NR stands for Noise Reduction, and is a function that reduces the amount of external noise that gets mixed in. All of our amplifiers shipped from March onwards will have NR installed. NR is a function that significantly reduces the amount of radiation noise that gets mixed in, mainly from smartphones and communication equipment in stations and on the street. This makes the listening environment more comfortable for users. Please note that the NR addition service for products that have already been sold is only available in Japan.
We had been aware of this kind of noise contamination for some time, but we had only been able to reduce it by selecting the components, and we had decided not to take any further measures because we thought that it would affect the sound quality. (Generally, the high frequencies that cause noise are cut off, which suppresses the high range of the sound.) However, recently, we have seen many posts about people being surprised by noise contamination while listening, so we decided to develop NR. There were many twists and turns in the development process, but in the end, the difference in sound quality with and without NR was eliminated.
To repeat, NR is a technology that greatly reduces noise contamination, but it does not completely eliminate it. However, in our portable operation tests, there was no noise contamination. ・There is almost no noise contamination from WiFi and Bluetooth communication. ・There may be a very small ‘keen’ noise when there is no sound from the communication equipment at the station or in the city. ・When the smartphone is communicating with the carrier base station, there may be a small ‘crackling’ noise if it is brought within 20cm of the amplifier. Also, when using WiFi, there may be a similar noise if the smartphone is brought close to the amplifier. ・Please note that there is a possibility of other unexpected noise being introduced.