19 ms·

Bose Hearphones

830 points by akramhussein 10y ago

falcolas 10y ago
Someone will have to explain the difference between these and your average hearing aids, which perform a very similar function, but tuned by an audiologist to your needs.
- Ciantic 10y ago
  Even if there weren't any difference, competition in the hearing aid business is more than welcome. The prices can be staggering.
- curiousDog 10y ago
  Do hearing aids allow someone who is not deaf to tune out ambient noise (active noise cancellation)? Looks like these might do that.
  - colah3 10y ago
    Some do, although this may be limited to high-end models? I have a friend who uses hearing aids. They can tune out background noise, focus on directions, turn off hearing, and even listen to magnetic fields (while debugging circuits). I've occasionally felt a bit envious.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- gnicholas 10y ago
  Based on the photo on the website, they look very different. Instead of being in/around the ear, they appear to have a piece that sits on the back of the neck. This could be for the battery or for an array of mics that are used for noise canceling and focusing.
- derekp7 10y ago
  Hearing aids are expensive, because they are a medical device. And they are also only available to people with a hearing deficiency. By not being "hearing aids", these are available to a wider audience.
  - pbhjpbhj 10y ago
    Syringes are a medical device: they're cheap and available to anyone. Where are you and why aren't hearing aids available to buy for anyone who wants them? Is that a legislation thing, do hearing aids damage not-as-hearing-impaired people's hearing?
    - e40 10y ago
      Because syringes are inexpensive, you're making the mistake of thinking there isn't a huge markup due to it being a medical device. I'm pretty sure if you were to buy a syringe for injecting plants or something non-human, they would cost a fraction of what they currently cost. In these very comments someone talks about their hearing aids costing US$6000, being similar in function to the product being discussed.
- stcredzero 10y ago
  If the app could filter out distant sounds, or be used to filter directionally -- and do it in a non-crappy way -- then this would be genuinely useful.
- Moshe_Silnorin 10y ago
  One requires satisfying a vast overweening bureaucracy.
- DasIch 10y ago
  Hearing aids compensate for a health problem, the goal here seems to be to improve hearing even for those that don't have hearing problems. If hearing aids are glasses, these are binoculars/telescopes/microscopes.
  - emptybits 10y ago
    Maybe a better analogy is ... if hearing aids are glasses, these are reading glasses. i.e. off-the-shelf, self-diagnosed, cheap and easy solution for part-time use without getting "medical" (I say "cheap" because I don't know what the Hearphones will cost but I've helped relatives shop for hearing aids and WOW ... from what I gather, as you step up in price in a company's line of hearing aids, ticking off more boxes in their feature matrix, they're probably just enabled bits of code in an otherwise identical DSP ... and the price increments go like this: $3K-$4K-$5K),
  - pbhjpbhj 10y ago
    >improve hearing even for those that don't have hearing problems // That's pretty self-contradictory. Is it perhaps about people simply not wanting to admit they have hearing difficulties, these make it a "non-medical" issue and so allow people to address their poor hearing by-passing any potential stigma [they apply to themselves]. My mother needed hearing aids for a long time, but wouldn't get them, seemingly "because they're for old people".
- vec 10y ago
  Disclaimer: I am not an audiologist, but I am married to one :-). Because of the way your ears function, the vast majority of people who have hearing impairments have them at specific frequency ranges. Hearing aids do amplify sound somewhat, but they mostly work by pitch shifting voices away from your personal weak spots to wherever your hearing is still strongest. They also do some signal processing to differentiate voice-like noises from other sounds, amplify the voice, and actually mute the non-voice sounds. For people who have some hearing loss, blanket amplification can be counterproductive and dangerous. Turning up the volume across the board doesn't help at all with differentiating signal from background noise, and can cause what hearing you do have left to degrade much faster than it otherwise might due to the increased stress placed on the ear.
- Broken_Hippo 10y ago
  This is really like having cheap, off-the shelf reading glasses even though prescription reading glasses are available and attuned to your eyes. And folks would be interested for similar reasons. Insurance might not cover the testing that often or the device itself, for instance, or someone might not think they have the time to go to that doctor. Maybe it is only a problem every once in a while, and so on. And like cheap reading glasses, it might not be a perfect solution, but a solution nonetheless.
borisjabes 10y ago
Looks like Bose smells the same opportunity as Doppler Labs with their "Here One" https://hereplus.me https://hereplus.me
farnsworth 10y ago
I'm not hard of hearing but I often have trouble understanding people at noisy meetups or conferences (or hell, parties). This sounds like an awesome solution. I'm sure I'm not the only one. But what compounds the problem is that I seem to be worse than most at understanding accents (thanks, growing up in middle America). I've gotten better recently, but still.
- pixelcloud 10y ago
  That means you probably have hearing damage. I read an article recently regarding this, many younger people have issues with this and it IS physical damage.
  - timtammittee 10y ago
    You are probably talking about what we call a hidden hearing loss. It is called like this because there are currently no clinical tests available. The reason for this is probably a selective death of synapses in the inner ear. We separate between three types of auditory nerve fibers (ANFs): High spontaneous rate (HSR), low spontaneous rate (LSR) and mid spontaneous rate (MSR). Basically the HSRs are our high gain fibers used for low sound levels. Their response saturates quite early. LSRs on the other hand are low gain fibers used for higher levels. the ANF synapse can release a large amount of neurotransmitter into the synaptic cleft (in this case glutamate) the problem is that high concentrations of glutamate can are actually harmful and HSR fibers seem to be quite sensitive to these high concentrations. If there is a long term exposure to a noisy environment the high glutamate concentration might selectively kills your HSR fibers. The problem with this is that your threshold of hearing is still normal as there is no damage to the HSR fibers which you need to detect low level sounds so your audiogram looks perfectly fine. But you will start to get problems if you are in situations where you need your full dynamic range e.g. understanding speech in a noisy environments. As you can see from my writing, this is a current subject of research so we do not know for sure but it seems like that you have to be quite careful with long time noise exposure even if the sound levels are below what is normally considered as harmful.
    - 10y ago
jluk 10y ago
Neat prospect, but I'm not convinced this is a big enough problem for the majority of people which is how this is marketed. I would also expect a price point comparative to other hearing aids to further distance the average consumer.
- cracell 10y ago
  Depends on price for me. I have trouble hearing in noisy environments. When I was young I was diagnosed with an auditory processing problem so I assume it's related to that. When I meet with someone in a noisy environment I just accept that I'm only going to understand every other word that someone says. Which leads to a lot of smiling and nodding blankly. I know very expensive hearing aids could handle this for me but it's not a big enough problem for me to check into that route. However if this was $150 bucks or so I might get some. Though I expect the price tag will be more like $600.
  - jluk 10y ago
    Interesting, to me I would never carry an additional independent hearing aid for this problem. I generally have my keys, wallet, smartphone, and possibly music headphones. If this could be paired in with existing headphones - awesome, otherwise I can't see many people adding an additional headphone to the aforementioned list without a larger problem. I do like the expansion of the Bose objective though with this.
    - j2bax 10y ago
      Do you have reason to believe these aren't intended to replace your current daily driver headphones?
- abecedarius 10y ago
  Think of augmented reality. It's generally conceived as modifying what you see, but why couldn't you benefit from a computer able to modify what you hear? It ought to be possible to do a lot of Google Glass-like things, not to mention Black Mirror-like, without looking as much like a space cadet or demanding as much of the hardware. (As a hearing aid user I was thinking about this 10 years ago.)
mschip 10y ago
I wonder what the side affects of prolonged usage would be. As in, would my ability to block out ambient noises without the device decline from not using the ability?
- deckar01 10y ago
  Their are already headphones let in ambient sound and headphones that fully block ambient sound. I don't think adding a volume knob to the ambient sound is going to change your brain's hearing calibration.
  - nickparker 10y ago
    I think the unique part of this, which may have an effect, is that it's selectively blocking ambient noise, and it's meant to be worn during conversation. I can't think of anyone today who wears noise-cancelling headphones while trying to hear noise from outside the headphones. Everyone I know takes their headphones off to communicate or listen to specific sounds outside the headset. Who knows, but my point is that there are two slightly different tests here. We already know that wearing noise-cancelling headphones to block _all_ sound doesn't affect our hearing when they're off. It remains to be seen whether using them to filter some sound effects our ability to filter some sound without them.
_fs 10y ago
I really wish someone was working to solve the problem of tinnitus. Would it be possible to generate anti phase wave out of these things to cancel out tinnitus? I would pay anything and/or wear any goofy device in my ears to live life tinnitus free.
- stephendicato 10y ago
  I can't personally endorse their services, but there are companies working on treating tinnitus. Check out http://www.ttsrelief.com/ http://www.ttsrelief.com/
- logicallee 10y ago
  see my other comment. I wish they didn't start by forcing you to have tinnitus to begin with. I'd use foam inserts if they were given out at concerts and clubs etc - but not if I'm the only one bringing them with me, that's ridiculous. tinnitus is caused by people listening to music that is too loud. Music is too loud at most venues, if you are standing where you are meant to. EDIT: people don't like this comment, and point out that in many places inserts are available. All the same, the general clubs that I go to where I live, don't have them, and, more to the point, nobody else wears them. it's a social problem and perhaps a marketing problem. many bars / clubs are too loud and I as a consumer haven't been solicited to pay for a solution on-site. (even if this exists.) others I'm with don't wear anything either. The responses here have convinced me that I likely should invest in some and bring them with me - but I don't like that I'm the only one doing so, and it seems kind of anal. i'm just being honest about how I feel. it would be easier if they were more readily available / being sold, and if everyone were using them. I like to be cool and do the same thing everyone else does. just being honest.
