These earbuds are like Instagram filters for sound
May 22, 2016 9:10 PM Subscribe
What if you could cut out the noise in your life? No more crying babies on planes. No city sirens. No rude people on cellphones in the subway. Silicon Valley startup Doppler Labs has created earbuds that will let you filter out some of the more migraine-inducing sounds in your life.
I'm in.
posted by nevercalm at 9:22 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by nevercalm at 9:22 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Looks like somewhat similar "smart" ear plugs are already in the market too ($150 US) https://hush.technology - Hush is slightly different, it is an in-ear noise machine not a filter.
posted by neworder7 at 9:24 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by neworder7 at 9:24 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
If these work as described and can cut industrial noise as effectively as 33dB foam plugs while still letting through undisturbed speech these guys are targeting the wrong market.
posted by Mitheral at 9:27 PM on May 22, 2016 [28 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 9:27 PM on May 22, 2016 [28 favorites]
These sound awesome, but I think they'll be a hard sell at the given price point, unless it also allows people to play their media. Nobody is going to watch t to carry around multiple pairs of ear buds.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 9:30 PM on May 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 9:30 PM on May 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
Things like this always sound great when I hear about them, we'll see if it pans out and is affordable. I suspect that even if they let though speech, flight attendants are still not going to let me keep them in for takeoff and landing.
Also, bit silly that a feature about a product that cuts out unwanted noise has autoplaying video.
posted by ODiV at 9:33 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Also, bit silly that a feature about a product that cuts out unwanted noise has autoplaying video.
posted by ODiV at 9:33 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
What airlines are you on, ODiV? I've got a big pair of bose over-ear noise cancelling headphones which I've never been bothered about during takeoff or landing...
They're great for planes and the BART, but don't do a whole lot for the blender near my work station, or people yammering as they walk by. The only real issue I've had with them is a sense of 'pressure' in my ears when they're on, which is a bit disorienting after more than a couple hours of use.
posted by kaibutsu at 9:48 PM on May 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
They're great for planes and the BART, but don't do a whole lot for the blender near my work station, or people yammering as they walk by. The only real issue I've had with them is a sense of 'pressure' in my ears when they're on, which is a bit disorienting after more than a couple hours of use.
posted by kaibutsu at 9:48 PM on May 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
I've been following this one for a while - it sounds really great.
Even aside from the useful applications, I think it would be cool to play around with it creatively and just make the world around me sound a little more interesting - sculpt the way the ambient environment sounds. Adding a touch (or a lot) of reverb so everything has a trailing effect, for example. Get some reverb/delay/chorus going and shape your everyday life like it's an ambient DJ set...
posted by naju at 9:53 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Even aside from the useful applications, I think it would be cool to play around with it creatively and just make the world around me sound a little more interesting - sculpt the way the ambient environment sounds. Adding a touch (or a lot) of reverb so everything has a trailing effect, for example. Get some reverb/delay/chorus going and shape your everyday life like it's an ambient DJ set...
posted by naju at 9:53 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
If you want to sculpt sound, that's fun. But if you want to block out the world, sound isolating earbuds aren't too hard to come by. I have some old Shure SE115-BLU Sound Isolating Earphones (the old version of the Shure SE112-GR Sound Isolating Earphones) and I can't hear most of the world when I'm listening to music at a moderate level.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:12 PM on May 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by filthy light thief at 10:12 PM on May 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
Even aside from the useful applications, I think it would be cool to play around with it creatively and just make the world around me sound a little more interesting - sculpt the way the ambient environment sounds. Adding a touch (or a lot) of reverb so everything has a trailing effect, for example. Get some reverb/delay/chorus going and shape your everyday life like it's an ambient DJ set...
