As a person, no. Most people maybe. It’s incredibly liberating to not feel like you are missing out on the world around you sometimes (and safer). Sure sometimes I want to duck out and place my big puffy over ear speakers on and block everything out, but for day to day use for navigation, podcasts, phone conversations, AI interactions, and some stereo background music - this is exactly what this person wants.
jordanlund@lemmy.world 4 months ago
“so you can still hear the world around you”
Isn’t that the exact opposite reason of why people wear headphones?
Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
ringwraithfish@startrek.website 4 months ago
As a person I too am a person and totally not an AI driven bot fellow human.
harry_balzac@lemmy.world 4 months ago
As a fellow human, I enjoy being bipedal and metabolizing oxygen. Purchasing luxury products such as these Bose headphones is also an enjoyable human behavior.
Tattorack@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Yes hi I am real man hey do you want to go skateboards?
Plopp@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Good human.
Tattorack@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Eeeehhhhh that depends.
I work delivering food on a bicycle. I need to be able to hear things. Would be nice if I could listing to my playlists and not drown out the car coming my way.
_Analog_@lemmy.world 4 months ago
May I suggest checking these out? shokz.com/products/openrunpro
Not affiliated, just like mine for when I need to keep my ears completely open. Audio quality is surprisingly good, but also never going to compete with something whose sole purpose is to sound good i.e. non-sporty headphones.
Bike riding is perfect for these bone conducting headphones, you can listen to tunes while hearing absolutely everything.
Tattorack@lemmy.world 4 months ago
180 US for 10 hours of battery life and, allegedly, a full titanium body. That’s honestly reasonable.
Now the real question is; do they ship to Denmark? I’ll have to check that out after work.
aeki@slrpnk.net 4 months ago
Seems like only the US is available. I am also curious about a product like this that’d deliver to Sweden.
brian@programming.dev 4 months ago
I have a pair, and they’re really convenient. Occasionally they do make me feel sick if I wear them too long though
beeb@lemm.ee 4 months ago
The nose quietcomfort ones do that and more. You can choose if you want to block out external sounds with ANC or enable pass-through so you can hear the world around you. Not sure why they needed to make this product.
EveningPancakes@lemm.ee 4 months ago
Passthrough doesn’t work well on a bike when there’s wind rushing past the microphones that record the passthrough sound. This product fixes that.
beeb@lemm.ee 4 months ago
OK I can see how that would be better for biking.
Azal@pawb.social 4 months ago
I use the shockz (another open ear headset) daily with my job. Work on equipment, a lot of tedious opening up a machine and fixing it. I don’t have a singular place but move around a lot. Going from earbuds that I have to take out just to have a conversation if someone comes up and asks questions vs the open ear allows me to be able to know what’s happening around me, keeps from annoying those around me with whatever I’m listening to, and I’ve chewed through so many audiobooks which has kept me from losing my mind.
lapping6596@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I love my shockz for running. But now just carry loops ear plugs with me for when I’m on the train or don’t need to be aware of my surroundings
WallEx@feddit.de 4 months ago
Not if you’re on the street and want to live.
Mildmantis@lemmy.whynotdrs.org 4 months ago
Additional anecdote from me, but I specifically seek out good sound pass-thru over good noise cancelling because I use music to help focus but need to hear at the same time like, say, at work when a call comes in.
I don’t need it to be particularly loud, either, as I also have audio processing disorder so some concerns I see in this thread such as (paraphrasing) “probably poor bass” isn’t as much of a concern.
I currently use Sony’s Latest LinkBud S earbuds, and I’m pretty happy with it. But if I were still looking for a pair, something like what’s being offered here is exactly the sort of thing that would appeal to me.
These will undoubtedly appeal to a niche audience vs mass appeal, but so long as production doesn’t outpace demand I could see such a line of ear buds becoming quite popular among those who want that feature specifically.
Blackmist@feddit.uk 4 months ago
I guess if I liked earbuds and still wanted to hear others, I could just wear one of them…
But I don’t. I like big chunky headphones, because they send a message to others, and that message is “don’t talk to me”.
scytale@lemm.ee 4 months ago
It’s primarily for safety, like walking outside so you’re aware of your surroundings. As for critical listening, and open soundstage is more accurate to the original sound than closed headphones.
solrize@lemmy.world 4 months ago
People keep saying that, but wearing earphones while walking outside is a niche usage. It’s mostly an excuse because no one knows how to do total noise cancellation. Being able to work in quiet while others are yammering around you is priceless.
scytale@lemm.ee 4 months ago
There’s a difference between using closed-back noise-can elling headphones in an office or plane and using open-back headphones or bone-conduction while riding a bike or running so you can hear vehicles and other runners/cyclists around you.
Open-back headphones are not just niche usage. They are also used for music production, watching movies at home (feels like you’re listening to speakers in the room with you instead of small headphones), and gaming (open soundstage makes pinpointing sound around you more accurate).
solrize@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Yes, it’s walking around outside while listening to music that is a niche usage. I know that some people do it and can’t live without it, but I tend to feel that is unusual. It’s annoying to see “these earphones let you keep hearing other people’s conversations around you” as if that was a desirable feature, which it almost never is.
treadful@lemmy.zip 4 months ago
Well, this is exactly what I use earbuds for. I have nice cans with ANC for indoor usage.
That said, no shot I’m ever going to drop $300 on something I might lose because my hood brushes my ear a little wrong.
fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.world 4 months ago
And they make headphones for that.
But if you’re out walking around in the city you absolutely want to be aware of whats around you, and it’s absolutely not a niche usage. That’s why the airpods, and lots of other headphone offer both. Transparency for when you want to be aware, noise cancelation for when you don’t.
solrize@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Hmm ok, I do see some that no longer advertise outside sound as a feature, and I haven’t tried the latest ones, but I’ve never tried any so far that work as well as acoustic hearing protectors from the hardware store. If you have a model to recommend I might check it out.
ABCDE@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Eh
Tattorack@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Dude, there are people with earbuds EVERYWHERE on the street. It’s actually a problem on the bike lanes because the ones that are noise cancelling can’t hear when someone is right behind them ringing a bike bell.
Plopp@lemmy.world 4 months ago
How big is this niche? Whenever I’m out walking or riding my bike with my earphones, more than half the people I see walking or biking are wearing earphones. Maybe you live in car land but over here such activities are common.
boogetyboo@aussie.zone 4 months ago
Niche?? Shit man, go outside some time.
abhibeckert@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Speak for yourself, I do it three or so hours a day.
Indoors… that’s where I never wear earphones. I prefer speakers for that.