“I’ve been testing one of those products that makes you slap your forehead and wonder why every other product in its category hasn’t worked this way forever,” Walt Mossberg writes for The Verge. “It’s a new type of wired earbuds that use built-in hardware and software to tune themselves to the unique individual hearing characteristics of every person’s ears — in fact, every person’s right and left ears separately.”
“Even is a set of in-ear headphones from a 2-year-old outfit called MeQ based in Tel Aviv that describes its product as ‘eyeglasses for the ears.’ Everybody understands that each pair of eyes, even each individual eye, sees differently,” Mossberg writes. “And, says MeQ, the same is true for ears. So it creates what it calls an ‘EarPrint’ for each ear. The Even earphones went on sale this week for a competitive $99 a pair at the Even website, with a 30-day money back return policy.”
“When they work, as they did for me, you hear more detail and more subtlety in music without cranking it to very high volumes, a practice which can damage your hearing over time if you do it a lot,” Mossberg writes. “One big downside: you have to charge them. But if Apple drops the standard headphone jack, as is rumored, and forces wired earbuds to the digital charging port, then powered earbuds like the Evens (if redesigned with a new connector) might just be able to draw power from the new iPhones.”
[protected-iframe id=”70ab5abbc80250fbec47daa5c21d84ae-17146794-18685410″ info=”https://player.vimeo.com/video/171006012?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0″ width=”590″ height=”332″ frameborder=”0″ webkitallowfullscreen=”” mozallowfullscreen=”” allowfullscreen=””]
Much more in the full review here.
MacDailyNews Take: Along with Apple patents such as U.S. Patent No. 8,655,004, here’s yet another reason for Apple to dump the 3.5mm anachronism posthaste.
You can demo the test and hear a sample of the active EQ on MeQ’s website here.
SEE ALSO:
Alleged iPhone 7 chassis lacks 3.5mm headphone port – June 28, 2016
iPhone 7 rumored to get second speaker, larger camera – June 27, 2016
Apple is known for dumping legacy tech before the rest of the world catches up – June 27, 2016
iOS 9 code reveals Apple’s plans to dump 3.5mm headphone jack in future iPhones – January 20, 2016
Apple’s intention to kill the 3.5mm headphone jack is brilliant – January 13, 2016
iPhone 7 said to be waterproof, replace 3.5mm headphone jack with Apple’s Lightning – January 8, 2016
The fastest Lightning cable is also one of the least expensive – January 8, 2016
Apple will drop headphone jack to make the iPhone 7 super slim, source confirms; wireless charging and waterproof, too – January 7, 2016
Petition demands Apple keep 3.5mm headphone jack in the ‘iPhone 7’ – January 7, 2016
More reports claim Apple has dumped the 3.5mm headphone jack on iPhone 7 – January 5, 2016
Why Apple may axe the 3.5mm headphone jack – June 20, 2014
Apple may be poised to kill off the 3.5mm headphone jack – June 7, 2014
Apple may ditch analog 3.5mm headphone jack for Lightning to make thinner devices – June 6, 2014
Apple introduces MFi specs for Lightning cable headphones, iOS software update to deliver support – June 5, 2014
Apple preps HD audio for iOS 8 plus new Apple In-Ear Headphones and lightning cable – May 13, 2014
Apple patents biometric sensor-packed health monitoring earphones with ‘head gesture’ control – February 18, 2014
Apple paves way for more affordable iOS accessories with lower MFi and Lightning licensing fees – February 7, 2014
There is a similar product available now on Kickstarter called Nura. They have a nice video explaining the concept. Seems like a great idea. I know for a fact that my left and right hearing is quite different. I pledged this project and am really interested to see (hear) how it turns out.
We spent the last six months in Shenzhen, China, the world capital of electronics.
*cough*GAG* What drug are they on? The world capital of RIPOFF electronics, more like! Sheesh.
And those pokey things inside my ears? No please.
Apart from that, they ‘sound’ interesting.
End the italics after ‘the world capital of electronics’ please.
I’m still squinting in disbelief over them using that phrase. Are they stupid? Or do they think we’re stupid?
Both the Even and the Nura seem pretty cool.
I hope Apple can incorporate this technology.
I also hope Apple earbuds can track my heart rate too someday.
I was tempted by the Nura Kickstarter, but the price was too much for me. Even seems like a possibility.
Very cool!
Interestingly, there is another product from a Kickstarter campaign for a device that will do this (custom EQ based on your hearing) with any pair of headphones? http://aumeoaudio.com/
I was initially very sceptical, but having looked at it a bit more I like the idea. It appears to work in a way comparable to conventional audiometry tests for hearing aids. However, as far as I can see, this technology doesn’t appear to require special earbuds, the processing is done between the jack and the earbud.
It seems to me that this is technology that Apple should buy and then incorporate directly into iPhones and use their own earbuds. The necessary processing and control would be better done within the iPhone itself ( or even within the D/A converter within a Lightning connector ).
While I’m against the idea of ditching the 3.5mm audio jack ( because I use the jack for things other than earbuds and headphones ), if Apple switched to Lightning connections for earbuds, then it might be possible to identify the individual earbuds plugged in and then automatically choose the correct setting for that person. If somebody else later plugged in their earbuds to the same iPhone, it would automatically choose the hearing profile for that user. So long as each listener always used their own earbuds, they would immediately get optimal results from any iPhone by simply plugging in their own earbuds.
might just be able to draw power from the new iPhones.
Another reason to add more battery life to iPhone 7.