congratulations! you have invented RjDj (which has been subsumed into Hear)
posted by DoctorFedora at 10:17 PM on May 22, 2016 [10 favorites]
congratulations! you have invented RjDj (which has been subsumed into Hear)
posted by DoctorFedora at 10:17 PM on May 22, 2016 [10 favorites]
I've been underwhelmed so far with them. Maybe I'm not using them in the right contexts, but I've worn them to a few concerts, and also just out and about in day-to-day life and they've been...mostly pointless? I dunno. I'm sure there could be some cool artistic choices you could make, but I was mostly looking at them to make concerts more interesting, mute out some of the daily blare in the city, and make up for whatever minor hearing damage I've incurred over the years and they have, respectively, done nothing meaningful, not performed as well as regular noise-cancelling headphones, and not done much of anything.
posted by protocoach at 10:19 PM on May 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by protocoach at 10:19 PM on May 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
OH my GOODNESS you guys that Hear app
I just downloaded it to see what the RjDj folks are up to nowadays, and the Relax setting made me so glad I work from home because otherwise someone might have seen me just walking around the apartment, listening to the various sounds that everything makes being turned into quantized, harmonized synth tones ("what effect does turning on the fan and standing near it have? Awesome.")
and it's FREE so it is SO WORTH TRYING
posted by DoctorFedora at 10:37 PM on May 22, 2016 [9 favorites]
I just downloaded it to see what the RjDj folks are up to nowadays, and the Relax setting made me so glad I work from home because otherwise someone might have seen me just walking around the apartment, listening to the various sounds that everything makes being turned into quantized, harmonized synth tones ("what effect does turning on the fan and standing near it have? Awesome.")
and it's FREE so it is SO WORTH TRYING
posted by DoctorFedora at 10:37 PM on May 22, 2016 [9 favorites]
I'm just like… do I understand Drugs now???
posted by DoctorFedora at 10:42 PM on May 22, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by DoctorFedora at 10:42 PM on May 22, 2016 [6 favorites]
*resets the "days since I was irritated by platform exclusivity issues" counter*
Damn, Hear looks incredibly amazing.
posted by ominous_paws at 12:03 AM on May 23, 2016
Damn, Hear looks incredibly amazing.
posted by ominous_paws at 12:03 AM on May 23, 2016
To be honest, the video on their home page is kind of misleading. It is, in fact, significantly cooler than you would think from watching the video.
posted by DoctorFedora at 12:09 AM on May 23, 2016
posted by DoctorFedora at 12:09 AM on May 23, 2016
Ugh I want Hear! Someone pay them to do an Android port please
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 12:56 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 12:56 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Hmmm, I would really prefer ones that cut out other people's inane conversations but left me with the ambient background noise.
posted by tinkletown at 2:48 AM on May 23, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by tinkletown at 2:48 AM on May 23, 2016 [9 favorites]
The problem of course is when fake CIA agents accost you and in your description to 'Mother' you can no longer describe the sound and rythm of the concrete nor the 'dinner party' so you can find the building you were taken to. That would be a real problem
Marty.
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:02 AM on May 23, 2016 [6 favorites]
Marty.
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:02 AM on May 23, 2016 [6 favorites]
> Nobody is going to watch t to carry around multiple pairs of ear buds.
I carry around multiple pairs of, uh, stuff that goes inside my ears!
A pair of swimmer's earplugs for driving (not diving), because they dampen the world a moderate amount so that, while I have to crank the stereo a bit, the net effect is a greater difference between signal (the podcast I'm listening to) and noise (engine, road, etc) while the sound does not seem extraordinarily loud.
A pair of acrylic custom moulded IEMs. For work and flight. About 28-ish dB noise dampening. Blocks out the world sufficiently that i usually listen to music at about the same sound pressure level as the office HVAC.
Foam industrial earplugs for the occasional movie or concert. Or when flying and I don't want to listen to music.
The thing about active noise-canceling earphones is complex. The idea is that they inverting ambient noise to neutralize it at your ear. This tends to work better with stable, unvarying noises (jet engines, say) rather than modulating or abrupt noises, because the sound processor has to react to whatever's going on. They also can't work as well as good earplugs or in-ear monitors at blocking ambient noise because there's a practical limit to their own output. Earplugs will continue working up to the point where the ambient noise is so loud that it's being conducted through your skull and jaw as much as through your ears.
posted by ardgedee at 4:36 AM on May 23, 2016
I carry around multiple pairs of, uh, stuff that goes inside my ears!
