I feel the need to start off this post by disclosing the fact that I am an audiophile of sorts and I did not get a warm and fuzzy feeling about the idea behind this product right away. That being said, it turns out the people over at InAir Technologies are on to something here. How do I know, you ask? Just the other day I walked out of my downtown office building only to see an unsuspecting guy listening to his iPod while riding a bicycle, cruising up to an intersection where I could clearly see an SUV quickly approaching with the driver on a cellphone. I wanted to yell “look out” but what good would that have done?
The driver of the SUV slammed on the brakes but it was too late, the man on the bike went for a nice ride right up onto the hood but, only for a second, before sliding down onto the ground. I stood there in awe of the fact that they were both completely clueless and I remember thinking how easily this whole thing could have been avoided. It couldn’t have been more perfect timing as I knew the AirDrives were at home ready for the test.
Now that I have bored you with my ”you had to be there” story let me cut to the chase. Unlike traditional ear buds which fit snugly into your ear to block outside sounds, the AirDrives comfortably wrap around the back of your ear while hovering right outside of the ear canal. This means that you still get plenty of volume all while allowing you to stay aware of everything around you. If the guy on the bike would have only known!
The best way I could possibly explain the sensation is that it sounds as if someone is constantly following you around with a great quality boombox. Not only are these earphones perfect for busy urban areas but they also have a children’s version made with your kids health in mind. These earphones do not directly channel the music right into your child’s head (or adults for that matter) thus preserving their young developing sense of hearing.
The comfortable and seemingly durable design has a frequency range of 20-20,000 Hz and sensitivity of 98db at the source with 80db at the inner ear. The four foot cable also has a convenient volume control built right in, making volume adjustment on the fly a lot easier than reaching into your pocket or band to fumble with a digital wheel volume.
The child version retails at around $49 while the adult version is a cool $79.
