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iASUS EAR3 delivers music (and background sounds) to our ears

Written by Cory Benson
8 Comments
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Most audio tech companies have been developing more and better noise cancellation, but Hong Kong-based iASUS has also taken a step in the other direction in the interest of safety for cyclists and runners who want to enjoy music on the go. Their new EAR3 inline micro amp uses a built-in mic that captures what’s going on outside and layers it with your music, so that you can enjoy the tunes and still here the next car rolling up behind you. They’ve got a crowdfunding campaign of sorts going on now, so check out the details after the break, and how to get one in time to hang it on the tree…

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iASUS has gone to Indiegogo to push this new product out, but more importantly to be fast so that they can do a special early bird deal to get a first pre-production run out in time for the holidays. Their campaign is actually just an Indiegogo flexible goal, which means that everyone who orders will receive the product no matter what they raise.

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The EAR3 micro amp uses what they call Variable Background Sound (VBS) which lets you dial in the level of environmental noise mixed in with your own music. So now you can stay aware of your surroundings no matter what activity you are doing, whether it is walking down the sidewalk engrossed in a podcast or staying motivated getting in those winter base miles with your own soundtrack. The VBS can also be switched off for undisturbed music listening indoors.

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The EAR3 can boost your headphone levels by 10dB and has a built-in rechargeable battery with a 20hr run time. It charges by micro USB, and uses the same port to connect to your device with the included 3.5mm-to-microUSB cable that supports headsets with inline mics for hands free phone use as well.

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The early special is $60 + shipping and available in either black or espresso and will ship by December 15th if you get your order in for Christmas delivery timing. Shipping is just $10 to the US but jumps to $25 for Canada, the EU, or Australia. Check it out on Indiegogo.

iASUS-Concepts.com
Cory Benson
4,359 articles

Cory Benson is the EU Tech Editor of Bikerumor.com.

Cory has been writing about mountain bikes, enduro, cyclocross, all-road, gravel bikes & bikepacking for over 25 years, even before the industry created some of these names. Prior to Bikerumor, Cory was a practicing Architect specializing in environmental sustainability, has designed bike shops & bike components, and worked as a bike shop mechanic.

Based in the Czech Republic for 15+ years, he is a technical mountain biker, adventurous gravel rider, and short & medium-haul bikepacker. Cory travels extensively across Europe riding bikes, meeting with key European product developers, industry experts & tastemakers for an in-depth review of what’s new, and what’s coming next.

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edge
edge
8 years ago

What’s with the Yamaha logo? I know they also work with sound engineering.

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Bob
Bob
8 years ago

The Yahama logo is on the headphones.

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red rider
red rider
8 years ago

interesting considering I usually can’t hear cars coming up behind me even without headphones.

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Eric Hansen
Eric Hansen
8 years ago

This is pretty cool, but there’s another solution already out there. Bone transduction headsets allow you to hear music, but also have your ears completely clear. The transducers sit on your temples, or behind your ears, or really anywhere in contact with your skull, and transmit your music to your “ears” by vibrating your skull. I got my kit from a “Max Virtual” company crowdfunding campaign, and since then, they’ve come out with a version that is 1/4 the size. You can get a behind the head band that holds the transducers on your temples, or you can attach the transducers inside your helmet on the straps.

There’s a small powered driver, like this device, that connects to your audio device with bluetooth. If you have a phone, it also has a mic in it, so you can make and receive phone calls. The battery box also has some buttons to control music playback, though I can also effect that through my watch, or on my Cyclo 505 bike computer.

The experience is pretty freaky sometimes. You’ll be riding along, hearing traffic like your eyes are seeing, but then the music will have some sort of stereo pan or psychoauditory rotation, while the other sounds stay stationary. It can be a bit disorienting. Otherwise, you are riding hearing everything you normally would, while also hearing music at the same time.

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Erik
Erik
8 years ago

OMG – they need a box of these at the trailhead for all the boneheaded runners who run with their heads down and headphones in both freaking ears…

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dan
dan
8 years ago

I understand this thing resembles the opposite of a noise cancellation and lowers the volume of whatever you are listening to in favour of traffic noise. Knowing myself, I would get pretty fast annoyed by the changing volume levels in city traffic and dial down the sound mixing, which renders this thingy obsolete. So why would I spend money on a battery driven harassistent in the first place.
Just dial down the volume of your earphones. With that you achieve basically the same thing. You can hear your music as long as it is not drowned out by traffic noise. Or just go without music.

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Mike D
Mike D
8 years ago

I’d like to give them a try. I rarely even bother with music on the bike because either a) I use in-canal buds that deliver great sound, but block most background noise, making them unsafe on the bike, or b) I use Yurbuds, which stay in quite well (even on my weird ears). They are great at letting through the traffic and surrounding sounds, but the music quality is pretty ‘meh’ and the wind noise is absolutely nuts on the bike–still, great for running.

Those things said, I’d give them a shot if the price comes down a bit.

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tedder
tedder
8 years ago

not Bluetooth? eh. moving on.

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