A pair of swimmer's earplugs for driving (not diving), because they dampen the world a moderate amount so that, while I have to crank the stereo a bit, the net effect is a greater difference between signal (the podcast I'm listening to) and noise (engine, road, etc) while the sound does not seem extraordinarily loud.
A pair of acrylic custom moulded IEMs. For work and flight. About 28-ish dB noise dampening. Blocks out the world sufficiently that i usually listen to music at about the same sound pressure level as the office HVAC.
Foam industrial earplugs for the occasional movie or concert. Or when flying and I don't want to listen to music.
The thing about active noise-canceling earphones is complex. The idea is that they inverting ambient noise to neutralize it at your ear. This tends to work better with stable, unvarying noises (jet engines, say) rather than modulating or abrupt noises, because the sound processor has to react to whatever's going on. They also can't work as well as good earplugs or in-ear monitors at blocking ambient noise because there's a practical limit to their own output. Earplugs will continue working up to the point where the ambient noise is so loud that it's being conducted through your skull and jaw as much as through your ears.
posted by ardgedee at 4:36 AM on May 23, 2016
A pair of swimmer's earplugs for driving (not diving), because they dampen the world a moderate amount so that, while I have to crank the stereo a bit, the net effect is a greater difference between signal (the podcast I'm listening to) and noise (engine, road, etc) while the sound does not seem extraordinarily loud.
Uh, that sounds like a bad idea from a safety point of view - not to mention something in your car is going to start breaking down at some point, and it's going to make a funny noise you might miss.
posted by Dr Dracator at 4:50 AM on May 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
Uh, that sounds like a bad idea from a safety point of view - not to mention something in your car is going to start breaking down at some point, and it's going to make a funny noise you might miss.
posted by Dr Dracator at 4:50 AM on May 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
I used these for about a week, and as long as I didn't eat or move around, they were pretty wonderful... But the occlusion effect once I did move was fairly pronounced; I was basically trading whatever noise I was masking for the sound of my own body, which can be just as annoying.
Credit to Doppler, though: they gave me a few things to try in order to mitigate the effect, and I had no issues setting up a refund when they didn't work.
Once/if they come out with custom plugs that sit deep in the ear canal, I'll try them again, but right now I don't think they're worth the money (although they are quite magical when you're sitting out on the porch and have the equalizer set to get rid of airplane noise but still hear the birds singing...)
posted by kethonna at 5:25 AM on May 23, 2016
Credit to Doppler, though: they gave me a few things to try in order to mitigate the effect, and I had no issues setting up a refund when they didn't work.
Once/if they come out with custom plugs that sit deep in the ear canal, I'll try them again, but right now I don't think they're worth the money (although they are quite magical when you're sitting out on the porch and have the equalizer set to get rid of airplane noise but still hear the birds singing...)
posted by kethonna at 5:25 AM on May 23, 2016
I don't need fancy Hear earbuds. All I need is for Apple to increase the default high volume on their iPhone so that I can successfully wield my old market-rate earbuds and the marvelous myNoise app (which doesn't cost $200-300 and could use the support of as many interested people as possible, and no I don't work for them or know anybody who does) against the yakkers, yellers, and other noise pollution on my commute.
posted by blucevalo at 5:32 AM on May 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by blucevalo at 5:32 AM on May 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
*resets the "days since I was irritated by platform exclusivity issues" counter*
Someone pay them to do an Android port please
I understand that Android has some inherent audio latency problems that are only slowly improving. It's unlikely that any single app on it's own can overcome the lag. So we can't blame Apple favoritism for this.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 5:39 AM on May 23, 2016
Someone pay them to do an Android port please
I understand that Android has some inherent audio latency problems that are only slowly improving. It's unlikely that any single app on it's own can overcome the lag. So we can't blame Apple favoritism for this.
posted by paper chromatographologist at 5:39 AM on May 23, 2016
> Uh, that sounds like a bad idea from a safety point of view
There are millions of people with profound hearing loss who drive legally and safely.
