A brand new audio model spun out of Japan’s NTT is displaying off some private audio tech at CES 2024 that’s outstanding not for what it has, however what it doesn’t have — in each instances, actually something between you and the remainder of the world. There’s nothing there!
Nwm (brief for New Wave Maker and pronounced “noom,” a consultant informed me) makes headphones that use the same approach to noise canceling, however form of turned inside-out. As an alternative of canceling out noise coming into your ear, the headphones cancel any noise they make that isn’t going towards you.
The ideas are comparable: Sound waves can cancel one another out in the event you tune them fastidiously in what’s referred to as harmful interference. That’s normally not an issue with earbuds or closed-back headphones, which bodily include the sound they produce. However nwm’s complete factor is that their headphones are extra like a pair of small audio system proper by your ears.
The concept is you could hear your music or name, but in addition the actual world, so that you don’t must pop your AirPods out each time somebody says one thing and make them repeat it. Nice for strolling across the metropolis, too. After all, the flip aspect to that is that the music or name is being broadcast to the world — until, as nwm’s headphones do, in addition they transmit a harmful sound wave to cancel out any escaping noise. They name it a “personal sound zone.”
Picture Credit: nwm
The corporate has put out a number of small earbud-type headphones, however at CES they confirmed off two fairly outstanding new audio choices. One is a chair with audio system constructed into the wings by your head, the place the sound of music is completely clear once you lean again, however muffled and quiet even a number of inches away. The chair is fairly regular searching for a gamer-type one, and also you wouldn’t understand it had audio system hidden in it.
In that case, you’ll must each just like the chair sufficient to make it your principal seating possibility, and still have a leaned-back stance everytime you need to hear audio, which is certainly not me (hunched over and leaning forwards, often remembering to straighten up, like proper now). That’s why I used to be drawn to their other new product, the MBH001.
The putting design appears to be like like a traditional on-ear or over-ear headphone set that had every thing however the very center and edge taken out. There’s simply nothing there!
I used to be skeptical, however I obtained to check out these early variations, and whereas it was troublesome to judge the sound high quality on the noisy present ground (particularly since there was nothing stopping it from getting in), I may definitely hear the sound clearly whereas carrying them, and by no means once they have been off my head.
The silicone gasket that served as padding wasn’t a lot for consolation, however in any other case the headphones have been fairly gentle and manageable — nothing fancy, only a easy design aside from lacking about 75% of their mass.
The corporate mentioned that the MBH001 is for certain their subsequent delivery product, but it surely received’t be for a number of months no less than. I’ll be in contact with them and check out the ultimate product once they make it accessible.