  - abakker 10y ago
    I've learned that it is just necessary to bring foam earplugs to a lot of events. (even movie theaters now). In general, if the performers are wearing them, you probably should be, too. Your health is not a good place to think about being worried about what other people aren't doing to protect theirs.
logicallee 10y ago
they need to get into something they can rent at clubs and concert venues. Clubs are ridiculous. Every time I go to a club, I don't wear hearing protection, and this means that I am consciously making a choice to lose some of my hearing. I should be able to get some foam things that reduce my hearing damage to something reasonable. but imagine if I could rent some kind of insert that actually lets me talk with others who also have theirs (because it filters using also a microphone.) how awesome would that be. clubs and concerts, dance halls etc suck. waaay too loud.
- leoedin 10y ago
  Most ear plugs I've used in clubs or at concerts actually improve (or at the very least make no difference) ability to have conversations. Probably the best way to have a conversation with someone in a loud club is to stick your finger in your ear. Once you've sealed the hole completely, you can hear them fine!
- tlb 10y ago
  Music sounds bad with foam plugs, because the cut the highs more than the midrange. I wear these at concerts: https://www.amazon.com/Eargasm-Fidelity-Earplugs-Musicians-Motorcycles/dp/B019M576XW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481304937&sr=8-1&keywords=eargasm https://www.amazon.com/Eargasm-Fidelity-Earplugs-Musicians-M.... A fairly flat 12 dB drop across the whole spectrum. Everything sounds normal, just not excessively loud.
  - logicallee 10y ago
    looks good - they should give them out at concerts, sell them or rent them. Why isn't anyone selling them at concerts anyway? The cost of goods at scale (millions of pairs per year) must be miniscule, it's basically free money that could be shared with concert venues and has no downsides of any kind whatsoever. why aren't these being sold at concerts? (vending machines etc)? I guess people just don't care. (not enough 'demand').
- Brakenshire 10y ago
  Yeah, what you want is an earplug that will basically cut out the noise, and then a sophisticated device like this, to allow you to hear directionally, or to reduce background noise, to emphasize speech, and so on.
daenney 10y ago
Aren't these just the QC35's with their companion app? What am I missing?
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- kabes 10y ago
  I think you mean the QC30's. I just got those and the app seems different. I'm betting they're probably the same hardware with different software and will be sold separately. Because... more money
  - daenney 10y ago
    Right yes, sorry, the 30's. Mmm, according to the description of the iOS Bose Hear app: Companion app for Bose® Hearphones™ conversation-enhancing headphones to let you hear the world on your terms. This app is not compatible with Bose QC30 Headphones. Now I'm curious if the Hearphones have the same ANC capabilities as the QC30s + the extra stuff. That would be interesting.
    - thinkling 10y ago
      Hearphones page says: "Directional microphones help you focus on conversations in noisy places. Focus, amplify or reduce real-world sounds to the level you want." So the hearphones don't just do cancelation of repetitive-signal type noise, in addition they will amplify sound from the direction you're facing to help carry on a conversation. The Bose QC series don't have that. Nor does the PocketTalker product mentioned in another comment here.
- musesum 10y ago
  Didn't know about the QC30s. Amazon review mentions that the noise cancelling is not as extreme as QC20 or QC35 (by design, according to Bose). My guess is that the new buds will allow the iPhone as a 3rd microphone, with Apple's "Live Listen"
pkstn 10y ago
> Error messagePDOException: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1040] Too many connections in lock_may_be_available() (line 167 of /var/app/current/hearphones/includes/lock.inc).
- lucasgonze 10y ago
  Moral of the story: don't hit the database for brochure pages, except in an async way that won't block page loads on fail.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
pkstn 10y ago
> Error messagePDOException: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1040] Too many connections in lock_may_be_available() (line 167 of /var/app/current/hearphones/includes/lock.inc).
musesum 10y ago
So, same market as the DopplerLabs Hear One? I am the ideal customer: some hearing loss from my VJ days, but still appreciate frequency response. I render all my music at 192Khz. Basic hearing aids suck at frequency response. Most drop off at around 8KHz Meanwhile, Apple has created a pipeline for hearing aid. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201466 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201466 I haven't used it. I often work out of noisy cafes. So, I wear Bose Quiet Comfort 20 earbuds. If I forget, I will go back home to fetch them. Have even taken the QC 20's to public concerts to use the noise cancellation feature instead of earplugs.
- sna1l 10y ago
  I was pretty excited for the Hear One's but now they've been delayed until March. :( If they can actually land a product with a truly wireless experience, that would be awesome!
  - dpflan 10y ago
    I think that's the problem; they have a good idea and an approach and developing partnerships, but product delivery seems.
  - musesum 10y ago
    Yep, Doppler and Apple delaying product. A friend has worn the simple noise cancelling version of the Hear One to a loud concert. She loves them. Another friend has the Bragi Dash earbuds and was complaining of some Bluetooth drop-out. IMO, would rather have a neck band sending out RF than something sitting inside my head. Maybe the new passive WiFi solves that concern at 1/10,000 the power?
    - KingMob 10y ago
      IIRC, the new passive Wifi requires a reflector device in the room.
andy318 10y ago
This is cool. Something i've wished for. Its kinda sad that many restaurants/bars are so noisy that one cannot enjoy a conversation - http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704022804575041060813407740 http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240527487040228045750410...
afshinmeh 10y ago
Can't open the website. PDOException: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1040] Too many connections in lock_may_be_available() (line 167 of /var/app/current/hearphones/includes/lock.inc).
- olegkikin 10y ago
  Mirror: http://archive.is/iFcM7 http://archive.is/iFcM7
- mike-cardwell 10y ago
  https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://hearphones.bose.com/ https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http:/...
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
blauditore 10y ago
OT: I've seen an error page when opening it for the first time: PDOException: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1040] Too many connections in lock_may_be_available() (line 167 of /var/app/current/hearphones/includes/lock.inc). Reloading once made it work. Out of curiosity, is this an amost-hug of death or something else broken? (I know nothing about Drupal.)
- mike-cardwell 10y ago
  It's a Drupal website. 10 concurrent users probably gives it a hug of death.
- SparkyMcUnicorn 10y ago
  It usually means that Drupal can't establish a lock on the database. The reason why has lots of answers, but in this case it looks like the database isn't scaling.
- Tade0 10y ago
  Somebody's been coding on production I think: Warning: date_timezone_set() expects parameter 1 to be DateTime, boolean given in format_date() (line 2062 of /var/app/current/hearphones/includes/common.inc). Warning: date_format() expects parameter 1 to be DateTimeInterface, boolean given in format_date() (line 2072 of /var/app/current/hearphones/includes/common.inc).
bks 10y ago
I guess that we hugged them too hard, connection error - http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://hearphones.bose.com/ http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://...
FreedomToCreate 10y ago
So basically this is augmentation of the ear. Focus sounds you want to ear, block the ones you don't. Pretty cool, but at the same time its kind of the first step towards the concept shown in Black Mirror where you just block out people you don't want to hear or see. They just become a muffled background noise.
soared 10y ago
Is it just me or does this landing page suck? The top banner doesn't go all the way to the edges, logo is square but buttons are circular, grey icons on a black background, only black and white, etc, etc. Then you get this absolutely butchered review: > I was with my husband at Smokey Bones What is that? > …The room was very noisy as it always is there because they have tv's going and lots of music and people always talk much louder to compensate for the noise. I'll let this one slide > I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to hear the server without any extra effort order my meal with smooth going. With smooth going eh? > My husband and my conversation was not strained Glad to hear your husband were comfortable
nkrumm 10y ago
Hard to tell exactly what this entails, but there is a very functional low-cost solution already on the market called the Pocket Talker (https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Talker-Ultra-System-Headphone/dp/B000S01IOE https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Talker-Ultra-System-Headphone/...)
0xCMP 10y ago
How is this on the top of HN? It's barely clear what these actually be like or how they work? Am I missing something?
- ZenoArrow 10y ago
  The technology behind them isn't groundbreaking, but I can think of some good uses for devices like this. Basically it appears to be a combination of noise cancelling and directional microphones so that you hear more of what you're pointed towards. If you want to get a better feel for how these devices could work, I'd recommend taking a look into directional microphones.
  - 0xCMP 10y ago
    I'm not saying the technology isn't useful, but this has been done before. It hasn't worked before, so when it appears at the top of HN I assumed (given the higher standards we usually apply here) there was a reason beyond an okay marketing website with vague details. Which I didn't expect from Bose (which in my mind == quality and the website wasn't) nor the top of HN.
andy_ppp 10y ago
If they could just remember someone's name for me the first time they say it that would be great ;-)
- sgs1370 10y ago
  You are spot on. Please, let augmented reality help us with this without ads. (Edit: I personally would be willing to pay a monthly subscription)
boobsbr 10y ago
Wow, this address a major problem I have. I have decent hearing, but when I'm in a noisy environment like a bar, I can hear but can't understand what other people are saying. It's why I don't like going to bars/pubs with live performances or ambient music. People think I'm bored or brooding because I'm not talking to anyone, but I just can't understand anything anyone says, so I can't participate in a conversation.
- Isamu 10y ago
  You get no sympathy from people who can hear what's going on. They simply will not understand why you are so withdrawn. Oddly enough, my wife has somewhat degraded hearing but she hears a lot better in noisy environments than I do. Must be like applying a filter to the noise, maybe she is losing the frequencies that cause confusion for me. This will be an interesting product to try out - I hope there are more in the area of enhancing everyday interactions, rather than providing new distractions. Enhanced vision is another area where I am hoping to see new products.
