The first Wi-Fi lossless headphones are here and they're exactly what Sonos didn't do

HED Unity headphones on white background
(Image credit: HED Technologies)

It's been over four years since the rumor mill started churning regarding Sonos' first-ever headphones, but after Sonos' CEO confirmed that the company was focusing on its current product categories in February last year, those rumors promptly, er… stopped. 

Despite continued speculation that Sonos' first-ever headphones would come bearing Wi-Fi, we'd all but given up hope of a set of lossless, high-end Wi-Fi enabled over-ear headphones in 2023.

But here they are! And they come with a premium price tag befitting only Sonos too! Thing is, they're not made by Sonos.

They're called HED Unity and they are actually made by a virtually-unknown Swiss audio startup called HED Technologies. At the time of writing, the company's Instagram account for the launch boasts just 207 followers. And the craziest part? These cans do something even the best over-ear headphones on the market cannot do – not even the Sony WH-1000XM4 or the Apple Airpods Max.

HED Technologies calls it 'Full-Fidelity' wireless audio, and essentially it means bypassing the lossy and bandwidth-blighted constraints of Bluetooth and leveraging your local Wi-Fi network to deliver high-resolution audio streaming of up to 24bit/96kHz. And these are the first ever headphones capable of doing that. 

Before we get too excited, that's not quite the full hi-res ticket, you understand. Apple Music's Hi-Res Lossless offering goes up to a maximum resolution of 24-bit/192 kHz – and for that, you still need wired headphones and one of the best portable DACs (neither of which Apple makes, which is just weird). 

But HED Unity will tackle Apple's regular Lossless audio streams which run at 24-bit/48 kHz – and until now, Apple recommends wired earphones to get at those. 

Opinion: truly lossless wi-fi headphones have landed – and Sonos and Apple should really be taking notes 

HED Unity headphones in profile on white background

(Image credit: HED Technologies)

You'd also be forgiven for thinking you were looking at the hotly-anticipated AirPods Max 2, but again, that's another product that seems woefully far from release. HED Technologies has trounced them all with this particular world-first.

For me, the sculpted earcups, milled from a single block of architectural-grade aluminum around 40mm titanium-coated drivers, with Wi-Fi squirreled under the hood, are simply begging for some Sonos branding, no? But you won't find any. 

HED Technologies' HED Unity cans have a frequency response range of 20Hz-22kHz (i.e., beyond what the human ear is capable of hearing at the top end), and remember, that lossless audio is delivered thanks to Wi-Fi streaming. 

Curiously, when not hooked up to a Wi-Fi network, the cans tote Bluetooth 5.3 but only SBC and AAC codec support is listed – no aptX or aptX Adaptive. Battery life is a claimed eighy hours, whichever way you're streaming. 

To get onboard with your Wi-Fi, the headphones boast their own dual-core processor, storage, and memory, as well as a gyroscope and other trackers to deliver head-tracking motion detection for truly immersive three-dimensional surround sound. 

Oh, and there's active noise cancelation, helped along by 12 microphones. (Just the 12, then; four to support active noise-canceling and eight for beamforming and background noise nixing). 

And as you might expect, they don't come cheap. The price is an eye-watering $2,199,  (which works out at around £1,759 or AU$3,249). Suffice to say, we'd absolutely love to hear what they can do. 

Becky Scarrott
Audio Editor

Becky became Audio Editor at TechRadar in 2024, but joined the team in 2022 as Senior Staff Writer, focusing on all things hi-fi. Before this, she spent three years at What Hi-Fi? testing and reviewing everything from wallet-friendly wireless earbuds to huge high-end sound systems. Prior to gaining her MA in Journalism in 2018, Becky freelanced as an arts critic alongside a 22-year career as a professional dancer and aerialist – any love of dance starts with a love of music. Becky has previously contributed to Stuff, FourFourTwo and The Stage. When not writing, she can still be found throwing shapes in a dance studio, these days with varying degrees of success.  

Read more
Qualcomm S7 and S7 Pro Gen 1 badges beside a set of white earbuds, on red background
Wi-Fi wireless earbuds with 24-bit hi-res audio are coming 'very soon', confirms Qualcomm
Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro
Xiaomi unveils first earbuds with Wi-Fi, delivering hi-res audio up to 4.2Mbps
Honor Earbuds open, in early testing
The top 3 ground-breaking earbuds innovations we saw at MWC 2025
Fiio FT7 headphones on a shelf, showing the grille
My favorite affordable audiophile brand just launch new flagship wired headphones – though these ones are pushing the 'affordable' part
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones on the left, held in a man's hand, Sonos Ace on the right, rest on their case
I tested Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones against the Sonos Ace, and it's a nuanced battle between these elite wireless headphones
Technics EAH-AZ100 in-ear headphones, one facing up and the other facing down, on a white surface
5 best headphones and earbuds of CES 2025
Latest in Headphones
The Apple AirPods 4 on a blue background with text saying Lowest Price.
AirPods 4 are down to $99 again, but there's a better AirPods Pro 2 deal that I'd buy
Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Premium Noise Canceling Overhead Headphones in black on orange background with price cut text
Save $100 on the Sony WH-1000XM4 - our best headphones for most people
AirPods Pro 2 out of their case on a wooden surface
Camera-toting AirPods with Apple Intelligence said to be in active development – but the idea may be too flawed to take off
A screen shot from a promotional video showing the HealthBuds fitness tracking earphones from Synseer
These mysterious wireless earbuds claim to monitor your heart and hearing health simultaneously, but there’s a catch
Sony WH-CH520 Wireless Bluetooth Headphones in cappuccino color on cyan radar background with price cut sign
These excellent cheap Sony headphones are now just $38 at Amazon
The Apple AirPods 4 on a blue background with text saying Lowest Price.
Quick! The Apple AirPods 4 are back down to under $100 at Amazon
Latest in News
Garmin Instinct 3 in Neotropic Green
"I'm an idiot": Garmin user reveals how fixing one setting completely changed their training after months of making no progress
The main battle pass characters in Fortnite Lawless, including Midas, Sub Zero and a large wolf-man
You'll finally be able to play Fortnite on Windows 11 Arm-powered laptops as Epic Games partners with Qualcomm
DeepSeek on an iPhone
OpenAI calls on US government to ban DeepSeek, calling it ‘state-subsidized’ and ‘state-controlled’
Abstract image of cyber security in action.
MassJacker malware targets those looking for pirated software
Stress
Complexity of IT systems could be increasing security risks for businesses
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3 enters development as team promises to support Space Marine 2 'with exciting content and regular updates in the coming years'