I have a pair of earbuds that use a 'unique' method of distributing sound that I haven't seen in any other IEM (i think that's right terminology)
Rather than 'broadcast' the sound, the earbud housing itself vibrated on essentially a phone vibrator to generate the sound with my own skull. This made the listening experience feel like my own thoughts rather than outside noise, and meant that I could hear the sound even when not in my ear, but on my cheek, at the top of my skull, and even on my shoulder, as well as making them almost silent in the air.
Originally they were waterproof, which had an awesome feature of 'instant speaker' if you suspended them in a glass of water.
Because they were connecting directly and generating sound directly with my skull, the bass experience was to die for. The highs did sound a little muffled in some locations, and the mids came out strongly and clearly, but the base stood out almost all the time. This is fantastic for someone like me who listens to Soundtracks and classical music, where the baselines are awesome and I personally like the low tones because I play a low instrument.
In all, the technology sounds similar to what Google Glass has, but in IEMs.
I bought these in a market for $30 ten years ago (2003) and one of the earbuds broke last week (sadface). They had a good life, but the cable sheathing was made of plastic rather than a rubber composite, which meant the sheath started to crack round the 7 year mark, and the wires themselves finally broke last week.
They were basically a no brand IEM in 2003, and I've lost all signs of packaging since then. I would really like to find another pair, or even better, a new IEM with similar or same technology, but with upgrades (like that cable sheathing, or a hook to hold it in place. Sometimes vibrated its way out) Does anyone know the name of this sort of technology, or a product on the market with the same stuff in it.?
*After posting this on two sections of Linus' forums, and getting no responses to either after a week, I assumed everyone was dead and brought it over here. Hello from a new person. =) *
Thank you