Headphones — NWM ONE Star Wars edition

The nwm ONE Star Wars edition is a limited-quantity version of the nwm ONE wireless open-ear headphones from NTT Sonority, the audio company of the Japanese NTT group that sells its products under the nwm name. It went on sale on May 28, 2025, only through the official nwm store, at JPY 44,000, and it was timed ahead of the 50th anniversary of Star Wars Episode IV in 2027. The electronics are those of the regular nwm ONE, which was introduced in July 2024.

Key specs that matter

Each side carries a dynamic two-way system with a 35 mm main driver and a 12 mm tweeter, with a frequency response of 40 Hz to 20 kHz. Bluetooth 5.3 Class 1 supports the A2DP, HFP, AVRCP, TMAP and PBP profiles and the SBC, AAC and LC3 codecs for music, plus CVSD and mSBC for calls. Up to eight devices can be paired and two connected at once. The lithium-ion battery lasts about 20 hours, a full charge takes about 1.5 hours and five minutes of charging gives about one hour of playback. A USB Type-C cable of 1.2 m is included, and the headphones also work as a USB audio device. The weight is about 185 g and the size 160 x 185 x 88.5 mm.

Engineering and use context

The speaker capsules sit in front of the ears on silicone pads and do not seal them, so the wearer still hears the surroundings. To keep others from hearing the music, NTT's PSZ technology, short for Personalized Sound Zone, emits a wave of inverse phase that cancels much of the sound escaping outward. Two omnidirectional MEMS microphones use NTT's Magic Focus Voice processing, which combines beamforming and spectral voice separation for calls in noisy places. The headphones support Sony 360 Reality Audio and Bluetooth LE Audio with Auracast broadcast reception. The Star Wars edition comes in two versions. Light Gray stands for the Rebel Alliance, with a white Star Wars logo on the left capsule and an X-wing on the right, and Dark Gray stands for the Empire, with the logo mark and a TIE fighter. The guidance tones use film effects - an X-wing engine at power on and off, a blaster shot on Bluetooth connection and a TIE fighter engine on disconnection. A headphone stand shaped as the Death Star is included, and the sleeve shows the Death Star on the front and the Millennium Falcon on the back.

Pairing

LC3 and LE Audio need a phone or computer that supports them, otherwise AAC or SBC is used, and the USB audio mode suits a laptop.

Alternatives

The standard nwm ONE in Dark Gray has the same drivers, battery and PSZ system without the film graphics, and lists at USD 299.