I've tested a lot of headphones in my time as a technology writer, but never a pair quite like the Nuraphones. When you're wearing them, they look much like any pair of Bluetooth cans, almost to a fault. For a pair of premium-priced headphones, they're almost bland in design, with a simple top band with a small amount of padding leading down to the metal frame of the headband and the subtly logo-stamped earpieces themselves.
However, take them off and you can't help but spot the Nuraphone's unique point of design difference. They're full over the ear headphones that also incorporate in-ear buds within each earpiece. The idea here is that the bud sections aid in noise isolation, as well as being an important part of the way the Nuraphones are set up, which I'll get to directly.
Having buds within earphones is unique, but it also takes some getting used to. Frankly, the first few times you wear the Nuraphone headphones, you're going to have a somewhat confused head, because you won't quite be able to tell if you're wearing headphones, because the cups are pressed against the sides of your head, or wearing buds, because that part is nestled within your ear canal.
What's potentially more problematic for some users is the ongoing comfort of this arrangement. I found around 2 to 3 hours was about the level my ears were comfortable wearing the Nuraphones for any single stretch of time, but then I don't much like only wearing buds most of the time. Your own tolerance may vary, but it's worth keeping in mind.
That wearing arrangement also means that they're really not suitable for any kind of strenuous activity. I did experimentally try taking the Nuraphones for a jog, but the action of the cans and buds both jostling in my ears was rapidly way too much.
The Nuraphones come in a high quality carrying case that's certain to keep them safe from knocks and bumps. However, it's also quite large and heavy, so if you were considering them as a pair of travel headphones to rival something like the Sony WH-1000XM3 or the Bose QC35s, you'd need to give them a fair bit more packing space in your carry-on bag. It doesn't entirely help here that they're a weird shape for a carrying case, either.
By default, the Nuraphone headphones are designed to be used with Bluetooth as the primary connection, but there is support for connecting up to devices via standard 3.5mm headphone jack, lightning, USB-C or microUSB cables, depending on your needs. However, you don't get any cables in the default case besides the USB A charging cable. What's more, the Nuraphones use a custom connector, so any existing audio cables you have won't work. Instead, if you want cabled connectivity, you'll have to pay an additional $29.95 per cable to make it happen. Nuraphone did supply me with cables for the purposes of review, and if you do prefer direct connectivity, they work quite well – at a cost.