  - koalaman 10y ago
    It's hard to express sympathy when you can't be understood. :)
- rl3 10y ago
  Same. I often wonder how bartenders do it. Granted it doesn't stop me from being outgoing, but people having to almost shout or otherwise talk directly into my ear gets old after a while. I suspect it's not an issue with hearing itself so much as the brain processing the information. In quiet conditions I can usually hear whispered conversations a good distance away.
  - BurningFrog 10y ago
    The bartender API is very limited. The customer is either ordering one of a few enumerated things, or asking one of 3 questions.
h4nkoslo 10y ago
This is basically the same idea as electronic ear protection of the kind typically used for shooting sports, with the addition of a directional microphone to the existing global microphone. It works extremely well in that form factor, basically like having Superman ears. Conversations are audible, you can turn up the sensitivity to where you can hear footsteps clearly in a house, and gunshots are reduced to the level of, eg, a heavy book falling off a shelf. https://smile.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-Amplification-Electronic-R-01526/dp/B001T7QJ9O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1481307350&sr=8-3&keywords=electronic+ear+protection https://smile.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-Amplification-Electro...
6stringmerc 10y ago
Hm, okay. Not quite Google-Glass level overkill personal tech in the wild, but I'm not sure these will find a good patch of target market. Not quite hearing aids, not nearly as cool as headphones intending to keep the world out...I just have my doubts as to how well these are going to be adopted. Oh, and if there comes a time when there are YouTube/Vine videos of jerks coming up behind people wearing these and screaming and/or otherwise messing with them, well, I wouldn't be surprised. Not that I'd approve, mind you. But would I laugh? No comment.
randlet 10y ago
For what it's worth, this tech has been available in hearing aids for a long time already. I carry a remote that can: * switch my hearing aids between 5 different programs depending on the environment. * play "fractal" like tones to combat my tinnitus * adjust the volume including muting the outside world * play music from anything with a 3.5mm jack (bluetooth also available) * hear calls from my phone * probably more I'm forgetting If it wasn't for the being hearing impaired part, having hearing aids is pretty cool :) It looks like Bose is trying to bring this technology to a bigger market which is cool.
- hughes 10y ago
  What do hearing aids with those feature cost? I feel like even premium Bose products would be cheap in comparison
  - randlet 10y ago
    Yes, they're expensive. I think I payed $6000 total for 2 hearing aids with a 3 year service contract and expect them to last 5-6 years (possibly longer). You can certainly get cheaper ones though without all the bells and whistles. You're right though, Bose is going to have to come in way below that price ;)
    - hughes 10y ago
      Thanks for the response. What kind of ongoing service do they require that a service contract would be desired?
      - randlet 10y ago
        I have a degenerative hearing disease called otosclerosis so my hearing changes pretty frequently. My contract includes yearly adjustments to change the amplification vs frequency curve of the aids to compensate for my personal hearing loss profile, and free batteries for 3 years (zinc-air batteries that last ~5 days).
    - 10y ago
mikestew 10y ago
"You’re one of the select few invited to the Bose Corporate Center facilities to demo Bose Hearphones for yourself." Wow, I feel so special, and all I did was click a link on HN. This sounds like the Bose version of those cheap late-night "as seen in TV" amplifiers. Yeah, Bose is overpriced for what you get, but at least their stuff is if decent quality. Dunno, after too many years of standing in front of a Marshall stack, be it my own or other's, I could see myself interested in this.
- gilstroem 10y ago
  Came to the comments to say this. Slightly awkward use of cheap classical marketing tricks, for such a big company. It may still work for emails, because people might be unsure of how many mails are actually sent out, but this is cringe in 2016.
brak1 10y ago
So are these just like normal hearing aids (with a diff design), designed/marketed by Bose?
Neliquat 10y ago
Bose has not delivered in tech since the 70s. Color me skeptical, but this seems like a cheap hack for an existing product of theirs with a crapload of dodgy marketing.
- exhilaration 10y ago
  You're probably referring to their speakers but their noise canceling earphones and headphones are widely considered to be excellent. When I was shopping for noise canceling earphones (I work at home, with three kids 5 and under) my research led me to buy Bose.
- lobster_johnson 10y ago
  Their noise canceling headset and earbud products are better than anything on the market, so that's not quite right. I use the QC20 earbuds, which are even better at noise canceling than the QC15 headphones. As a developer, they are my number one tool to get into the zone. They're also very calming on airplanes and elsewhere with a lot of low- or high-frequency noise. I have tried a number of noise canceling headsets, but Bose is the best, something reviews also confirm. (Audio quality is also in the top range, according to me. Not quite as good as my Sennheiser HD25, but close enough.)
bshimmin 10y ago
I humbly submit that they need to work on the name. I've had a long day and not much sleep and my eyes didn't recognise the difference between "hearphones" and "headphones"; the two even sound pretty similar. I know it's intentional and clever, but it's quite subtle. Especially if you don't have good hearing...
beepboopbeep 10y ago
I'd be interested to see what happens to the noise level of a bar room with everyone using these. Would the clarity of sound reduce everyone's volume to conversational?
ElijahLynn 10y ago
I was reading this paragraph. "...and people always talk much louder to compensate for the noise. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to hear the server without any extra effort..." And initially was wondering how he got an audio feed to his server in a restaurant and then was like "Why would he want to listen to his server". And then realized that there are human servers in restaurants.
- Florin_Andrei 10y ago
  Time to go play outside.
  - ElijahLynn 10y ago
    Truth!
ElijahLynn 10y ago
This is augmented reality.
chuckreynolds 10y ago
Yessssss... can just turn people and environments down... love it! WANT!
agumonkey 10y ago
archive is case of DDoS http://archive.is/iFcM7 http://archive.is/iFcM7
bsmith 10y ago
These seem to me, at least, to be a clever, premium re-branding of hearing aids. I found myself wanting some despite having only moderate (if detectable) hearing loss, especially for the ability to focus in on a conversation in a loud environment. That is a very draining situation for me to find myself in.
artur_makly 10y ago
I have a hard time hearing only my wife. It's like an fine-tuned harmonic anti-sound barrier that turns on automatically after 4 secs.. Wifephones please.
kozak 10y ago
The military already uses similar tech to be able to shoot and hear voice at the same time.
- swimfar 10y ago
  There are passive versions available as well. Obviously they won't have the same capabilities as active noise canceling, though. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01BCR0MNO/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01BCR0MNO/
KaiserPro 10y ago
I'm a drummer. Fortunately before I destroyed my hearing my dad forced me to wear ear defenders. since then it's been a habit. These look nice and all, but basically all you really need are ear plugs. http://www.thesafetysupplycompany.co.uk/p/449062/howard-leight---laser-lite-disposable-foam-ear-plug-uncorded---box-of-200-pairs---hw-3301105.html?gclid=COjc2c7u59ACFekp0wodkRoLsg http://www.thesafetysupplycompany.co.uk/p/449062/howard-leig... comfy, snug and 32db (depending on version) of attenuation. That means that you can go to a loud gigs (95db) without the risk of tinitus. same goes for bars. Loud noises are draining, have your hearing shattered by someone shouting in your ears is a pain. Yes, if you choose the colourful ones its obvious. there are natural colours. Bose makes a lot of song and dance about how you can adjust for noise, your ears do that already. The advantage of normal ear plugs is that you still retain some of the dimensionality that earphones loose. Sadly I've had a child, and all that shrill screaming has basically killed off 10db of sensitivity of my hearing. but I'm 10db up form most of my musician friends
- owlninja 10y ago
  These are not just earplugs...they can enhance conversation in loud places as well.
  - KaiserPro 10y ago
    Don't get me wrong, for those of us who have to use hearing aids this is a godsend, it allows directionality that previously was impossible. However, for people with "normal" hearing, this will be a step down in usability. The earlobe is shaped like they are to allow your brain to pickout and isolate sound in three dimensions+. Firstly this is automatic, you've been doing it since before you were born. Secondly, the design of the era plugs completely remove the "shaping" sound of the earlobe (for want of a better term. This is why stereo records still sound flat, they don't have the extra metadata the deformities of the earlobe provide. hence binaural recordings.) Yes that means you can remove the background noise completely, and replace it with the "what's in front of you" but that is a 2d (if you're lucky) image, so good luck differentiating between two people close together. Ear plugs _shouldnt_ mess with the "metadata" because they should be in the earcanal. All they are doing is attenuating the signal, not re-writing it. However I can't state enough how much this is going to improve people who are dependant in earphone's lives. For the rest of us, ear plugs are most likely far superior + Experiment: Stereo is sort of 2d. However, its complicated. you can describe a horizontal circle of noise, crudely by altering the two channels. However depth is replaced by loudness. (in the same way size of an object for 2d photos) Now, you know that in real life you can differentiate vertical sounds as well. edit: ex sound engineer, so none of this is scientific. Please research binaural, and 3D sound. Criticism welcome
callesgg 10y ago
I actually use my normal noice cancelling BOSE headphones for this sometimes. If one presses the passthrogh button it has a somewhat enhancing effect.
WhitneyLand 10y ago
What is this? Hearing aid, directional headset, hybrid?
themihai 10y ago
Bragio has had this feature for a while. What's the innovation/news?
cvigoe 10y ago
This reminds me strongly of when cigarette companies started to produce nicotine patches. Without sounding too cynical (it does look like a product that could be useful for people who just happen to be in noisey environments a lot) , I can't help but think Bose are trying to position themselves at the top of a new product line: hearing aids for people who damaged their own hearing through excessively loud earphone music but rebranded to not be considered so obviously as "hearing aids" in the current sense. Not that that's necessary all that bad, it makes sense for a top consumer audio company to tackle this "problem" if it is a thing; I'm by no means an ear expert but I wouldn't be surprised if a surge in hearing aid demand is due as the effects of prolonged earphone usage starts to surface.
pluglus 10y ago
