No doubt you've seen earbuds and more earbuds, but you haven't seen (or heard) earbuds like these. Time magazine named the Nuheara IQbuds2 Max one of the top 100 inventions of 2020, saying they make the world “better, smarter and even a bit more fun.”

Nuheara is based in Perth and began its startup life raising over $500,000 on Indiegogo for its Hearables earbuds and associated smartphone app. The company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) in March 2016 and was the first consumer wearables technology company on the exchange. Since these beginnings, Nuheara launched its true wireless earbuds, IQbudsTM, and then came out with the IQbuds Boost two years later. In all of its products, Nuheara seeks to transform the way people hear, creating personalised and intelligent hearing solutions that are multifunctional, accessible and affordable.

The latest release, the Nuheara IQbuds2 Max, is a pair of intelligent wireless earbuds designed to allow its user complete control over the listening environment.

These are no ordinary earbuds; sure, you plug them in and can listen to music, podcasts, audiobooks, make calls, and any and all the things you should rightly expect to do with Bluetooth-connected earbuds.

However, the "complete control" part is where Nuheara's magic lies. We can put this in words, but you truly need to hear it for yourself to feel the astonishing effects. This is the only product on the market that can simultaneously cancel out selected noise while amplifying what you want to hear.

In practice, Nuheara has made it trivial. You plug them in and tune in or out as much as you want. If you are flying on a plane with your family and you want to watch a movie, while tuning out the rest of the aircraft, you could use conventional noise cancellation technology. Yet, what if you wanted to keep an ear on your children at the same time? With Nuheara you can create an augmented listening environment combining your movie and your children, but excluding all else. This is the astonishing power and capability Nuheara brings to you.

The earbuds include active noise cancellation with a focus feature that allows you to control noise levels. You can create customised settings for different listening situations, such as in the office, home, gym, plane, or wherever else. It’s eerie how well they work - even sitting at my quiet desk and turning the world ‘off’ took away the clack of my keyboard and the hum of my heater.

Nuheara labels its audio innovation as 'Ear ID' - a unique proprietary hearing personalisation system that measures and analyses your hearing thresholds in both ears within 10 minutes through the free companion IQbuds app. This isn’t fully automated; you have to tap when you hear the various noises played to you.

This Ear ID details the relative strengths of your hearing at different frequencies, and the app adjusts the settings on the IQbuds2 Max earbuds themselves using a clinically validated algorithm. You can still make your own adjustments - particularly as you move from location to location, environment to environment - but you have a great head start with sound calibrated specifically and precisely for your unique ears and hearing. In my testing, I was able to relax and float away to the delightful sounds of Pentatonix with a clarity I had not previously enjoyed.

The result is like magic - you have the best possible hearing experience, and, in fact, the Ear ID also works to mitigate some of the effects of hearing loss.

It's truly a remarkable set of earbuds that delivers on its promise. Nuheara co-founder and CEO Justin Miller says the company was founded with the mission of improving people’s quality of life by enabling them to hear better. In iTWire’s experience testing the earbuds, this rang true with crisp sounds, clear voice conversations, delightful music, and peace as we tuned the outside world out. Nuheara is so confident in the science and engineering behind its product they offer a 30-day refund if you’re not happy.

If you are in the market for wireless earbuds you owe it to your ears to test out the IQbuds2 Max. It combines the high-fidelity wireless features you expect, with the audio superpowers you’d never have thought possible.

The package includes replacement ear tips, a soft carry bag, a charging case, and a USB charge cable, as well as the earbuds themselves. Note the USB cable bucks today’s USB-C trend so you will definitely want to keep the cable safe.

The battery life is five hours for streaming media and eight hours for voice. The charging case will recharge the earbuds another three times. The earbuds support a range of touch gestures for control.

The RRP is $499 but right now the IQbuds2 Max is 20% off and can be purchased for $399. Afterpay is available.

Here's how Ear ID works: