Let's get straight to the point (sorry): Sonic Lamb is the world's first headphones that allow users to feel music (via mechanoreceptors in the skin and bones) and hear it (via the ears).
The promise? A “true wireless earbud hearing aid that combines air conduction and body conduction to revolutionize the personal audio experience.” Bold.
The concept is that we humans don't just hear through our ears; we also feel the sound through our body. The human ear is tuned to higher frequencies (a twig snapping in the woods, a baby crying) and much less sensitive to low (bass) frequencies. Therefore, we tend to feel the sub-bass and low frequencies more than we hear them. (Think of thunder, rumble in movie theaters, when crowds of people start kicking en masse, etc.)
To effectively reproduce such an audio experience, home theater and speaker manufacturers use multiple dedicated audio drivers for each audio spectrum, as well as a dedicated subwoofer for low-frequency audio—the kind we can feel on the go. our bodies. But that experience is compromised even in the best headphones due to the widespread use of a single audio driver on each side of our head and the lack of specialized audio technology capable of emulating a subwoofer system.
Enter Sonic Lamb, a company that believes the last decade has seen the audio industry stray from the core value of enhancing that audio experience. And the New York startup wants to change that.
Navajith Karkera and Jagath Biddappa, a duo of mechanical and electronic engineers, created the concept while experimenting with hearing implants. The story goes that they cobbled together a method of transmitting audio without relying solely on the ear, and it certainly is an interesting approach.
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To explain the technology, it incorporates a full-range audio driver to reproduce mid and high frequencies, which are transferred to the listener's ear as sound waves (that is, traditionally, in melodies), plus a proprietary driver that, and that's the innovative part. - converts the audio signal into the corresponding mechanical impulses, thus turning the ear pads into a virtual diaphragm.
This mechanical impulse is transferred from the pads to the skin and bones of the listeners and voila! You really feel the music, the kind that could only be experienced live, on multi-driver speakers, or in movie theaters and (really good) home theater systems... until now, apparently.
Do you think they will probably be heavy? No, actually 300g, just 46g more than the Sony WH-1000XM4. Playtime is between six and 24 hours, depending on how you listen. Elsewhere, Sonic Lamb promises a unique control interface on the headset that offers four customization modes including "Listen," "Feel," "Immersion" and, somewhat alarmingly, "Beast" for users.
You also get two internal microphones, one dedicated to picking up just your voice and the other to cancel out ambient noise for calls and meetings. On top of that, the headset also features an additional detachable boom, for an extra boost in voice quality during important meetings and gaming sessions.
I am very interested to note that the Sonic Lamb USB cable can be used not only for charging, but also for wired Hi-Res Audio up to 24bit/96kHz, and a quick two minute listening test at the same time. Using the Sonic Lamb smartphone app allows users to create a personalized sound profile based on their unique hearing sensitivity.
Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX HD and aptX Low Latency means multi-device connection capabilities allow users to connect the headphones to two different devices simultaneously in Bluetooth only and Bluetooth and USB mode.
How can you insure your equipment? The Sonic Lamb headphones will be available on Indiegogo from July 19, 2022 to August 30, 2022, with super early bird prices starting at €199 / €158 (around AU$279). Delivery is scheduled for November 2022 and is guaranteed before Christmas.
While I reserve judgment on their effectiveness and sound quality, I think I speak for the entire LaComparacion team when I say I'm intrigued - and will report back once I've had the pleasure of placing them on put orejas…