I am totally bothered by noise in the bars. Or the fact that you go to sports bar, but you cannot hear the audio. I was thinking of building on Pi something that would plug to TVs audio output, and then broadcast that to local Wifi in the bar. So that smartphone that's connected to same wifi could receive the audio and you could listen to it on your smartphone. Turns out there is someone already doing it: http://www.limeonair.com http://www.limeonair.com
- pbhjpbhj 10y ago
  Like a hearing aid induction loop (a transmitter that plugs in to a venues mono-out and [I gather] transmits on a frequency for specially hearing aids). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_induction_loop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_induction_loop
Coincoin 10y ago
I wonder if that could be useful for people with misophonia. Having power over what sound one ears could have a dramatic effect.
joel-stages 10y ago
Long time reader, first time caller...er commenter. I might be biased since I work for them, but at www.stages.co we've JUST unveiled a headphone and a tabletop product (that lets you use any existing headphones) that I think this thread would find relevant. Directional listening, noice cancellation, noise reduction, high quality audio, user configurable admittance criteria - we have it all.
- hearingguy 10y ago
  Are those products you have at stages.co already developed and built or are they in development? Why would someone use that desktop device instead of the headphones?
  - joel-stages 10y ago
    We'll be bringing developed products to CES in January 2017 and will be announcing details on our production rollout plan soon. The reason for the desktop product is to allow you to use any existing set of headphones you already own, but still take advantage of our microphone array, unwanted noise reduction, music quality improvements, etc. Basically, we wanted everyone to be able to take advantage of our tech, even if they have a pair of headphones they already love.
LyalinDotCom 10y ago
As someone who lost hearing in one ear as a young kid Its always exciting to see companies work on this space. Honestly from their marketing websites its not 100% clear where this is going but I do look forward to seeing
Mankhool 10y ago
I have always used my QC20 noise cancelling earbuds in this way so I'm glad it will get better. Just last weekend in a noisy eatery I put them in and my SO and her friend thought I was listening to music, but I said, "No, now I can hear YOU". Cool.
oAlbe 10y ago
Am I the only one that seeing those things thought of the Seashells from Fahrenheit 451?
dotnetisnotdead 10y ago
really interested in the technology behind this. Obviously non voice frequencies can be filtered but how are they determining which voices are too far away to matter? I'm sure I could probably read up more, but if these work it's definitely a "shut up and take my money" situation for me. I'm about as ADD as it gets and I have a really hard time when there are multiple conversations going and I try to listen to them all.
scandox 10y ago
I never understood my poor ability to focus sound could be a thing until I read Douglas Coupland's account of sneezing out a lump of...well..his lung...his brain? I don't really know...but it's a great anecdote: http://boingboing.net/2011/09/09/how-coughing-up-a-piece-of-his-lung-inspired-douglas-coupland-to-write-a-bio-of-marshall-mcluhan.html http://boingboing.net/2011/09/09/how-coughing-up-a-piece-of-...
- 6stringmerc 10y ago
  This is fascinating, because for years I've noticed that I have an acute opposite thing - I can separate sounds drastically when otherwise it shouldn't make sense. As in, I can hear a conversation, focus on it, and pick it up faintly even though it's something like 15 feet away and around a corner and mixed in with lots of general white noise. It's not a 100% thing but I think it came from years and years of practice in music (identifying different instruments, their lines/notes) and also intentionally eavesdropping conversations at bars and stuff (to practice writing better dialog). It's a very interesting condition to have, because sometimes certain sounds will jump out at me in ways that wouldn't bother most other people - for example, the newest GMC TV commercials on US TV have this marimba chime thing that kicks in at the very end and it's a purposefully off-tempo, non-harmonized cacophony that drives me effing bonkers.
- draw_down 10y ago
  Good god. Baffling and scary.
doublevea 10y ago
Buy Other Sound Equipment. Bose is largely overpriced given the quality of headphones.
vadym909 10y ago
I can pretend to be listening to the wife while my ears focus on the game score from the TV?
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sundvor 10y ago
Not limited to those with bad hearing, auditory processing issues are common amongst those with ASD / autism spectrum disorders / Aspergers / The Geek Syndrome. This looks like an excellent product, and great work to their engineers.
fapjacks 10y ago
We have similar directional, sound-suppressing "headphones" for use in the military. Specifically I used them as a gunner on a Bradley (BFV) and a gunner on a regular ole Humvee gun truck. This kind of thing is pretty impressive. I could talk to other gunners in other turrets in our security element that were reasonably close without using the radio. You could still hear everything happening around you -- incredibly important -- without blast sounds and weapons fire causing your ears to ring.
sprokolopolis 10y ago
As someone who is unilaterally deaf, this is very interesting to me. I hear fine in one ear, but am completely deaf in the other. People who hear in stereo seem to isolate particular sounds (like a voice) much easier from background noise without any/much conscious thought; whereas, I have to consciously focus on filtering out the ambient noise. Having 2 audio channels seems to allow for a sort of spacial filtering/differentiation to pinpoint particular streams of sounds. I have found that turning my head in space allows me some ability to differentiate foreground/background noise by comparing their relative change in volumes as my ear changes direction. That is more fit for deciphering sounds coming from a distance and not helpful in the case of a close conversation. If I am having trouble with a conversation in a noisy setting I normally revert to lip-reading. Unfortunately lip-reading makes it difficult to read body language and facial expressions. As a young kid I felt a bit left out of the experience of stereo music. I experimented with setting up several of my family's radios around my room and tuning their equalizers differently to roughly separate parts of the music. By moving and turning through the room, I was able to experience the music in a slightly more spacial way.
gravypod 10y ago
Are they calling these headphones to avoid medical device testing? These aren't headphones and that's not their main feature.
- Tade0 10y ago
  There's more money to be made in certified medical devices. My father worked in medical device certification before he retired and fought a long and eventually losing battle with a businessman, who wanted to have his vacuum cleaner product certified as a medical device(ostensibly it was supposed to somehow deliver drugs by spraying them on the floor).
gesman 10y ago
Experience new [potentially] super [maybe] coolexotic headphones by coming to Bose event in MA. Ok. Duh? Why so many points to this story?
imranq 10y ago
Wow - this is hololens for your ears!
tooFastFuckYou 10y ago
So is that ONE picture the only one that shows the product being worn?
known 10y ago
Hasn't China ventured into this?
TACIXAT 10y ago
It's so weird that we create personal products to address noise in public spaces rather than addressing the unnecessary noise first.
- pvdebbe 10y ago
  Yeah. I just tend to avoid the noisy establishments.
disposablezero 10y ago
When I go with family to the shooting club, we have these hearing protectors that double as hearing enhancement. This seems like a natural extension off the range.
raz32dust 10y ago
Kudos to Bose for marketing. Can't wait to see the execution. Today, people who wore glasses or had to wear hearing aid were those with vision and hearing problems. We are moving to an era where we would voluntarily wear visual/hearing aid all the time because they enhance our natural abilities so much that it would be hard to do without it. We are now starting to augment the most basic senses with technology, in a way that is affordable enough that everyone will be doing it. In that sense, this is the dawn of an era of bioelectronic super humans.
kriro 10y ago
I have Bose noise cancelling headphones...possibly the best purchase I have ever made since they allow me to basically turn off the environment when on a train (or plane but I commute about 1h each way daily via train so that's where they shine). My soundy friends tell me Bose sound quality is not in the upper echolon (my hearing is not fine grained enough to hear a difference so I don't really care) but the filtering is really amazing. Not surprised they improve on that and branch out a bit. I usually listen to stuff without vocals (X meets metal: https://www.youtube.com/user/331Erock https://www.youtube.com/user/331Erock) when reading as I can't concentrate if there's lyrics.
- e40 10y ago
  I have the QC 35's, and I have to agree with you. It was, I thought, an extravagant purchase, but after having them for a month I think not. I use them at least an hour a day and they are amazing, albeit expensive.
lancewiggs 10y ago
The hard problem to solve there is not the filtering - but the calibration. That's going to be the interesting bit to observe.
tbarbugli 10y ago
Not going to be awkward at all!
_glass 10y ago
If they can't do the acoustics right, this is the solution. But the focus should be to push good architectural design. Which is lacking almost everywhere.
aagoldin 10y ago
We (in Alango Technologies) liked the HearPhones for this product type. Actually, we liked it so much that two years ago we used it to name the category of Bluetooth headsets with hearing enhancement and assistive listening functionality as HearPhones™ (www.alango.com/hearphones, www.old.alango.com/hearing/index). As a DSP software provider, we started working on a licensable software package that allows transformation of a Bluetooth headset into a powerful hearing aid. Of course, BOSE were aware of it as well and, apparently, liked the idea and the name so much that they decided to name their upcoming product HearPhones™. We, obviously, don’t like their idea… Anyway, our company will introduce our own concept product from HearPhones™ category. It will be a stylish Bluetooth headset with fully customizable hearing enhancement capability. You will get much more information about it very soon (hopefully next week) on www.wearandhear.com
aagoldin 10y ago
We (in Alango Technologies) liked the HearPhones for this product type. Actually, we liked it so much that two years ago we used it to name the category of Bluetooth headsets with hearing enhancement and assistive listening functionality as HearPhones™ (www.alango.com/hearphones, www.old.alango.com/hearing/index). As a DSP software provider, we started working on a licensable software package that allows transformation of a Bluetooth headset into a powerful hearing aid. Of course, BOSE were aware of it as well and, apparently, liked the idea and the name so much that they decided to name their upcoming product HearPhones™. We, obviously, don’t like their idea… Anyway, our company will introduce our own concept product from HearPhones™ category. It will be a stylish Bluetooth headset with fully customizable hearing enhancement capability. You will get much more information about it very soon (hopefully next week) on www.wearandhear.com

