[pseudohippy]

These are some customs that Im looking at. The audio driver is in the cord at the point it attaches to this clear tube. Im wondering if it works like a doctors stethascope and if that could produce good sound or not. Anybody know the science behind these.

 

[tpc41]

a while back i slipped a long soft plastic tube over one of my iem stems and then held the tube up to my ear and the music actually sounded like music. I wonder if these just work by sending a sound wave down a hollow tube and u get basically the same output at the other end. Im guessing it probably doesnt sound very good, but it works.

 

[stewtheking]

These are used all over. TV personalities who want less obtrusive earpieces, and even in hospitals, where they can be used inside MRI machines, without the magnet ripping the metal parts away and breaking things.

As for fidelity, they work exactly as tpc41 describes, and as such they aren't the highest...

 

[BradJudy]

Those of us over the age of 20 might remember that all airline passenger headsets used to use air tubes. Somewhere there is a landfill full of airline air tube headphones.

 

[synaesthetic]

A lot of audiological test equipment still uses air tubes.

 

[PiccoloNamek]

http://www.etymotic.com/pro/er30.aspx

 

[ClieOS]

I think the proper name of those is called 'acoustic tube'. They are generally good for bass and vocal but higher treble region suffers as the tube absorb energy on the region much faster. Sensorcom UK sell the whole set including generic earpieces, acoustic tube, normal earbud adapter, and special transducers and wire.

Oh, and the tube is for sending the sound wave into your ear, the transducer is placed at the other end of the tube, connect to a wire, like you normal regular earphone.

 

[pseudohippy]

Wow, not much science involved but I feel a whole lot more knowledgable. It was killin me wondering how they worked, yet it is so simple and I should have known lol. Oh well, I think Ill pass on these ones.

This same company makes soft silicone customs for musicians as well, I wonder what the cable is for those ones.

 

[sunseeker888]

But imagine how this concept would improve if the high-end mfg'ers started getting involved?

It's a good idea in theory, and I feel that maybe it can sound amazin if enough people experiment to make it that way.

 

[Philimon]

Reminds of the Bose Wave Radio.