Wearables

Silenton brings selective noise cancellation to existing earbuds

Silenton brings selective noise cancellation to existing earbuds
The Silenton (black) is claimed to block unwanted sounds while still allowing the user to hear people's voices
The Silenton (black) is claimed to block unwanted sounds while still allowing the user to hear people's voices
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The Silenton (black) is claimed to block unwanted sounds while still allowing the user to hear people's voices
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The Silenton (black) is claimed to block unwanted sounds while still allowing the user to hear people's voices
The Silenton weighs approximately 16. 5 grams (0.6 oz)
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The Silenton weighs approximately 16. 5 grams (0.6 oz)

While many earbuds now feature noise-cancelling technology, they typically block all noises, including people's voices. The Silenton device, however, is claimed to filter out most sounds while still allowing voices through to third-party earbuds.

Manufactured by South Korean company Suhyun Tech, the Silenton transceiver is designed to be clipped to the user's collar, hardhat, necklace or someplace else near their mouth. It's wirelessly linked to both their smartphone and their earbuds (or headphones) via Bluetooth.

A microphone on the device picks up the ambient sound, which is analyzed via an AI-based algorithm on an integrated microprocessor.

According to the designers, the result is that the voices of nearby people are relayed through to the earbuds, while all other noises are reduced by 25 decibels. That noise reduction is done in the traditional fashion, wherein the device produces sound waves with the same amplitude as the undesired sounds, but with inverted phase, cancelling them out.

The Silenton weighs approximately 16. 5 grams (0.6 oz)
The Silenton weighs approximately 16. 5 grams (0.6 oz)

The system reportedly also works for isolating the user's voice while blocking out background sounds, when they're taking phone calls via the Silenton's mic. And yes, the earbuds can still also be used to listen to music. A one-hour charge of the device's 3.7-V/230-mAh lithium-polymer battery is claimed to be good for up to 23 hours of use.

Should you be interested, the Silenton is presently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign. Assuming it reaches production, a pledge of US$89 will get you one – the planned retail price is $149. It's demonstrated in the video below.

It should be noted that similar functionality is offered by some stand-alone earbuds, such as the Olive Pro and IQbuds models.

Silenton: World's First Noise Elimination Device for Earbuds

Source: Kickstarter

2 comments
2 comments
IvanWashington
i want one for my sennheiser hd580 phones, i hope they have enough power for those watt hogs.
SciFiHiGi
I've been testing this today. So far I'm disappointed that I bought this item. Instructions are the usual; too little to be of value. There is a video, but the way the light blinks when they turn it on is not what I see. I finally got it to pair to my phone and a pair of earbuds, but I never heard any thing from the earbuds that was playing on the phone. And the sound from the phone was going to the Silenton. I know that because when I unpaired the Silenton the music played from the phone. I did get noise from the ear buds directly from the Silenton, but everything echoed. Hearing everything twice (including background noise) is not what they say it is supposed to do. I can't imagine that would be any improvement over not having it in use.

I have left comments and sent emails regarding this. If I get a response and enough information to use these they way they are described I will come back and post my experience. So far I either need those instructions or a refund.

If anyone has deciphered the instructions I would appreciate a walk-through since the instructions from the maker are not working.