Sound Reasoning

Turn down the volume!
by Molly McLaughlin

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What was that? If CES is anything, it’s loud. So it felt appropriate to meet with DB Logic, an audio company that makes headphones and earphones designed to preserve your hearing. Regular headphones and earphones can get as loud as 120 dB or so, which can be damaging over time, causing hearing loss. (Not to mention, that loud volume is a major annoyance to those around you.) DB Logic’s headphones top out at 85 dB, a safer volume, as recommended by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association), the latter of which has a campaign called “Listen to Your Buds,” that encourages kids to turn down the volume.

DB Logic showed off 4 products at CES: headphones, earphones and two accessories, an SPL Meter and the SPL2 Adapter. The SPL (Sound Pressure Level) Meter measures the decibel output of your earbuds and is geared toward hobbyists, while the adapter is a cable that connects to your existing earbuds and limits volume using DB Logic’s proprietary SPL2 technology. The cable has a small monitoring circuit that regulates the volume. I had a chance to give a listen to the headphones and earphones and came away impressed. The company also gave me a pair of earphones to test out; I will report back soon with the results.

The folks at DB Logic also worked with Ultimate Ears on their Loud Enough earphones, which use a similar, but less sophisticated technology. A small company called I Hear Safe also makes “safe” headphones and earphones, geared toward kids. The founder, Christine Ingemi, created them with her own children in mind. All of this is a step in the right direction; at ConsumerSearch, we're happy to see fewer gimmicks and more practical features in consumer electronics.

CES: Sennheiser, dBLogic Unveil New Headphones, Accessories
by Joel Mathis

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No surprise: the International Consumer Electronics Show continues to be an Apple-loving audiophile’s dream.

Sennheiser announced its CX 980i earbuds. (The "i" indicates it was crafted for iPhone use.) Like the iPhone’s native earbuds, Sennheiser’s new product includes a small microphone-and-control unit integrated into the cable, which allows a user to control their iPhone or iPod touch with voice or push-button commands. The CX 980i will be available through Sennheiser, Apple’s online store, and in brick-and-mortar Apple Stores. There’s no pricing information on the CX 980i from Sennheiser yet. (Sennheiser also announced another product Friday, its MM 550 Bluetooth-enabled headphones.)

If you want to make sure that your headphones aren't destroying your eardrums, though, dBLogic this week announced two new earphone accessories to “ensure healthy listening.” The new $50 SPL Meter lets users hold their earphones up to monitor and get a detailed reading of how loud their music is playing. The $20 SPL2 Adapter plugs into an MP3 player’s headphone jack and places a top limit on how loudly music can be outputted to a user’s earbuds. Both products should be available this month at the company’s Web site.

dBLogic Headphones Can’t Hurt Your Ears
by Steve Guttenberg

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I occasionally receive e-mails from readers worried about loud music's potential for damaging their hearing. The concerns are very real; a recent study found that one in five adolescents now suffers some hearing impairment. How loud is too loud? If you regularly experience "ringing" in the ears, see your doctor!

Cranking the volume of your headphones up loud will (eventually) deafen you, unless you're using the new dBLogic headphones ($40). They use SPL2 technology to automatically limit the maximum volume to a safe level. Sure, there have been other headphones that promised to do the same thing with active (battery-powered) circuitry, but the dBLogic headphones don't use batteries. Simply plug in the headphones and enjoy the music; there are no switches or adjustments to fuss with. They just work.

Up to a moderate volume the dBLogics works like any other headphones, but if you attempt to blast your ears, they will gently lower the volume to a safe level (85 dB). The design is "smart" enough to let momentary loud sounds pass, but sustained high volume sound is hushed, so you can listen longer, without suffering ear fatigue.

I first found the dBLogic headphones only moderately comfortable; the ear pad pressure was a bit too tight for me. The earpads didn't sit flat, and they put more pressure against the tops of my ears than the bottoms. The faux leather ear pads made my ears feel hot over extended listening sessions. Bending the metal headband to reduce earpad pressure made for a much more comfortable fit.

The headphones are available in a variety of trendy colors: Barracuda Blue, Big Apple Red, Green Shamrock, Pink Valentine, Quick Silver, and Orange Tiger. The padded ear cushions are nicely done, and the skinny cable is 1.2 meters long.

The closed-back headphone's isolation from external sound is fairly good, and like most closed back designs, bass is deep and fairly potent. Sam Phillips' "Don't Do Anything" album has an interesting blend of acoustic sweetness and hard-edged electric, and the headphones reproduced both with equal skill. Sound quality is above average for headphones in this price range.

I listened to the on-ear dBLogic 'phones, but the company also offers an in-ear model, with the same SPL2 safe volume technology. Sometime later this month the company, which is based in Indianapolis, will offer SPL2 technology in an inline module that will work with any stock earbud (not in-ear headphones) to automatically maintain safe volume. Pricing for that unit has not yet been released.

Portable Entertainment Gift Ideas
by Network World Staff, Network World

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With more stories and studies coming out discussing the consequences of loud music and hearing loss, it becomes more important for music lovers to take care of their ears when using headphones and earphones. The company dbLogic has come out with earbuds and headphones that utilize SPL2 Technology (sound pressure level limiting) to protect against high sound pressure levels that the company says can cause hearing damage when you listen to music for long periods.

The headphones include an adjustable headband and swivel design for different head shapes, and the ear cups are cushioned to provide extra comfort. The headphones also fold up easily to make them portable. The headphones come in seven different colors, very colorful options to keep things stylish.

The headphones offer a 20Hz to 20KHz frequency range, 100mW of power, providing clear sound with rich bass. It was quite obvious when wearing them that volume levels would be lower than regular headphones, but it wasn’t so low that I wanted to switch headphones.

If there’s a teen-ager music lover on your list who tends to say “what?” a lot when you ask them questions, you might want to provide them these headphones to help prevent further ear damage when they get older.

Cool Yule rating: 4 stars