No owners out there to comment on the sound? They have been out in USA for a while.
Grabbed one after seeing
Tyll of Innerfidelity's giddy airport video, - The form factor is appealing to me for "single earbud scenarios" like bicycling and other listening where I like to be aware of my surroundings and the sound won't bother anyone else, but a bluetooth speaker is either too loud or not loud enough
They were pretty impressive in the noisy store, immediately picked up that "audio helmet" effect Tyll mentions, but on further listening at home I'm finding it's somewhat music dependant and also requires what for me is rather fatiguing volume to get the full effect, otherwise at more comfortable volumes the sound is coming from the jaw area- I suspect this might vary by individual anatomy.
Probably the most remarkable aspect is the bass- at neck listening volumes, when the speaker is a foot away it produces a thin sound like phone speakers orsmall bluetooth speaker (at loud volumes above neck listening levels it acts more like a small bluetooth speaker), but on the neck the low end substantially fills out even at lower volumes. It seems essential to the effectiveness of this design but also the biggest downside in that I find can be rather fatiguing, even at those lower volumes. I think the Bose Connect app might have some feature to alter bass level but will be foregoing that until recenty raised privacy concerns are cleared up.
Signature is what I associate with Bose - generally pleasant & easygoing but slightly paper textured mids & treble, oddly hollow sound with humped mostly one-note bass.
Not sure it'll replace the $5 earbuds, going to keep trying it out in different scenarios, but initial impression: It's unique and has some interesting practical uses, but strongly suggest extensive demoing before buying. $300 is a lot for what you get- at wearable volumes. basically a pair of tiny speakers that sound like tiny speakers with an interesting acoustic effect and tolerable SQ. IMO it also doesn't quite deliver on "tech of the future!" appeal but is not a total disappointment either (on that nonfuturistic note, an analog input would be useful).
JBL has a similar product that's a bit cheaper, would be interested if anyone has impressions of that- haven't seen it in any stores though.Hope Logitech/UE come up with something similar, .