830 points by akramhussein 10y ago

Someone will have to explain the difference between these and your average hearing aids, which perform a very similar function, but tuned by an audiologist to your needs.

Ciantic 10y ago
Even if there weren't any difference, competition in the hearing aid business is more than welcome. The prices can be staggering.
curiousDog 10y ago
Do hearing aids allow someone who is not deaf to tune out ambient noise (active noise cancellation)? Looks like these might do that.
- colah3 10y ago
  Some do, although this may be limited to high-end models? I have a friend who uses hearing aids. They can tune out background noise, focus on directions, turn off hearing, and even listen to magnetic fields (while debugging circuits). I've occasionally felt a bit envious.
- deleted 10y ago
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gnicholas 10y ago
Based on the photo on the website, they look very different. Instead of being in/around the ear, they appear to have a piece that sits on the back of the neck. This could be for the battery or for an array of mics that are used for noise canceling and focusing.
derekp7 10y ago
Hearing aids are expensive, because they are a medical device. And they are also only available to people with a hearing deficiency. By not being "hearing aids", these are available to a wider audience.
- pbhjpbhj 10y ago
  Syringes are a medical device: they're cheap and available to anyone. Where are you and why aren't hearing aids available to buy for anyone who wants them? Is that a legislation thing, do hearing aids damage not-as-hearing-impaired people's hearing?
  - e40 10y ago
    Because syringes are inexpensive, you're making the mistake of thinking there isn't a huge markup due to it being a medical device. I'm pretty sure if you were to buy a syringe for injecting plants or something non-human, they would cost a fraction of what they currently cost. In these very comments someone talks about their hearing aids costing US$6000, being similar in function to the product being discussed.
stcredzero 10y ago
If the app could filter out distant sounds, or be used to filter directionally -- and do it in a non-crappy way -- then this would be genuinely useful.
Moshe_Silnorin 10y ago
One requires satisfying a vast overweening bureaucracy.
DasIch 10y ago
Hearing aids compensate for a health problem, the goal here seems to be to improve hearing even for those that don't have hearing problems. If hearing aids are glasses, these are binoculars/telescopes/microscopes.
- emptybits 10y ago
  Maybe a better analogy is ... if hearing aids are glasses, these are reading glasses. i.e. off-the-shelf, self-diagnosed, cheap and easy solution for part-time use without getting "medical" (I say "cheap" because I don't know what the Hearphones will cost but I've helped relatives shop for hearing aids and WOW ... from what I gather, as you step up in price in a company's line of hearing aids, ticking off more boxes in their feature matrix, they're probably just enabled bits of code in an otherwise identical DSP ... and the price increments go like this: $3K-$4K-$5K),
- pbhjpbhj 10y ago
  >improve hearing even for those that don't have hearing problems // That's pretty self-contradictory. Is it perhaps about people simply not wanting to admit they have hearing difficulties, these make it a "non-medical" issue and so allow people to address their poor hearing by-passing any potential stigma [they apply to themselves]. My mother needed hearing aids for a long time, but wouldn't get them, seemingly "because they're for old people".
vec 10y ago
Disclaimer: I am not an audiologist, but I am married to one :-). Because of the way your ears function, the vast majority of people who have hearing impairments have them at specific frequency ranges. Hearing aids do amplify sound somewhat, but they mostly work by pitch shifting voices away from your personal weak spots to wherever your hearing is still strongest. They also do some signal processing to differentiate voice-like noises from other sounds, amplify the voice, and actually mute the non-voice sounds. For people who have some hearing loss, blanket amplification can be counterproductive and dangerous. Turning up the volume across the board doesn't help at all with differentiating signal from background noise, and can cause what hearing you do have left to degrade much faster than it otherwise might due to the increased stress placed on the ear.
Broken_Hippo 10y ago
This is really like having cheap, off-the shelf reading glasses even though prescription reading glasses are available and attuned to your eyes. And folks would be interested for similar reasons. Insurance might not cover the testing that often or the device itself, for instance, or someone might not think they have the time to go to that doctor. Maybe it is only a problem every once in a while, and so on. And like cheap reading glasses, it might not be a perfect solution, but a solution nonetheless.

borisjabes 10y ago

Looks like Bose smells the same opportunity as Doppler Labs with their "Here One" https://hereplus.me https://hereplus.me

farnsworth 10y ago

I'm not hard of hearing but I often have trouble understanding people at noisy meetups or conferences (or hell, parties). This sounds like an awesome solution. I'm sure I'm not the only one. But what compounds the problem is that I seem to be worse than most at understanding accents (thanks, growing up in middle America). I've gotten better recently, but still.

pixelcloud 10y ago
That means you probably have hearing damage. I read an article recently regarding this, many younger people have issues with this and it IS physical damage.
- timtammittee 10y ago
  You are probably talking about what we call a hidden hearing loss. It is called like this because there are currently no clinical tests available. The reason for this is probably a selective death of synapses in the inner ear. We separate between three types of auditory nerve fibers (ANFs): High spontaneous rate (HSR), low spontaneous rate (LSR) and mid spontaneous rate (MSR). Basically the HSRs are our high gain fibers used for low sound levels. Their response saturates quite early. LSRs on the other hand are low gain fibers used for higher levels. the ANF synapse can release a large amount of neurotransmitter into the synaptic cleft (in this case glutamate) the problem is that high concentrations of glutamate can are actually harmful and HSR fibers seem to be quite sensitive to these high concentrations. If there is a long term exposure to a noisy environment the high glutamate concentration might selectively kills your HSR fibers. The problem with this is that your threshold of hearing is still normal as there is no damage to the HSR fibers which you need to detect low level sounds so your audiogram looks perfectly fine. But you will start to get problems if you are in situations where you need your full dynamic range e.g. understanding speech in a noisy environments. As you can see from my writing, this is a current subject of research so we do not know for sure but it seems like that you have to be quite careful with long time noise exposure even if the sound levels are below what is normally considered as harmful.
  - 10y ago

jluk 10y ago

Neat prospect, but I'm not convinced this is a big enough problem for the majority of people which is how this is marketed. I would also expect a price point comparative to other hearing aids to further distance the average consumer.

cracell 10y ago
Depends on price for me. I have trouble hearing in noisy environments. When I was young I was diagnosed with an auditory processing problem so I assume it's related to that. When I meet with someone in a noisy environment I just accept that I'm only going to understand every other word that someone says. Which leads to a lot of smiling and nodding blankly. I know very expensive hearing aids could handle this for me but it's not a big enough problem for me to check into that route. However if this was $150 bucks or so I might get some. Though I expect the price tag will be more like $600.
- jluk 10y ago
  Interesting, to me I would never carry an additional independent hearing aid for this problem. I generally have my keys, wallet, smartphone, and possibly music headphones. If this could be paired in with existing headphones - awesome, otherwise I can't see many people adding an additional headphone to the aforementioned list without a larger problem. I do like the expansion of the Bose objective though with this.
  - j2bax 10y ago
    Do you have reason to believe these aren't intended to replace your current daily driver headphones?
abecedarius 10y ago
Think of augmented reality. It's generally conceived as modifying what you see, but why couldn't you benefit from a computer able to modify what you hear? It ought to be possible to do a lot of Google Glass-like things, not to mention Black Mirror-like, without looking as much like a space cadet or demanding as much of the hardware. (As a hearing aid user I was thinking about this 10 years ago.)

mschip 10y ago

I wonder what the side affects of prolonged usage would be. As in, would my ability to block out ambient noises without the device decline from not using the ability?

deckar01 10y ago
Their are already headphones let in ambient sound and headphones that fully block ambient sound. I don't think adding a volume knob to the ambient sound is going to change your brain's hearing calibration.
- nickparker 10y ago
  I think the unique part of this, which may have an effect, is that it's selectively blocking ambient noise, and it's meant to be worn during conversation. I can't think of anyone today who wears noise-cancelling headphones while trying to hear noise from outside the headphones. Everyone I know takes their headphones off to communicate or listen to specific sounds outside the headset. Who knows, but my point is that there are two slightly different tests here. We already know that wearing noise-cancelling headphones to block _all_ sound doesn't affect our hearing when they're off. It remains to be seen whether using them to filter some sound effects our ability to filter some sound without them.