The earplugs do not eliminate any noise. They make the noise quieter. I can hear my car and traffic and emergency vehicles just fine.
posted by ardgedee at 5:52 AM on May 23, 2016
There are millions of people with profound hearing loss who drive legally and safely.
The earplugs do not eliminate any noise. They make the noise quieter. I can hear my car and traffic and emergency vehicles just fine.
posted by ardgedee at 5:52 AM on May 23, 2016
I like the idea that sirens are unnecessary noise
where do they even come from, who knows
posted by beerperson at 6:59 AM on May 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
where do they even come from, who knows
posted by beerperson at 6:59 AM on May 23, 2016 [3 favorites]
I have tried these and they don't work. Period. At least not as advertised in the "attenuate only sounds you don't want to hear" way. And no one should be surprised that they don't.
Anyone who has worked with hearing aids over the past 20 years knows that this kind of selective noise reduction is basically the holy grail of hearing aid technology. The problem is, filtering is just not that fine of a tool.
You can make the overall environment a little quieter, a little more comfortable. You can adjust the gross frequency bands. But you definitely cannot make it so you hear, say, your conversation partner next to you on a plane but not the baby crying. At this point in time, it's just not mathematically feasible.
If these work as described and can cut industrial noise as effectively as 33dB foam plugs while still letting through undisturbed speech these guys are targeting the wrong market.
This is a big problem, yeah. And it should be noted that the actual attenuation of those 33 dB foam plugs is, by OSHA's own estimation, probably closer to 12 or 13 dB. There are some expensive solutions, electronic plugs that attenuate only sounds over a certain threshold, for example, but they are problematic as well. But yeah, the problem is the same as it is for hearing aids and the Doppler Labs stuff. You can't attenuate noise and not speech.
posted by Lutoslawski at 7:28 AM on May 23, 2016 [6 favorites]
Anyone who has worked with hearing aids over the past 20 years knows that this kind of selective noise reduction is basically the holy grail of hearing aid technology. The problem is, filtering is just not that fine of a tool.
You can make the overall environment a little quieter, a little more comfortable. You can adjust the gross frequency bands. But you definitely cannot make it so you hear, say, your conversation partner next to you on a plane but not the baby crying. At this point in time, it's just not mathematically feasible.
If these work as described and can cut industrial noise as effectively as 33dB foam plugs while still letting through undisturbed speech these guys are targeting the wrong market.
This is a big problem, yeah. And it should be noted that the actual attenuation of those 33 dB foam plugs is, by OSHA's own estimation, probably closer to 12 or 13 dB. There are some expensive solutions, electronic plugs that attenuate only sounds over a certain threshold, for example, but they are problematic as well. But yeah, the problem is the same as it is for hearing aids and the Doppler Labs stuff. You can't attenuate noise and not speech.
posted by Lutoslawski at 7:28 AM on May 23, 2016 [6 favorites]
For me nothing beats earbuds with a pair of industrial ear defenders on top. >50dB reduction, you really can't hear anything else. Only problem is, that can be dangerous/antisocial. But if you really need the bliss of it, it's a godsend.
posted by iotic at 8:05 AM on May 23, 2016
posted by iotic at 8:05 AM on May 23, 2016
The problem of course is when fake CIA agents accost you
They were fake NSA. The fake CIA were busy overthrowing governments and setting up friendly dictators.
posted by Molesome at 8:49 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
They were fake NSA. The fake CIA were busy overthrowing governments and setting up friendly dictators.
posted by Molesome at 8:49 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
For me nothing beats earbuds with a pair of industrial ear defenders on top. >50dB reduction
I personally have constructed an anechoic chamber for which to traverse through the ribald and raucous hoi polloi. Certainly it takes up some room on the sidewalk and is difficult to fit on a plane, but I solve that problem by having deaf-mute servants with truncheons silently clear the way ahead of me and ensure I have an aisle seat.
posted by Panjandrum at 9:54 AM on May 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
I personally have constructed an anechoic chamber for which to traverse through the ribald and raucous hoi polloi. Certainly it takes up some room on the sidewalk and is difficult to fit on a plane, but I solve that problem by having deaf-mute servants with truncheons silently clear the way ahead of me and ensure I have an aisle seat.
posted by Panjandrum at 9:54 AM on May 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
Well done CNN - this is how you do native advertising. I thought I was watching a real tech segment until the correspondent got a little too on-the-nose with how useful they were around the office.
