Audio Bone Headphones

Very cool.
I have been waiting for the 'bone fone' technology to go mainstream :-)

neatorama has officially jumped the shark.

These sound interesting, but I'd rather have a headset, the microphone peice can come in handy.

Do these really work that well??? I'm technically deaf in my right ear (ear canal is grown over) however can hear some tones (tested with a tuning fork). These could allow me to hear stereo for the first time...but I don't want to drop $180 on something so-so...

@Dan0 - well, the ads and the shop are there to help keep Neatorama free to its readers. The blog does cost a pretty penny to run (the hardware and bandwidth cost alone run into the five digits every year).

@Gauldar - Sure, regular headphones are perfectly fine in many instances. I used them to listen to music at home at night when working on the computer (when the kids are asleep), but I had to listen using only one ear so I can hear them in case they wake up! Audio Bone lets me listen AND hear my surroundings at the same time.

@Jittery Jim - it does work very well. And it's the first lightweight and comfy to wear bone conductance headphones that I've seen and tried out.

Audio Bone bypasses the ear canal and the ear drum - it delivers music through bone vibrations (hence the name) straight to the inner ear. You should be able to use Audio Bone if your cochleas are fine. In fact, the headphone works for those with hearing problems due to ear drums damage.

I remember seeing ads in the backs of National Lampoon during the 70s for the BoneFone -- similar, if not the same, technology. Maybe they'll be coming out with digital 8-track cassettes next.

Billy,

Nah, magnetic tape is a technology better off forgotten. Now vinyl records on the other hand are having a big come back (in different thinness’s too depending on what sound quality you want). Hearing vinyl on state of the art turntable & stereo technology is incredible. Sometimes to take two steps forward you need to take a step back.

@Billy - those "Bone Fone" ads appeared in many magazines, including Mechanix Illustrated, Popular Electronics, etc. (http://preview.tinyurl.com/93rw9o) so the technology's been around.

at least they're not steampunk

One thing I've wondered about these things... is the volume adjustable, or is it either on or off? There are some songs that are made to be played at high sound levels, but since that translates into large amounts of air being moved, how does it work when there's NO air being moved?

And if there's no air being moved, I'd guess that there can be no long-term damage to the eardrums as might happen with extended use of regular headphones. Correct, or no?

it's a cool technology but 180 bucks! I might buy them if they were 20.

@ Dave, yeah that's the reasoning, no possible long term effects from playing your music too loud.

hearing damage is from your internal ear hairs fraying and since this bypasses them, hearing loss will cease to be a problem.

The one thing that I see that is not that great is their frequency response isn't that ideal for headphones. humans hear the range 20Hz-20kHz and this one has a cutoff frequency of 12kHz. I would say it is worth it for those that it would benefit - but the sound quality is not as good as an $8 headset. I must admit, I have been following bone phones for the past couple years, and in fact thought about working in a lab using the research - ended up not having the time. There are benefits - but I don't know if they benefit the general consumer. despite the fact that the response isn't that great, I might even buy a pair.

B

Yeah... I don't think it's actually any safer with regards to avoiding hearing loss. My understanding of hearing is that information from sound goes through:

Air --> eardrum --> small bones in inner ear --> cochlear fluid --> hairs --> nerve brain

With bone conduction you just replace "Air" and "eardrum" with "Bone". There is no sparing of anything downstream so it should have the same potential for causing hearing loss compared to regular headphones.

A lot of hearing loss arises from the cilia in the cochlea being damaged from loud noises. Like chet says, these headphones wouldn't prevent any hearing loss

@Dave - yes, it's volume adjustable. You simply adjust the volume on your iPod or MP3 Player like you would regular headphones.

Basically speaking, folks, loud noise - whether be from stereo speakers, earbuds, regular headphones or bone conductance headphones - will damage your hearing (by damaging the cochlea). That's why you shouldn't listen to music too loudly too often.

But the Audio Bone does prevent damage to the ear drum, a major cause of hearing loss in people. So in that point, it is safer. And for those people who do have hearing loss due to ear drum damage, the Audio Bone will help them hear music again.

@gtstiggy - the sound quality of Audio Bone ain't bad, but it's not comparable to high quality headset. Bone conductance headphones are not for audiophiles or for when you can shut out the world and just listen to music.

The strength of the Audio Bone headphones is that they let you enjoy music personally (without having speakers blaring) while still letting you hear everything around you and be aware of your surrounding.

Re: price - we will closely follow the price. Like any gadget, the price usually drops as the technology matures (Audio Bone has been in development for many years, this is their first year being available commercially). When the price drops, we will pass the savings to you!

Alex: There are other companies that manufactures similar products... and they're a lot cheaper.

Outi makes one (about $100) and also AllJoy ($60)..

You might want to check those out :)

I am an Audiologist in an ENT Dr's office. I appreciated Chet's explanation of how hearing works. He is absolutely correct that there is still potential for hearing loss with this type of headphone.

And Jittery Jim with the single sided hearing would probably be really impressed with this device.

@Geekaresexy - outi clips to your ears and vibrate. Some people find the vibration neat, others not so much. Alljoy is more in line of what the Audio Bone is, but much bulkier.

I tried the Bone Fone radio receiver on at work (soft- and hardware mfgs) in 1980, did not believe they would work But AIR the sound was good.
Jittery Jim could always get his money back, it says.

I want them for bike riding so I can hear the automobile predators out there. Maybe listen to the Pastoral Symphony while riding in the country!!