_fs 10y ago

I really wish someone was working to solve the problem of tinnitus. Would it be possible to generate anti phase wave out of these things to cancel out tinnitus? I would pay anything and/or wear any goofy device in my ears to live life tinnitus free.

stephendicato 10y ago
I can't personally endorse their services, but there are companies working on treating tinnitus. Check out http://www.ttsrelief.com/ http://www.ttsrelief.com/
logicallee 10y ago
see my other comment. I wish they didn't start by forcing you to have tinnitus to begin with. I'd use foam inserts if they were given out at concerts and clubs etc - but not if I'm the only one bringing them with me, that's ridiculous. tinnitus is caused by people listening to music that is too loud. Music is too loud at most venues, if you are standing where you are meant to. EDIT: people don't like this comment, and point out that in many places inserts are available. All the same, the general clubs that I go to where I live, don't have them, and, more to the point, nobody else wears them. it's a social problem and perhaps a marketing problem. many bars / clubs are too loud and I as a consumer haven't been solicited to pay for a solution on-site. (even if this exists.) others I'm with don't wear anything either. The responses here have convinced me that I likely should invest in some and bring them with me - but I don't like that I'm the only one doing so, and it seems kind of anal. i'm just being honest about how I feel. it would be easier if they were more readily available / being sold, and if everyone were using them. I like to be cool and do the same thing everyone else does. just being honest.
- abakker 10y ago
  I've learned that it is just necessary to bring foam earplugs to a lot of events. (even movie theaters now). In general, if the performers are wearing them, you probably should be, too. Your health is not a good place to think about being worried about what other people aren't doing to protect theirs.

logicallee 10y ago

they need to get into something they can rent at clubs and concert venues. Clubs are ridiculous. Every time I go to a club, I don't wear hearing protection, and this means that I am consciously making a choice to lose some of my hearing. I should be able to get some foam things that reduce my hearing damage to something reasonable. but imagine if I could rent some kind of insert that actually lets me talk with others who also have theirs (because it filters using also a microphone.) how awesome would that be. clubs and concerts, dance halls etc suck. waaay too loud.

leoedin 10y ago
Most ear plugs I've used in clubs or at concerts actually improve (or at the very least make no difference) ability to have conversations. Probably the best way to have a conversation with someone in a loud club is to stick your finger in your ear. Once you've sealed the hole completely, you can hear them fine!
tlb 10y ago
Music sounds bad with foam plugs, because the cut the highs more than the midrange. I wear these at concerts: https://www.amazon.com/Eargasm-Fidelity-Earplugs-Musicians-Motorcycles/dp/B019M576XW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481304937&sr=8-1&keywords=eargasm https://www.amazon.com/Eargasm-Fidelity-Earplugs-Musicians-M.... A fairly flat 12 dB drop across the whole spectrum. Everything sounds normal, just not excessively loud.
- logicallee 10y ago
  looks good - they should give them out at concerts, sell them or rent them. Why isn't anyone selling them at concerts anyway? The cost of goods at scale (millions of pairs per year) must be miniscule, it's basically free money that could be shared with concert venues and has no downsides of any kind whatsoever. why aren't these being sold at concerts? (vending machines etc)? I guess people just don't care. (not enough 'demand').
Brakenshire 10y ago
Yeah, what you want is an earplug that will basically cut out the noise, and then a sophisticated device like this, to allow you to hear directionally, or to reduce background noise, to emphasize speech, and so on.

daenney 10y ago

Aren't these just the QC35's with their companion app? What am I missing?

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kabes 10y ago
I think you mean the QC30's. I just got those and the app seems different. I'm betting they're probably the same hardware with different software and will be sold separately. Because... more money
- daenney 10y ago
  Right yes, sorry, the 30's. Mmm, according to the description of the iOS Bose Hear app: Companion app for Bose® Hearphones™ conversation-enhancing headphones to let you hear the world on your terms. This app is not compatible with Bose QC30 Headphones. Now I'm curious if the Hearphones have the same ANC capabilities as the QC30s + the extra stuff. That would be interesting.
  - thinkling 10y ago
    Hearphones page says: "Directional microphones help you focus on conversations in noisy places. Focus, amplify or reduce real-world sounds to the level you want." So the hearphones don't just do cancelation of repetitive-signal type noise, in addition they will amplify sound from the direction you're facing to help carry on a conversation. The Bose QC series don't have that. Nor does the PocketTalker product mentioned in another comment here.
musesum 10y ago
Didn't know about the QC30s. Amazon review mentions that the noise cancelling is not as extreme as QC20 or QC35 (by design, according to Bose). My guess is that the new buds will allow the iPhone as a 3rd microphone, with Apple's "Live Listen"

pkstn 10y ago

> Error messagePDOException: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1040] Too many connections in lock_may_be_available() (line 167 of /var/app/current/hearphones/includes/lock.inc).

lucasgonze 10y ago
Moral of the story: don't hit the database for brochure pages, except in an async way that won't block page loads on fail.
- deleted 10y ago
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pkstn 10y ago

> Error messagePDOException: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1040] Too many connections in lock_may_be_available() (line 167 of /var/app/current/hearphones/includes/lock.inc).

musesum 10y ago

So, same market as the DopplerLabs Hear One? I am the ideal customer: some hearing loss from my VJ days, but still appreciate frequency response. I render all my music at 192Khz. Basic hearing aids suck at frequency response. Most drop off at around 8KHz Meanwhile, Apple has created a pipeline for hearing aid. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201466 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201466 I haven't used it. I often work out of noisy cafes. So, I wear Bose Quiet Comfort 20 earbuds. If I forget, I will go back home to fetch them. Have even taken the QC 20's to public concerts to use the noise cancellation feature instead of earplugs.

sna1l 10y ago
I was pretty excited for the Hear One's but now they've been delayed until March. :( If they can actually land a product with a truly wireless experience, that would be awesome!
- dpflan 10y ago
  I think that's the problem; they have a good idea and an approach and developing partnerships, but product delivery seems.
- musesum 10y ago
  Yep, Doppler and Apple delaying product. A friend has worn the simple noise cancelling version of the Hear One to a loud concert. She loves them. Another friend has the Bragi Dash earbuds and was complaining of some Bluetooth drop-out. IMO, would rather have a neck band sending out RF than something sitting inside my head. Maybe the new passive WiFi solves that concern at 1/10,000 the power?
  - KingMob 10y ago
    IIRC, the new passive Wifi requires a reflector device in the room.

andy318 10y ago

This is cool. Something i've wished for. Its kinda sad that many restaurants/bars are so noisy that one cannot enjoy a conversation - http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704022804575041060813407740 http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB100014240527487040228045750410...

afshinmeh 10y ago

Can't open the website. PDOException: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1040] Too many connections in lock_may_be_available() (line 167 of /var/app/current/hearphones/includes/lock.inc).

olegkikin 10y ago
Mirror: http://archive.is/iFcM7 http://archive.is/iFcM7
mike-cardwell 10y ago
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://hearphones.bose.com/ https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http:/...

deleted 10y ago

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blauditore 10y ago

OT: I've seen an error page when opening it for the first time: PDOException: SQLSTATE[HY000] [1040] Too many connections in lock_may_be_available() (line 167 of /var/app/current/hearphones/includes/lock.inc). Reloading once made it work. Out of curiosity, is this an amost-hug of death or something else broken? (I know nothing about Drupal.)

mike-cardwell 10y ago
It's a Drupal website. 10 concurrent users probably gives it a hug of death.
SparkyMcUnicorn 10y ago
It usually means that Drupal can't establish a lock on the database. The reason why has lots of answers, but in this case it looks like the database isn't scaling.
Tade0 10y ago
Somebody's been coding on production I think: Warning: date_timezone_set() expects parameter 1 to be DateTime, boolean given in format_date() (line 2062 of /var/app/current/hearphones/includes/common.inc). Warning: date_format() expects parameter 1 to be DateTimeInterface, boolean given in format_date() (line 2072 of /var/app/current/hearphones/includes/common.inc).

bks 10y ago

I guess that we hugged them too hard, connection error - http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://hearphones.bose.com/ http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://...

FreedomToCreate 10y ago

So basically this is augmentation of the ear. Focus sounds you want to ear, block the ones you don't. Pretty cool, but at the same time its kind of the first step towards the concept shown in Black Mirror where you just block out people you don't want to hear or see. They just become a muffled background noise.

soared 10y ago

Is it just me or does this landing page suck? The top banner doesn't go all the way to the edges, logo is square but buttons are circular, grey icons on a black background, only black and white, etc, etc. Then you get this absolutely butchered review: > I was with my husband at Smokey Bones What is that? > …The room was very noisy as it always is there because they have tv's going and lots of music and people always talk much louder to compensate for the noise. I'll let this one slide > I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to hear the server without any extra effort order my meal with smooth going. With smooth going eh? > My husband and my conversation was not strained Glad to hear your husband were comfortable

nkrumm 10y ago

Hard to tell exactly what this entails, but there is a very functional low-cost solution already on the market called the Pocket Talker (https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Talker-Ultra-System-Headphone/dp/B000S01IOE https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Talker-Ultra-System-Headphone/...)

0xCMP 10y ago

How is this on the top of HN? It's barely clear what these actually be like or how they work? Am I missing something?

ZenoArrow 10y ago
The technology behind them isn't groundbreaking, but I can think of some good uses for devices like this. Basically it appears to be a combination of noise cancelling and directional microphones so that you hear more of what you're pointed towards. If you want to get a better feel for how these devices could work, I'd recommend taking a look into directional microphones.
- 0xCMP 10y ago
  I'm not saying the technology isn't useful, but this has been done before. It hasn't worked before, so when it appears at the top of HN I assumed (given the higher standards we usually apply here) there was a reason beyond an okay marketing website with vague details. Which I didn't expect from Bose (which in my mind == quality and the website wasn't) nor the top of HN.

andy_ppp 10y ago

If they could just remember someone's name for me the first time they say it that would be great ;-)

sgs1370 10y ago
You are spot on. Please, let augmented reality help us with this without ads. (Edit: I personally would be willing to pay a monthly subscription)

boobsbr 10y ago

Wow, this address a major problem I have. I have decent hearing, but when I'm in a noisy environment like a bar, I can hear but can't understand what other people are saying. It's why I don't like going to bars/pubs with live performances or ambient music. People think I'm bored or brooding because I'm not talking to anyone, but I just can't understand anything anyone says, so I can't participate in a conversation.

