La Voz

Issue date: 11/9/09 Section: Technology

Media Credit: Coree Hogan

Photo courtesy of Amazing Tech Products, Inc.

As residents of Silicon Valley, technology has a great impact on every aspect of our lives. With technology constantly developing and progressing at a rate that makes drag racing look like a snail's crawl, we have become accustomed to products, such as the iPod, where consumers can store thousands of songs on a "reasonably priced" device smaller than a paperback novel.

Unfortunately, these devices come equipped with earbuds with a low quality speaker, assaulting our eardrums with the music of our favorite artists.

The long-term effects of exposure to sound waves at high volumes cause irreparable damage to one of our five basic senses. In response to this, San Jose based company Amazing Tech Products, Inc. has created the revolutionary "reverse sound technology," and made it a selling point for their latest product, dubbed simply "Purebuds."

Founder and president Keith Washo assures that although the product is targeted toward casual listeners, critical listeners will be surprisingly satisfied with the "reverse sound" concept.

He explained that the design sends sound waves away from the eardrums, so that they can be filtered in by the natural concave of the ears. The eardrum receives the sound as if it were being heard live.

Washo also emphasized that, because there is no direct exposure of sound to the eardrums, Purebuds are far less damaging to the ears.

They also provided the comfort that most earbuds lack. An individual on a long flight can listen to music for extended periods of time without experiencing any of the pain associated with earbuds.

At $50 they bring consumer level headphones to a completely different level.

Another issue that many experience with earbuds is the absence of bass response while listening to genres such as hip-hop or reggae, which emphasize the lower frequencies, thus additionally robbing the listener of one of the focal points of the song.

Because of this, Amazing Tech Products, Inc. has developed three different types of tips for the Purebuds that cater to the preferences of the listener.

One boosts the bass, another supports surround sound for movies and video games, and one givesthe full range of the frequencies, known as "flat response" through the world of audio production.

This product is perfect for anyone who listens to music on headphones for long periods of time, or is always on the go. It also outperforms most closed ear headphones in the same price range.

The only potential drawback is that in general, the Purebuds were less flattering to more contemporary music such as the Immortal Technique, Leftover Crack and Sublime tracks, while making Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Tom Waits sound more lively. I was impressed with the way they made the Aphex Twin track strangely pleasant, and almost euphoric.

So if you've grown tired of your earbuds, and want to invest in a much better set without having to resort to the inconvenience of closed ear headphones, or spend all of your prized paycheck, the Purebuds are guaranteed to be a great set of headphones, and your ears will thank you.


Here is the playlist that was used as reference for this article:

1. Immortal Technique-No Me Importa
2. Bob Dylan-Subterranean Homesick Blues
3. Aphex Twin-Girlboy Song
4. A Tribe Called Quest-Award Tour
5. The Clash-White Man in Hammersmith Palace
6. Elliot Smith-Needle in the Hay
7. Fugazi-Bad Mouth
8. Sublime-New Song
9. Leftover Crack-Atheist Anthem
10. Tom Waits-The One That Got Away
11. The Beatles-Come Together

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