A Japanese company called Morito has launched a new business to sell stereo headphones that don't actually produce sound and don't go in your ear. They produce vibrations that RATTLE YOUR SKULL, which vibrates your inner ear, creating the illusion of sound.
10:47 AM * PERMALINK * 49 comments
Like The Raw Feed? Then you'll LOVE the FREE Mike's List newsletter!
Find Me On:
Mike's List Newsletter
Cell Phone Version
About Mike Elgan
Send a News Tip
E-Mail Version
Columns
Contact
Blogroll
Search
People
Old
Secret Link
Twitter
Technorati
RSS Feed
FriendFeed
Facebook
Google
Digg
Computer America
Other Blogs
And More!
AD: Master Windows 7 with Chris Pirillo's Windows 7 Tips eBook!
MORE MIKE ELGAN STUFF
The World Is My Office
Three Seconds of Genius
Mike's List
The Book of Kindle
Enchiridion
The Spartan Diet
The Spartan Diet Blog
Comments:
Needs more breast.
That can't be good for you :-s
cool
Oh, that sounds healthy. Heck, I wouldn't even be worried about any long-term effects!
Sarcasm.
Um, they don't create "the illusion of sound." Vibrations through solids are also considered to be sounds.
Them new-fangled people and their ideas.
Im a speech and hearing science major, and bone conduction has been around for at least 60 yrs, and has enabled many patients w/ a conductive hearing loss the chance to hear again, they are actually producing sound since sound is just a vibration anyway, and they are in no way harmful to the hearing mechanism.
It most likely won't cause any ear damage, unless the energy of the vibrations is too high, that normal air vibrations wouldn't also cause. Vibrations travelling through the air eventually set up vibrations in your inner ear (and middle) too. The effect is the same. In fact, if the virations bypass the tympanic membrane and the three little bones of the middle ear it might even spare them from the degeneration caused by normal headphones.
Also, most of the sound you hear from your own voice is being conducted through bone. So these headphones probably wouldn't be any worse than if you were to just sing the songs yourself.
Nothing wrong with this.
Sound IS vibration, in this case submitted to your nerves directly through the bones and the shell of the ear instead of the "membrana tympani"
In fact, it's even better, because it cannot damage the membrane.
That looks pretty cool. Real headphones should be designed that way that DO produce sound.
It really does need more breast maybe some botox
>>Anonymous said...
>>Needs more breast.
Sup /b/
This is the same thing as sounding different when you speak and a recording of you speaking. Bone vibrations through your skull create an extra depth of sound in the voice you hear, and anyone who doesn't get these extra vibrations hear just your voice. But instead now of you not getting the vibrations from the recording, your not getting the recording, but just the vibrations. Which either way, constitute the sense of sound.
Need more cow bell
Sound is basically vibrations.
I don't see how this would be any more "unhealthy" than normal headphones as #2 innuendo'ed.
Not even considered, they ARE sounds. They do produce a sound, it's just not one that is forced to travel through air (which, beleive it or not, is the WORST conductor of sound) to get to your eardrum (why do you think your eardrum is a SOLID?).
I Pooped My Pants
sound goes *in* your ear!
Blasphemy!
I can feel my brain swishing around now...
Why not just get yourself one of these suckers instead? :)
yes, let's create the 'illiusion of sound'... OR you could just listen to normal headphones which produce real sound...
um... headache?
Just what I've always needed, my head to be rattled.
been used as "hearing aids" for years. i am ready for my implant when they get around to putting a headphone jack connected to the nerves.
If this method of listening to music could reduce hearing loss, that would be a great breakthrough.
lol butts!
They had these "bone phones" back in the 70's... nothing new here.
Considering sound is in actuality waves of pressure indented in the space between us, it's still sound.
" Anonymous said...
Um, they don't create "the illusion of sound." Vibrations through solids are also considered to be sounds. "
Yea, very true. But how does this enhances the sound? Is this product trying to point out that there is actually a better way to listen sounds than through the ear hole?
How is this unhealthy? When you talk, the noise goes up through your bones in the same fasion (which is why you think you sound different on tape). It's a damn site better then covering your ear canals, which supposedly greatly increases bacteria growth in there...
big deal, some swimmers' headphones have been this way for years
I always dreamed of a painless modern digital input to analogue command converter implant. It's fast - painless - and relatively cheap!
yes this is great. imagine how much business the doctors will get now.
Doctor: "why, what's wrong Jimmy?"
Jimmy: "my head hurts"
Doctor: "well it seems the area of your skull surrounding your temple and ears has been completely shattered. How did this happen?"
Jimmy: *hides newfangled 'soundless' headphones* "I haven't the slightest idea...."
The military has been using them for years.
That's pretty cool... What do you do if you want to listen to the other ones musik ? Stick a finger in their ear...? :-))
Wow that is great. I am deaf and wear a bone conduction hearing aid and with these i would be able to wear head phones.
Not a new concept in the eighties there was a bonefone headphone
Wow this is seeming to be a great breathrough for the general public. I know that this type of technology has been used by the military for years and has been used by other gvt agencies. if you really want to check out this technology you can go to this link http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000668ROE/sr=8-1/qid=1150650630/ref=sr_1_1/002-8631671-0856831?%5Fencoding=UTF8
you may have to type it in but it is a telephone that uses the same technology. I have to disagree with those that say this will damage your hearing as the "bone phones" and the "bone Jams" (sorry bad nickname but you get it) bypass the normal ear canal that processes the sound by directly applying the current to hte bone which is directly interpreted as a vibration which is intern a sound. these dont ratle or bounce or anything like that so dont knock it like you want to be cool and make a joke.
freaky!
Well a sound is a vibration so..... this is sound.
what the fuck?
silly humans.
Not a new idea. William Gibson used it in a short story about astronauts going nuts...No, not caused by the "bone phone".
Just in case it hasn't been said before... It's not the health problems that should scare you all... it should be the price you'll pay to get them :D
But will they go to 11?
Somebody asked "how is the sound enhanced"
It's talking about the low frequency bassy sounds. These are often masked by other sounds when using in ear headphones (like the headphones you get with an ipod, not the ones that go right inside tight)by other low frequencies that are around us such as cars outside noises, and even the slight thud of walking (this is why they only really sound good when in a totally silent room). This is the one of the reasons that larger headphones that totally cover you're entire ear and the in ear type that block your ear canal, sound better for low range sound as they are filtering out most of this low end buzz from you're environment. The bone headphones enhance the low end simply beacuse the larger bones that the vibrations have to penetrate (thus converting into sound waves) will vibrate at lower frequencies than the parts of the ear ( which is why your "head voice" sounds much deeper - you notice it more when your ears are blocked with a cold...), so this extra conduction of low frequency sound makes a noticable differece whilst allowing you to still hear all frequencies through your normal hearing via the ear. It basically means enhanced bass, which is what inevitably happens.
Sorry if thats complicated, I'm a sonic engineer!
Ok, dumb question. Where can we get information on where to purchase some of these headsets? While I am at it, I might as well ask if any one knows if they have bluetooth, stereo, and phone headset versions as well.
chicken mootle soup
How will these be charged up?
Read the previous posts, by people who know what they're talking about. This is definitely more healthy for our ears, we can listen to louder sounds without damaging anything...remember sounds travel better in water,etc.? Where can we get one? I think I'll do a Google search to find out...hope it's not too expensive, better than blue tooth,though.
Post a Comment
<< Home