More people than ever seem to be tuning out the world around them, listening to music as they walk, run or bike in public while listening to loud music on their mobile devices. In doing so, they are risking serious harm and injury.
Ear3 is a headphone amp that’s designed to make listening to music in public while on the move much safer than it is now. The amp’s built-in microphone picks up sounds around the user and mixes it with music being listened to at the volume level users want, according to its Indiegogo campaign. Turning the microphone mode off, Ear3 becomes a high-fidelity amp that enhances the quality of the music source, adding stronger full bass, according to the campaign.
Ear3 ships in February at $100, although early bird backers can get one for a $75 pledge. A limited number of pre-production units are also available this month to backers at $59 each. Ear3’s makers are hoping to raise $50,000 by Jan. 29, 2016.
This is a product that may be more appealing to the parents of those who listen to music while on the go than it is to the actual music listeners themselves. It’s hard to imagine a huge number of people who actually want to hear all the sounds of the environment around them while listening to music except for certain occasions –- especially those people who are used to noise-canceling headphones.