Isamu 10y ago
You get no sympathy from people who can hear what's going on. They simply will not understand why you are so withdrawn. Oddly enough, my wife has somewhat degraded hearing but she hears a lot better in noisy environments than I do. Must be like applying a filter to the noise, maybe she is losing the frequencies that cause confusion for me. This will be an interesting product to try out - I hope there are more in the area of enhancing everyday interactions, rather than providing new distractions. Enhanced vision is another area where I am hoping to see new products.
- koalaman 10y ago
  It's hard to express sympathy when you can't be understood. :)
rl3 10y ago
Same. I often wonder how bartenders do it. Granted it doesn't stop me from being outgoing, but people having to almost shout or otherwise talk directly into my ear gets old after a while. I suspect it's not an issue with hearing itself so much as the brain processing the information. In quiet conditions I can usually hear whispered conversations a good distance away.
- BurningFrog 10y ago
  The bartender API is very limited. The customer is either ordering one of a few enumerated things, or asking one of 3 questions.

h4nkoslo 10y ago

This is basically the same idea as electronic ear protection of the kind typically used for shooting sports, with the addition of a directional microphone to the existing global microphone. It works extremely well in that form factor, basically like having Superman ears. Conversations are audible, you can turn up the sensitivity to where you can hear footsteps clearly in a house, and gunshots are reduced to the level of, eg, a heavy book falling off a shelf. https://smile.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-Amplification-Electronic-R-01526/dp/B001T7QJ9O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1481307350&sr=8-3&keywords=electronic+ear+protection https://smile.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-Amplification-Electro...

6stringmerc 10y ago

Hm, okay. Not quite Google-Glass level overkill personal tech in the wild, but I'm not sure these will find a good patch of target market. Not quite hearing aids, not nearly as cool as headphones intending to keep the world out...I just have my doubts as to how well these are going to be adopted. Oh, and if there comes a time when there are YouTube/Vine videos of jerks coming up behind people wearing these and screaming and/or otherwise messing with them, well, I wouldn't be surprised. Not that I'd approve, mind you. But would I laugh? No comment.

randlet 10y ago

For what it's worth, this tech has been available in hearing aids for a long time already. I carry a remote that can: * switch my hearing aids between 5 different programs depending on the environment. * play "fractal" like tones to combat my tinnitus * adjust the volume including muting the outside world * play music from anything with a 3.5mm jack (bluetooth also available) * hear calls from my phone * probably more I'm forgetting If it wasn't for the being hearing impaired part, having hearing aids is pretty cool :) It looks like Bose is trying to bring this technology to a bigger market which is cool.

hughes 10y ago
What do hearing aids with those feature cost? I feel like even premium Bose products would be cheap in comparison
- randlet 10y ago
  Yes, they're expensive. I think I payed $6000 total for 2 hearing aids with a 3 year service contract and expect them to last 5-6 years (possibly longer). You can certainly get cheaper ones though without all the bells and whistles. You're right though, Bose is going to have to come in way below that price ;)
  - hughes 10y ago
    Thanks for the response. What kind of ongoing service do they require that a service contract would be desired?
    - randlet 10y ago
      I have a degenerative hearing disease called otosclerosis so my hearing changes pretty frequently. My contract includes yearly adjustments to change the amplification vs frequency curve of the aids to compensate for my personal hearing loss profile, and free batteries for 3 years (zinc-air batteries that last ~5 days).
  - 10y ago

mikestew 10y ago

"You’re one of the select few invited to the Bose Corporate Center facilities to demo Bose Hearphones for yourself." Wow, I feel so special, and all I did was click a link on HN. This sounds like the Bose version of those cheap late-night "as seen in TV" amplifiers. Yeah, Bose is overpriced for what you get, but at least their stuff is if decent quality. Dunno, after too many years of standing in front of a Marshall stack, be it my own or other's, I could see myself interested in this.

gilstroem 10y ago
Came to the comments to say this. Slightly awkward use of cheap classical marketing tricks, for such a big company. It may still work for emails, because people might be unsure of how many mails are actually sent out, but this is cringe in 2016.

brak1 10y ago

So are these just like normal hearing aids (with a diff design), designed/marketed by Bose?

Neliquat 10y ago

Bose has not delivered in tech since the 70s. Color me skeptical, but this seems like a cheap hack for an existing product of theirs with a crapload of dodgy marketing.

exhilaration 10y ago
You're probably referring to their speakers but their noise canceling earphones and headphones are widely considered to be excellent. When I was shopping for noise canceling earphones (I work at home, with three kids 5 and under) my research led me to buy Bose.
lobster_johnson 10y ago
Their noise canceling headset and earbud products are better than anything on the market, so that's not quite right. I use the QC20 earbuds, which are even better at noise canceling than the QC15 headphones. As a developer, they are my number one tool to get into the zone. They're also very calming on airplanes and elsewhere with a lot of low- or high-frequency noise. I have tried a number of noise canceling headsets, but Bose is the best, something reviews also confirm. (Audio quality is also in the top range, according to me. Not quite as good as my Sennheiser HD25, but close enough.)

bshimmin 10y ago

I humbly submit that they need to work on the name. I've had a long day and not much sleep and my eyes didn't recognise the difference between "hearphones" and "headphones"; the two even sound pretty similar. I know it's intentional and clever, but it's quite subtle. Especially if you don't have good hearing...

beepboopbeep 10y ago

I'd be interested to see what happens to the noise level of a bar room with everyone using these. Would the clarity of sound reduce everyone's volume to conversational?

ElijahLynn 10y ago

I was reading this paragraph. "...and people always talk much louder to compensate for the noise. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to hear the server without any extra effort..." And initially was wondering how he got an audio feed to his server in a restaurant and then was like "Why would he want to listen to his server". And then realized that there are human servers in restaurants.

Florin_Andrei 10y ago
Time to go play outside.
- ElijahLynn 10y ago
  Truth!

ElijahLynn 10y ago

This is augmented reality.

chuckreynolds 10y ago

Yessssss... can just turn people and environments down... love it! WANT!

agumonkey 10y ago

archive is case of DDoS http://archive.is/iFcM7 http://archive.is/iFcM7

bsmith 10y ago

These seem to me, at least, to be a clever, premium re-branding of hearing aids. I found myself wanting some despite having only moderate (if detectable) hearing loss, especially for the ability to focus in on a conversation in a loud environment. That is a very draining situation for me to find myself in.

artur_makly 10y ago

I have a hard time hearing only my wife. It's like an fine-tuned harmonic anti-sound barrier that turns on automatically after 4 secs.. Wifephones please.

kozak 10y ago

The military already uses similar tech to be able to shoot and hear voice at the same time.

swimfar 10y ago
There are passive versions available as well. Obviously they won't have the same capabilities as active noise canceling, though. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01BCR0MNO/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01BCR0MNO/

KaiserPro 10y ago

I'm a drummer. Fortunately before I destroyed my hearing my dad forced me to wear ear defenders. since then it's been a habit. These look nice and all, but basically all you really need are ear plugs. http://www.thesafetysupplycompany.co.uk/p/449062/howard-leight---laser-lite-disposable-foam-ear-plug-uncorded---box-of-200-pairs---hw-3301105.html?gclid=COjc2c7u59ACFekp0wodkRoLsg http://www.thesafetysupplycompany.co.uk/p/449062/howard-leig... comfy, snug and 32db (depending on version) of attenuation. That means that you can go to a loud gigs (95db) without the risk of tinitus. same goes for bars. Loud noises are draining, have your hearing shattered by someone shouting in your ears is a pain. Yes, if you choose the colourful ones its obvious. there are natural colours. Bose makes a lot of song and dance about how you can adjust for noise, your ears do that already. The advantage of normal ear plugs is that you still retain some of the dimensionality that earphones loose. Sadly I've had a child, and all that shrill screaming has basically killed off 10db of sensitivity of my hearing. but I'm 10db up form most of my musician friends

owlninja 10y ago
These are not just earplugs...they can enhance conversation in loud places as well.
- KaiserPro 10y ago
  Don't get me wrong, for those of us who have to use hearing aids this is a godsend, it allows directionality that previously was impossible. However, for people with "normal" hearing, this will be a step down in usability. The earlobe is shaped like they are to allow your brain to pickout and isolate sound in three dimensions+. Firstly this is automatic, you've been doing it since before you were born. Secondly, the design of the era plugs completely remove the "shaping" sound of the earlobe (for want of a better term. This is why stereo records still sound flat, they don't have the extra metadata the deformities of the earlobe provide. hence binaural recordings.) Yes that means you can remove the background noise completely, and replace it with the "what's in front of you" but that is a 2d (if you're lucky) image, so good luck differentiating between two people close together. Ear plugs _shouldnt_ mess with the "metadata" because they should be in the earcanal. All they are doing is attenuating the signal, not re-writing it. However I can't state enough how much this is going to improve people who are dependant in earphone's lives. For the rest of us, ear plugs are most likely far superior + Experiment: Stereo is sort of 2d. However, its complicated. you can describe a horizontal circle of noise, crudely by altering the two channels. However depth is replaced by loudness. (in the same way size of an object for 2d photos) Now, you know that in real life you can differentiate vertical sounds as well. edit: ex sound engineer, so none of this is scientific. Please research binaural, and 3D sound. Criticism welcome

callesgg 10y ago

I actually use my normal noice cancelling BOSE headphones for this sometimes. If one presses the passthrogh button it has a somewhat enhancing effect.

