Review: Nokia Purity In-Ear Headphones

Let’s face facts. This isn’t going to be the most independent review you’ve ever read of the Nokia Purity earphones. I work for Nokia; I have an agenda.
That said, I’m going to try to give my impressions of this piece of kit as independently as possible, by interviewing my off-work self.

So, Ian, – thanks for giving up your free time. Why did you buy the Nokia Purity earphones (The Nokia Purity Stereo Headset by Monster WH-920, to give them their full title)?

Thanks for asking, Ian. I’ve been using a Lumia smartphone since it was launched last Autumn. I was sort-of hoping I might get a free pair of headphones as well as the phone. But that didn’t happen. I held out for quite a while, but last month I put my hand in my pocket and bought them for myself from a major online retailer.

Interesting. Why the in-ear model rather than the over-ear type?

Two reasons, really. The first was the cost: the in-ear model is a fair bit more affordable. The second was the size. The earphones are going to be travelling around in my work bag most of the time, so I didn’t want something large or something that might get wrecked by the other items in my bag.

What colour did you go for?

Cyan. It’s a tricky decision. In the end, I decided that black would be very boring of me if brighter colours were available. But that pink was a little too much for this reserved English gentleman. The colour and overall design are things I’m really pleased with.

Tell us about the unboxing.

It’s a nice box. You get the earphones, of course. A selection of different ear pieces in different sizes. An adapter to use them with non-Lumias. You also get a rather natty zip-up case made of some sort of carbon-fibre/Kevlar material.

I was especially pleased about the case because of the “getting wrecked in my bag” issue I mentioned earlier.

So – your impressions of the sound quality?

I’m not a massive audiophile so I can’t offer expert opinion here – but I’m really pleased. It does a really good job of blocking out other sounds. It’s got some sort of noise-isolating technology and whatever it is, it works really well. I listen to more spoken-word recordings than music, and that’s really quite important.

What else did you like?

It’s all good, but I’m a massive fan of the tangle-free cord it’s got. Tangled headphone cords make me incredibly (and irrationally) annoyed. One thing that’s also amazed me is how comfortable they are. I wore them the whole of a six-hour trip to Scotland last week. That’s something that would normally make my ears ache with previous earphones I’ve owned, but these ones didn’t leave a mark.

The Nokia Purity in-ear and over-ear headphones have just won Plus X awards for both high quality and design, so it’s not just my natural bias talking here.