December 12, 2014 at 15:31Ultimate Ears Launches 3D Hi-End Headphones
The Ultimate Ears company is well-known among professional musicians thanks to its ergonomic Hi-End class headphones, made exclusively to order for specific users. Such headphones cost from $ 400 to $ 2000, being beyond the reach of the average consumer, but taking great advantage of wealthy music lovers. UE Pro looks very original, besides they sit comfortably in the ear and provide excellent sound quality, completely isolating the ear canal from extraneous noise.
Until now, the production process of these individual “miracle ears” has been a rather dreary procedure. First, the client was supposed to be in person to the nearest audiologist, and not to anyone, but only to an authorized one - with special equipment in his arsenal. The audiologist carefully cleaned the client's ears from accumulated dirt and ear wax, then blocked the ear canal with a special cotton ball.
After that, the specialist picked up a small device, vaguely resembling an applicator for liquid nails, and gently filled the ear canal and the client’s auricle with a special paste-like filler. After about 5 minutes, the filler solidified, and the resulting casts from both ears went to production. In production, the template was used to make plastic cliches, which, in turn, served as a mold for casting the headphones themselves. In total, the process of making a pair of such “ears” took up to a month and a half.
Thanks to the introduction of 3D printing technology, the headphone manufacturing speed has been increased several times. Now the primary casts are not sent to production, but digital copies are taken from them using a 3D scanner. The files are brought to mind in a CAD editor and sent over the Web to 3D printing. As a result, after 5-7 days, the user receives first-class UE headphones at their disposal, ideally sitting in their ears.
According to reviews by Kristen Costa of the Gadgets Review, the new UE11, created using 3D printing, is in no way inferior in quality to the traditional UE18, made by hand. The tester claims that 3D headphones have deeper bass and feel more comfortable in the ears than their predecessors. Manufacturers, in turn, admit that the new technology allows them to save not only time, but also cliché material.
By the way, in addition to the individual form adapted for a particular ear, on the Ultimate Eears website you can choose the color of the headphones, as well as the material and the design image.
PS: Those who have free $ 1,300 to order this miracle of technology can consider this post an advertisement :)
Author: Andrey Gasilin
Source: Gadgets Review
Until now, the production process of these individual “miracle ears” has been a rather dreary procedure. First, the client was supposed to be in person to the nearest audiologist, and not to anyone, but only to an authorized one - with special equipment in his arsenal. The audiologist carefully cleaned the client's ears from accumulated dirt and ear wax, then blocked the ear canal with a special cotton ball.
After that, the specialist picked up a small device, vaguely resembling an applicator for liquid nails, and gently filled the ear canal and the client’s auricle with a special paste-like filler. After about 5 minutes, the filler solidified, and the resulting casts from both ears went to production. In production, the template was used to make plastic cliches, which, in turn, served as a mold for casting the headphones themselves. In total, the process of making a pair of such “ears” took up to a month and a half.
Thanks to the introduction of 3D printing technology, the headphone manufacturing speed has been increased several times. Now the primary casts are not sent to production, but digital copies are taken from them using a 3D scanner. The files are brought to mind in a CAD editor and sent over the Web to 3D printing. As a result, after 5-7 days, the user receives first-class UE headphones at their disposal, ideally sitting in their ears.
According to reviews by Kristen Costa of the Gadgets Review, the new UE11, created using 3D printing, is in no way inferior in quality to the traditional UE18, made by hand. The tester claims that 3D headphones have deeper bass and feel more comfortable in the ears than their predecessors. Manufacturers, in turn, admit that the new technology allows them to save not only time, but also cliché material.
By the way, in addition to the individual form adapted for a particular ear, on the Ultimate Eears website you can choose the color of the headphones, as well as the material and the design image.
PS: Those who have free $ 1,300 to order this miracle of technology can consider this post an advertisement :)
Author: Andrey Gasilin
Source: Gadgets Review