WhitneyLand 10y ago

What is this? Hearing aid, directional headset, hybrid?

themihai 10y ago

Bragio has had this feature for a while. What's the innovation/news?

cvigoe 10y ago

This reminds me strongly of when cigarette companies started to produce nicotine patches. Without sounding too cynical (it does look like a product that could be useful for people who just happen to be in noisey environments a lot) , I can't help but think Bose are trying to position themselves at the top of a new product line: hearing aids for people who damaged their own hearing through excessively loud earphone music but rebranded to not be considered so obviously as "hearing aids" in the current sense. Not that that's necessary all that bad, it makes sense for a top consumer audio company to tackle this "problem" if it is a thing; I'm by no means an ear expert but I wouldn't be surprised if a surge in hearing aid demand is due as the effects of prolonged earphone usage starts to surface.

pluglus 10y ago

I am totally bothered by noise in the bars. Or the fact that you go to sports bar, but you cannot hear the audio. I was thinking of building on Pi something that would plug to TVs audio output, and then broadcast that to local Wifi in the bar. So that smartphone that's connected to same wifi could receive the audio and you could listen to it on your smartphone. Turns out there is someone already doing it: http://www.limeonair.com http://www.limeonair.com

pbhjpbhj 10y ago
Like a hearing aid induction loop (a transmitter that plugs in to a venues mono-out and [I gather] transmits on a frequency for specially hearing aids). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_induction_loop https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_induction_loop

Coincoin 10y ago

I wonder if that could be useful for people with misophonia. Having power over what sound one ears could have a dramatic effect.

joel-stages 10y ago

Long time reader, first time caller...er commenter. I might be biased since I work for them, but at www.stages.co we've JUST unveiled a headphone and a tabletop product (that lets you use any existing headphones) that I think this thread would find relevant. Directional listening, noice cancellation, noise reduction, high quality audio, user configurable admittance criteria - we have it all.

hearingguy 10y ago
Are those products you have at stages.co already developed and built or are they in development? Why would someone use that desktop device instead of the headphones?
- joel-stages 10y ago
  We'll be bringing developed products to CES in January 2017 and will be announcing details on our production rollout plan soon. The reason for the desktop product is to allow you to use any existing set of headphones you already own, but still take advantage of our microphone array, unwanted noise reduction, music quality improvements, etc. Basically, we wanted everyone to be able to take advantage of our tech, even if they have a pair of headphones they already love.

LyalinDotCom 10y ago

As someone who lost hearing in one ear as a young kid Its always exciting to see companies work on this space. Honestly from their marketing websites its not 100% clear where this is going but I do look forward to seeing

Mankhool 10y ago

I have always used my QC20 noise cancelling earbuds in this way so I'm glad it will get better. Just last weekend in a noisy eatery I put them in and my SO and her friend thought I was listening to music, but I said, "No, now I can hear YOU". Cool.

oAlbe 10y ago

Am I the only one that seeing those things thought of the Seashells from Fahrenheit 451?

dotnetisnotdead 10y ago

really interested in the technology behind this. Obviously non voice frequencies can be filtered but how are they determining which voices are too far away to matter? I'm sure I could probably read up more, but if these work it's definitely a "shut up and take my money" situation for me. I'm about as ADD as it gets and I have a really hard time when there are multiple conversations going and I try to listen to them all.

scandox 10y ago

I never understood my poor ability to focus sound could be a thing until I read Douglas Coupland's account of sneezing out a lump of...well..his lung...his brain? I don't really know...but it's a great anecdote: http://boingboing.net/2011/09/09/how-coughing-up-a-piece-of-his-lung-inspired-douglas-coupland-to-write-a-bio-of-marshall-mcluhan.html http://boingboing.net/2011/09/09/how-coughing-up-a-piece-of-...

6stringmerc 10y ago
This is fascinating, because for years I've noticed that I have an acute opposite thing - I can separate sounds drastically when otherwise it shouldn't make sense. As in, I can hear a conversation, focus on it, and pick it up faintly even though it's something like 15 feet away and around a corner and mixed in with lots of general white noise. It's not a 100% thing but I think it came from years and years of practice in music (identifying different instruments, their lines/notes) and also intentionally eavesdropping conversations at bars and stuff (to practice writing better dialog). It's a very interesting condition to have, because sometimes certain sounds will jump out at me in ways that wouldn't bother most other people - for example, the newest GMC TV commercials on US TV have this marimba chime thing that kicks in at the very end and it's a purposefully off-tempo, non-harmonized cacophony that drives me effing bonkers.
draw_down 10y ago
Good god. Baffling and scary.

doublevea 10y ago

Buy Other Sound Equipment. Bose is largely overpriced given the quality of headphones.

vadym909 10y ago

I can pretend to be listening to the wife while my ears focus on the game score from the TV?

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sundvor 10y ago

Not limited to those with bad hearing, auditory processing issues are common amongst those with ASD / autism spectrum disorders / Aspergers / The Geek Syndrome. This looks like an excellent product, and great work to their engineers.

fapjacks 10y ago

We have similar directional, sound-suppressing "headphones" for use in the military. Specifically I used them as a gunner on a Bradley (BFV) and a gunner on a regular ole Humvee gun truck. This kind of thing is pretty impressive. I could talk to other gunners in other turrets in our security element that were reasonably close without using the radio. You could still hear everything happening around you -- incredibly important -- without blast sounds and weapons fire causing your ears to ring.

sprokolopolis 10y ago

As someone who is unilaterally deaf, this is very interesting to me. I hear fine in one ear, but am completely deaf in the other. People who hear in stereo seem to isolate particular sounds (like a voice) much easier from background noise without any/much conscious thought; whereas, I have to consciously focus on filtering out the ambient noise. Having 2 audio channels seems to allow for a sort of spacial filtering/differentiation to pinpoint particular streams of sounds. I have found that turning my head in space allows me some ability to differentiate foreground/background noise by comparing their relative change in volumes as my ear changes direction. That is more fit for deciphering sounds coming from a distance and not helpful in the case of a close conversation. If I am having trouble with a conversation in a noisy setting I normally revert to lip-reading. Unfortunately lip-reading makes it difficult to read body language and facial expressions. As a young kid I felt a bit left out of the experience of stereo music. I experimented with setting up several of my family's radios around my room and tuning their equalizers differently to roughly separate parts of the music. By moving and turning through the room, I was able to experience the music in a slightly more spacial way.

gravypod 10y ago

Are they calling these headphones to avoid medical device testing? These aren't headphones and that's not their main feature.

Tade0 10y ago
There's more money to be made in certified medical devices. My father worked in medical device certification before he retired and fought a long and eventually losing battle with a businessman, who wanted to have his vacuum cleaner product certified as a medical device(ostensibly it was supposed to somehow deliver drugs by spraying them on the floor).

gesman 10y ago

Experience new [potentially] super [maybe] coolexotic headphones by coming to Bose event in MA. Ok. Duh? Why so many points to this story?

imranq 10y ago

Wow - this is hololens for your ears!

tooFastFuckYou 10y ago

So is that ONE picture the only one that shows the product being worn?

known 10y ago

Hasn't China ventured into this?

TACIXAT 10y ago

It's so weird that we create personal products to address noise in public spaces rather than addressing the unnecessary noise first.

pvdebbe 10y ago
Yeah. I just tend to avoid the noisy establishments.

disposablezero 10y ago

When I go with family to the shooting club, we have these hearing protectors that double as hearing enhancement. This seems like a natural extension off the range.

raz32dust 10y ago

Kudos to Bose for marketing. Can't wait to see the execution. Today, people who wore glasses or had to wear hearing aid were those with vision and hearing problems. We are moving to an era where we would voluntarily wear visual/hearing aid all the time because they enhance our natural abilities so much that it would be hard to do without it. We are now starting to augment the most basic senses with technology, in a way that is affordable enough that everyone will be doing it. In that sense, this is the dawn of an era of bioelectronic super humans.

kriro 10y ago

I have Bose noise cancelling headphones...possibly the best purchase I have ever made since they allow me to basically turn off the environment when on a train (or plane but I commute about 1h each way daily via train so that's where they shine). My soundy friends tell me Bose sound quality is not in the upper echolon (my hearing is not fine grained enough to hear a difference so I don't really care) but the filtering is really amazing. Not surprised they improve on that and branch out a bit. I usually listen to stuff without vocals (X meets metal: https://www.youtube.com/user/331Erock https://www.youtube.com/user/331Erock) when reading as I can't concentrate if there's lyrics.

e40 10y ago
I have the QC 35's, and I have to agree with you. It was, I thought, an extravagant purchase, but after having them for a month I think not. I use them at least an hour a day and they are amazing, albeit expensive.

lancewiggs 10y ago

The hard problem to solve there is not the filtering - but the calibration. That's going to be the interesting bit to observe.

tbarbugli 10y ago

Not going to be awkward at all!

_glass 10y ago

If they can't do the acoustics right, this is the solution. But the focus should be to push good architectural design. Which is lacking almost everywhere.

aagoldin 10y ago

We (in Alango Technologies) liked the HearPhones for this product type. Actually, we liked it so much that two years ago we used it to name the category of Bluetooth headsets with hearing enhancement and assistive listening functionality as HearPhones™ (www.alango.com/hearphones, www.old.alango.com/hearing/index). As a DSP software provider, we started working on a licensable software package that allows transformation of a Bluetooth headset into a powerful hearing aid. Of course, BOSE were aware of it as well and, apparently, liked the idea and the name so much that they decided to name their upcoming product HearPhones™. We, obviously, don’t like their idea… Anyway, our company will introduce our own concept product from HearPhones™ category. It will be a stylish Bluetooth headset with fully customizable hearing enhancement capability. You will get much more information about it very soon (hopefully next week) on www.wearandhear.com

aagoldin 10y ago