CONDUIT Sports is harnessing the power of bone conduction technology so audiophiles no longer have to press pause to hear the world around them.
The wraparound Bluetooth headset is the first to offer both in ear and off-ear listening, and that could help improve the safety of cyclists and joggers looking to exercise while listening to music.
“CONDUIT Sports headphones are not your ordinary headphones,” CONDUIT Sports CEO Stefan Bisits-Bullen told Techvicity. “They challenge the status quo and offer an innovative design which breaks away from traditional sports headphones by providing extra utility, and improved health and safety outcomes.”
According to Sky News Australia, Bisits-Bullen first imagined the idea after a friend was injured riding a bicycle while wearing headphones. Transducers mounted on the CONDUIT Sports headset vibrate bones so thats sound waves reach the inner ears and replicate audio that is typically heard through the ear canal. This leaves the ear canal open to hear everything else.
“People aren’t going to stop listening to music while cycling or in the city — it’s just not going to happen,” Bisits-Bullen told Tech Daily. “So with these you can cycle, jog (or) walk to work in an urban environment, listen to your music and feel totally safe.”
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CONDUIT Sports hide a pair of high-end earbuds inconspicuously within their frame, so users don’t need to reach far to switch back to a more immersive listening experience. Also within the headset is a magnetic proximity sensor that recognizes when users remove the buds from their ears, and automatically switches back to bone conductive playback.
The headphones have six hours of active usage time from a single charge and more than seven days when on stand-by. Each pair comes equipped with touch controls, and an ability to connect with Android and Apple voice controls.
According to Bisits-Bullen, minute drop-offs in low frequency sound quality during bone conductive playback are counteracted via equalization and “fake bass algorithms”.
Off-ear listening may offer additional safety benefits beyond avoidance of the occasional roadside hazard.
“I also wanted to create a headphone that would enable people to listen to music without damaging their hearing,” Bisits-Bullen told Sky News. “Premature hearing loss is expected to become a critical issue in the near future for traditional headphones users.”
CONDUIT Sports is currently wrapping up a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. With eight days remaining, the company has already exceeded its initial $50,000 fundraising goal. The headphones are scheduled to hit the market with a retail price just under $200 and have an initial scheduled ship date in November.