is only part of the Nuraphone experience, and it's not even the most important aspect.

Before you start listening to music for the first time with the Nuraphone, you need to get them tuned specifically for your hearing using the Nura mobile app. 

The Nura app gets you set up to make the most of the Nuraphone. If you don't use the app, you're basically wasting your money, as you don't take advantage of the Nuraphone's defining feature: Personalized sound. 

First, it makes sure you get a good seal with the earbuds and your inner ear. Then, it'll play a variety of sounds while it figures out how to best tune audio based on how your ears hear. It'll measure how sensitive your ears are to audio frequencies and tones and create a hearing profile based on the results. The whole process takes a couple of minutes. 

The Nuraphone headphones then use your hearing profile to adjust the audio that they deliver.

These things sound really, really good. To be fair, however, most $400 headphones are going to sound amazing. Yet, the Nuraphone offer something that other $400 headphones don't: the confidence that I'm getting the best possible sound they can deliver because they're tuned to my hearing profile. Thus I get the sense that I'm getting the most out of the $400 investment. The Nuraphone headphones "get me."

That confidence is now something I look for in headphones, and it's lost on a normal pair of headphones where you may not really know whether or not you're getting the absolute most out of them.

With normal headphones, you're getting a sound based on the average hearing profile. If you happen to have an average hearing profile, that's great and you can enjoy pretty much any pair of headphones on the market knowing you're getting the best sound they can deliver. And an average hearing profile does cover the majority of listeners out there.

But if you have a particular sensitivity – or you're lacking sensitivity – to certain frequencies, some headphones may over or understimulate your ears, and you may not be getting the most out of those headphones.

When you put on the Nuraphone for the first time, the earbuds feel like they're locking the headphones into your head. Others at Business Insider describe it like someone is putting their fingers into your ears. It's a foreign sensation, but you get used to it pretty quickly, and they're comfortable to wear. They are a little heavy, however, and they start to slide off if I lay my head back or forward.  

The outer headphone and inner earbud combination make for great passive noise cancellation. The Nuraphone blocked almost as much sound as the $350 Bose QC II headphones I tried. 

You can buy different cables for wired connections, like the headphone jack, USB-C, Apple Lightning cable, and even microUSB. Just note that those cables are sold separately for around $25 each.

Also note that the connection to the headphones themselves is proprietary, which means if you lose or break a cable, you have to buy a new one from the company. It sounds bad at first, but it's the only way the company can make the headphone compatible with so many different ports.

The Nuraphone headphones can only connect to one device at a time via Bluetooth, which was somewhat frustrating when I'd arrive at work from my commute and switched from my phone to my laptop. I'd have to actively disconnect the Nuraphone from my phone's Bluetooth settings – or turn off Bluetooth altogether – to make the switch. Then, when it's time to commute home, I'd reconnect them to my phone.

Anyone who's ever used Bluetooth knows that dealing with Bluetooth isn't always the easiest or most seamless experience.

I reached out to Nura about this particular issue, and it's something the company can remedy with an update in the future. But that's not a guarantee.

Right off the bat, if you don't like in-ear earbuds, you're not going to like the Nuraphone no matter how good they sound. That's because you'll get the in-ear earbud feel with these headphones.

But if you've made the decision that you're going to spend around $400 on a pair of wireless headphones, the Nuraphone should be at the top of the list. Like I said earlier, most headphones above $350 are going to sounds great. But if you're going to spend that much on a pair of headphones, you might as well get a pair that tunes music specifically to how you hear. That way, you'll know you're getting the best sound they can possible deliver. 

They also have great passive noise cancelling, which is a bonus.