Hasta La Ideas

Custom molded earphones deliver pro-level sound with up to six speakers per ear

In the ongoing quest for the perfect earphones, I gladly accepted Ultimate Ears’ offer to try their custom program recently. The resulting UE18 earphones are by far the best-fitting and sounding pair I’ve experienced so far.

Like any bespoke earphones, the experience starts in the office of an audiologist, who takes impressions of your ears. I visited Dr. Julie Glick from Musician Hearing Solutions and the process was fast and easy. Conveniently, Dr. Glick had samples of the different Ultimate Ears models (from those designed for acoustic gigs all the way up to multi-speaker versions better suited to stadium shows) made in generic shapes to give a sense of the differences between each of them.

Once Ultimate Ears received the impressions from Dr. Glick, it was time to spec out my pair. The customization options are endless—colors, patterns and logos are all fair game—but I decided to keep it relatively simple by using translucent Cool Hunting green, adding a little glitter for fun. A few short weeks later, the earphones arrived in a personalized protective case.

Since Ultimate Ears were developed for professional musicians, their sound capabilities are top-of-the-line. A six-speaker sound system (in each ear!) drives the UE18s, with wiring designed for durability and minimal distortion. The buds also feature three acoustically-tuned sound channels and multiple passive crossover points, “creating the ultimate in separation, detail and clarity.” Even though I’m not a musician, I can attest that the sound quality is top-notch. And the custom fit not only makes them very comfortable, it also helps block out surrounding noise.

Ultimate Ears custom molded earphones range from $400-1350. For a more affordable, but still high-quality custom earphone solution, check out Etymotics Custom Fits.

Japanese designers Nendo have produced these transparent sets of earphones that look like jellyfish. 

The earphones are available in a variety of colours and come packaged in small plastic bottles.

Photography is by Hiroshi Iwasaki and Masayuki Hayashi.

More projects by Nendo on Dezeen »
More stories about headphones on Dezeen »

The following is from the designers:

We designed earphones “otokurage” for a Japanese computer accessories manufacturer “ELECOM”

“otokurage(oto=sound, kurage=jellyfish)”

design concept
We enlarged the silicon ear caps that cover earphones to hide the entire device, creating a set of in-ear headphones with a soft feel and an unusual transparency like that of a jellyfish.

Because the earphones’ components are unified into one piece, substituting the colour or size of the earcap changes their look entirely.

To keep with the image of a jellyfish floating in the water, the packaging was inspired by a PET plastic soft drink bottle.

This product will be sold in Japan from end of May.

See also:

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Growing Vases by Nendo	Blown Fabric by Nendo	Dancing Squares by Nendo

La headphones Socket di Nixon ha la parte finale modellabile in modo da poterla adattare come si vuole al proprio orecchio.
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Premium sound quality for all your digital music in a sleek bookshelf system

Denon has long been a player in the high end audio market. Any company that can weather 100 years in such a competitive industry—one that has witnessed the massive paradigm shift from analog to digital—must be doing something right. While the company name has changed slightly over the decades, their dedication to quality design and style has remained a constant. Early developers of digital, Denon has specialized in high-fidelity professional and consumer audio from the beginning.

As a celebration of their 100th birthday Denon is giving away some of their newest, sexiest gear to one lucky CH reader. Their high quality RCD-N7 stereo receiver and SC-N7 speakers, an $800 value, are up for grabs. This system features crystal sound clarity packaged inside a sleek compact design. What really distinguishes it from the dusty component system sitting on your bookshelf is the total integration of wireless streaming music technology.

To start off the Denon system will link directly into Apple’s Airplay system to stream your entire iTunes library. If you demand variety and freedom from your technology, don’t fret because the system will also stream from Rhapsody, Napster, Pandora, Last.fm or any other networked computer. Of course it contains all the standard audio inputs like USB, digital optical, RCA AM/FM radio and a built in iPod dock. The real sweet feature is the Party Mode Plus—a five system, multi-zone networked management system that can be distributed throughout your whole house and is controlled by Denon’s iPhone/iPad/iPod application.

Additionally, two second prize winners will receive the Denon AH-NC600 noise-canceling earphones. These earbuds feature Denon’s acoustic optimizer technology that create a balanced natural tonal range. The Denon AH-NC600 offer the option of turning the noise canceling function on or off, and are completely compatible with iPhones and iPods.

Denon fans can enter to win the stereo, speakers and headphones by following Cool Hunting on Twitter (essential so we can DM you if you win), and Tweeting #Denon along with which band you would love to hear coming out of Denon speakers. We will pick three winners at random on 7 January 2010 at 10am EST.

Headphones Coloud R2-D2 da droide. Le trovate qui.
[Via]