Henri Heikkinen

Hey you, the one who thought Valco has everything under control. Guess again. What happened was this: while making the NL25 earbuds, which were supposed to revolutionize the earbud market and finally make us owners of the Death Star, we decided at the last minute to add noise cancelling. Because why not? Everybody wants noise cancelling, and how hard could it be? Spoiler: really hard.

NL25 in Brief: What's This About?

NL25 is an earbud that is, modestly speaking, better than all the other earbuds in its price range put together. Excellent sound quality, design by Jussi Timonen, physical buttons (because touch controls are annoying), and a state-of-the-art chipset. We had a prototype that was basically ready for production and everything was fine, until some idiot came up with, "hey, let's add noise cancelling too," as if it were some kind of dessert sauce you could just drizzle on top without a care in the world.

The Price Tag of Genius

As a result of this flash of brilliance, the whole project was delayed by almost a year, and the price... well, let's just say it went up a bit. But now we have noise cancelling and even better sound quality than ever before. If we learned anything, it's that "it's probably not a big deal" is usually a pretty stupid thought, and that we're sometimes really stupid, which is also why we're not rich yet even though our headphones are so damn good.

On the Verge of Production

This story might still have a happy ending after all. We've gotten the noise cancelling working, the sound quality is even better, and we've also made other refinements to the model. During the summer, we'll finally start production. To those who placed a pre-order: congratulations, you made a smart decision. Despite the NL25 price getting away from us, we're sticking to the special price we promised pre-order customers, despite objections from our investors.

What Happens Next?

Pre-ordering has now ended, and we'll keep sharing updates on the NL25 journey as we make progress and remember to do it. Stay tuned in Valco's newsletter, so you won't miss the next time we have a "brilliant idea."

NL25 in a Nutshell:

Finnish Design: From the hand of internationally awarded Jussi Timonen. The NL25 earbuds are designed based on scientific research. We haven't measured people's skulls ourselves, but the starting point for the design has been studied knowledge of the diversity of the human ear, making it possible to create a product that fits like it was molded in place.

Ergonomics and Quality: NL25 earbuds have actual buttons, designed to withstand northern conditions and use with gloves. Interchangeable tips designed to fit every ear guarantee comfort and a snug fit that maximizes sound isolation and wearing comfort.

Top-Tier Sound Quality: As you'd expect from Valco, the NL25 offers sound quality that ranks among the best on the market. The sound signature designed by Jasse Kesti and acoustic drivers representing the latest technology ensure that music is reproduced cleanly and in balance, separating every note and nuance.

Riding the Wave of Technology: A new programmable Qualcomm chipset brings top-tier technology to the NL25 earbuds. This enables later updates, so your earbuds stay current at all times. Wireless technology has never been this smart and adaptable.