Annoying headphones with sound can be a thing of the past – even with open headphones – thanks to new technology developed in Japan.
The advancement comes from telecommunications giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), which previously announced it was working on way without headphones so that passengers can enjoy in-flight entertainment.
It seems that this idea was developed and NTT adapted it to headphones. The company says its new super small speaker enclosure is specifically designed for open-back headphones and can confine sound to a very small space. NTT says this allows “communicate with people around you without worrying about sound leaking into the environment”.
NTT called the Tech Personalized Sound Zone (PSZ), where the headphone speakers cleverly balance normal and reverse phase sound waves to cancel out at a certain distance.
The company claims that this technique allows the user to listen to music at 80 dB, while for anyone who is 15 cm from the headphones, the sound will be inaudible.
A set of headphones using PSZ technology is due to be released by NTT affiliated audio brand Sonority. Called MWE001, the wired earbuds weigh just 9 grams and hook into your ear.
Successful crowdfunding last month on the Japanese site greenfunding.jp MWE001 have an open design, which also means that they do not isolate the user from ambient noise.
MWE001 equipped with PSZ technology will be exhibited at research and development exhibition hosted by NTT next week.
Analysis: PES technology appears to be opening up a new way of listening
When NTT first unveiled its stunning localized audio technology earlier this year, we couldn’t help but think about all its potential applications – from discreet translations at conferences to silent listening zones in libraries – the possibilities seemed both vast and genuinely useful.
So it’s really exciting to see this big idea taken a step further with new headphone technology.
We’ve seen plenty of examples of in-ear headphones like Sony’s Bose SoundWear and SRS-NS7 neck-mounted speakers, and bone conduction headphone models like the excellent Shokz OpenRun Pro, which we gave five stars in our review.
All of these are great for anyone who finds canal headphones uncomfortable, with the added bonus of being more hygienic than regular in-ear headphones.
However, each of these options is susceptible to some level of leakage, which makes the new NTT technology particularly exciting.
The big question now is how well this targeted audio technology sounds in practice. We can’t wait to try the MWE001 and see if they make it onto our list of the best headphones.
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