A UK-based company believes it's got a better way to drown out noises after dark and help you get a good night's rest. Somni says its sleep earbuds are the smallest ones you'll find anywhere, and don't ever need to be charged. I have to admit, I've never heard of such a thing, and I'm keen to be pleasantly surprised by this ambitious crowdfunded product.
Here's what's going on... The SomniBuds are powered by a slim, soft pad that can go under your pillow, mattress, or headboard – up to about 2-3 ft (under 1 m) away at the most. The mat connects to any audio source like your phone or tablet via Bluetooth, and delivers sound to the buds using a magnetic field.
The buds don't contain batteries, or any other electronics. Instead, the company explained on Reddit that "inside the SomniBud is a highly sensitive magnetic speaker diaphragm sealed in an acoustic chamber – no coil and no electronics. This is moved mechanically by the voice coil field from the SomniMat – the same way a speaker cone is moved within a speaker." It's all part of a patent-pending technology the company's developed for this product.
That negates the need for batteries and charging, and drastically reduces the size of each bud. The flat-bodied buds are just 3 mm thick – just a little more than a coin – so there's nothing protruding out of your ear and causing discomfort while you sleep on your side.
Somni also notes that the rigid post surrounded by the foam ear tip is slim and articulated. As a result, the ear tip has room to collapse as your ear canal adjusts its shape through the night while you sleep, and you don't feel a stiff bit of hardware bumping against your ear canal.
Plus, since the buds are so small, they sit snugly inside your ear and create a strong seal to passively block noise. There's no active noise cancellation on these buds, but Somni says these features deliver up to 37 dB of noise attenuation, which means you should be able to effectively mask disturbing external noises with audio played over the buds at a low volume.
Besides the buds, there are two other pieces of kit involved: the magnetic coil that would usually sit inside the earbud has been turned into a placemat-sized pad, and there's also a brick-shaped power supply and Bluetooth receiver that plugs into a wall outlet.
Somni claims its buds deliver high quality audio when within the prescribed range of the mat, albeit in mono rather than stereo. The buds also won't work when you're wearing them out of bed, as the volume will reduce the farther you get from the mat. In any case, these are really only designed for sleep, and not to replace any of your other audio gear.
I'd be especially keen for my partner to try this and let me know if it helps mask my incorrigible snoring, she's suffered enough over the years, and nothing we've tried thus far has been very effective or comfortable.
A kit with a single pair of buds is slated to retail at US$300, but it's currently discounted while Somni is crowdfunding the product on Kickstarter. This kit can be had for $231, while a DuoMat pack which lets your partner listen in at the same time costs $251 at the time of writing.
Somni says it will begin shipping orders worldwide in December. All crowdfunding campaigns carry an element of risk, so you'll want to keep that in mind if you choose to back this campaign. However, if all goes to plan, orders are slated to ship worldwide in December.
Check out the SomniBuds campaign over on Kickstarter.
Source: Somni
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