I already have a pair of these and they work without having to charge them or pair them with my phone.
posted by jnnla at 11:54 AM on May 23, 2016
I already have a pair of these and they work without having to charge them or pair them with my phone.
posted by jnnla at 11:54 AM on May 23, 2016
"Other choices for Tune Out, which is still in beta testing, included City, Crowd, Restaurant and Subway."
I hope they have an Old Folks Watching TV At Full Volume While Scraping Forks Loudly on Plates choice. (unless Restaurant is close enough)
posted by serena15221 at 12:06 PM on May 23, 2016
I hope they have an Old Folks Watching TV At Full Volume While Scraping Forks Loudly on Plates choice. (unless Restaurant is close enough)
posted by serena15221 at 12:06 PM on May 23, 2016
"I understand that Android has some inherent audio latency problems that are only slowly improving. It's unlikely that any single app on it's own can overcome the lag. So we can't blame Apple favoritism for this."
@paper chromatographologist: that absolutely used to be true; it was utterly horrible and it took them ages to address. Back in the android 2.x days, the audio delay was 200 ms!
Now, on newer devices and with Marshmallow, it's down to 15ms. This is very near to where you need it to be (<10ms), but still not there yet and not as good as iDevices (around 7/8/9ms).
You have to do some tricky things to get decent audio delay, but it is now 'good enough' for most things and Android N-y McN-yface will probably improve this further.
As for noise canceling headphones: I just want a set of small, overear shells which make it quiet so I can code in piece. I don't want any in-ear stuff (just doesn't agree with my tubes of Eustachius) or music playing capability as I'd prefer the tech not to have the cost of bluetooth/mp3 playing added for a feature I don't want and won't use anyway.
posted by MacD at 2:28 PM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
@paper chromatographologist: that absolutely used to be true; it was utterly horrible and it took them ages to address. Back in the android 2.x days, the audio delay was 200 ms!
Now, on newer devices and with Marshmallow, it's down to 15ms. This is very near to where you need it to be (<10ms), but still not there yet and not as good as iDevices (around 7/8/9ms).
You have to do some tricky things to get decent audio delay, but it is now 'good enough' for most things and Android N-y McN-yface will probably improve this further.
As for noise canceling headphones: I just want a set of small, overear shells which make it quiet so I can code in piece. I don't want any in-ear stuff (just doesn't agree with my tubes of Eustachius) or music playing capability as I'd prefer the tech not to have the cost of bluetooth/mp3 playing added for a feature I don't want and won't use anyway.
posted by MacD at 2:28 PM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
I just want to filter out the person having a phone conversation on public transportation. That drives me fucking nuts, and I can't unhear it. For fuck sake do you have no consideration for the people around you?
End rant.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 2:57 PM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
End rant.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 2:57 PM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
What airlines are you on, ODiV? I've got a big pair of bose over-ear noise cancelling headphones which I've never been bothered about during takeoff or landing...
I think it must be a Canadian regulation. It's been pretty consistent across the board on all airlines here.
posted by ODiV at 7:56 AM on June 6, 2016
I think it must be a Canadian regulation. It's been pretty consistent across the board on all airlines here.
posted by ODiV at 7:56 AM on June 6, 2016
Here's a post by an autistic blogger with sensory sensitivities who uses them: 5 Supports That Changed My Life. Overall she likes them.
posted by Lexica at 1:26 PM on June 6, 2016
posted by Lexica at 1:26 PM on June 6, 2016
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PUN INTENDED.
But seriously, it does look like a fantastic invention that's long overdue. I've tried a million earbuds with only moderate success.
posted by SpacemanStix at 9:18 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]