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The Breggz headphones aren’t small — but the custom, 3D-printed casings should ensure comfort and stay-put qualities.Image Credits:Breggz Audio
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Instead, I need to hide my credit card away so Breggz won’t bankrupt me
seem , anyone who is saying they ’re sound to go selling a pair of $ 2,000 studio apartment admonisher - quality in - ear headphones had well show up with the receipts . At that price degree , one could adopt Apple ’s top - of - the - line AirPod Max headphones and have enough money lead over to find fault up a MacBook Pro as well .
I utter withBreggz Audio‘s CFO , Jeroen van Els , to visualise out what it was about these in - ear earphone that was so special .
“ One of our foundersis a performing artist in the Netherlands . He was wondering why , through his in - capitulum monitors , he had such big - quality music in his ears when he was onstage , but why no consumer product was reaching these levels of audio quality , ” van Els told TechCrunch in an interviewat CES 2024 . That was the root of the journey .
From there , the company fall into a rabbit yap of creating the well possible in - ear headphones . I ’ll admit to listening to their spiel with no small amount of cynicism . At first , I misheard him , thinking the cost tag was $ 750 — which is already passably idiotic . But no , the CES extra preorder Mary Leontyne Price is $ 1,750 , and the final MSRP will be closer to two 1000 .
Trying them out
My disbelief concord until the squad offer me a demo , starting with the experience of possibility up the magnetic charging case — it blossom like a Transformer , which turns on a light on the top of the machine and boots up the circuits in the earphone .
While the terminal phone will be custom 3-D - printed to fit someone ’s ears , the demo set still gibe me jolly well . As shortly as I put them in ( “ you kind of put them in your ears , then ‘ screw them in ’ to secure them , ” van Els instructed me ) I was in a smooth , wonderful oasis blocking out the din of the busy show floor . Then he jump the demo track , and I was transported to a Earth I ’ve not experienced in quite a few years . unbelievable , fat basso . Beautiful uncloudedness . And not at peculiarly high volume either . It was , in a Good Book , one of the best audio experiences I ’ve ever had , and I felt my heart sink . Fuck . Was I run short to have to comprehend into my wallet and spend $ 2 grand on a twosome of phone ? sure enough not .
After the ( true brief ) demo , van Els point me the “ transparence ” mode , which entail he was able to talk to me while I was still jade the earphone . I noted that there was also an active noise delete mode , which van Els sheepishly admitted was n’t working yet , as they were still follow through it . That was the true jaw - drop cloth minute for me : The peace I had experienced was courtesy of noise closing off , without combat-ready noise cancellation turn on .
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“ We ’ve develop wireless in - auricle monitors , essentially a full wireless in - ear computer , maintaining the quality of pumped-up monitor . It ’s an ‘ in - ear computing equipment ’ because it includes a speaker and a processor , enabling various functions like voice and maneuver motion controls , and computer software for instant translation , ” van Els pronounce . “ We have our first yield samples ready and plan to scale up production , aiming for a grocery store launch in Q2 this year . ”
The tech
The earphones utilize a modular “ magazine ” approach , which slot into the earbud . That means that if something materialize to your earbuds , they can be upgrade and/or repaired without get to create a full new headphone . The company is have a sustainable approach , signify they are project to last a lifespan with replaceable parts — at least as long as the company is around and willing and able-bodied to serve their products , that is .
The earbuds feature four high - ending balanced armature drivers per capitulum , produce byKnowles , for what the company refers to as a “ concert - like speech sound . ” Of course , the earphones do still rely on Bluetooth technology ( 5.2 to be precise ) , which introduces enough response time that they might not be perfectly worthy in live concert preferences .
“ Our ware has the lowest latent period in the market place , suitable for everyday users . For professional artists require lower latency , we ’re working on solutions to be usher in later , ” van Els shares . “ The practiced news is that the latency is a software package issue , so future updates could further raise the product . ”
The company produce a video with an consultation of the society ’s founder , which goes into some more details :
After I walk away from the cubicle , I put in my AirPod Pros . They ’re my common companion when I ’m out and about . I think they were pretty decent , but compared to what I ’d just experient , they were utter garbage — even with active racket canceling turned on .
And , I come to realise , that is the magic of CES : Sometimes , you get to completely reset your expectation and find a raw service line as you interact with some stigma young engineering . Will the company be successful in institute its product to market , and turn them into a commercial success ? Who know . But even if they do n’t , it has been the stand - out , jaw - on - the - flooring minute for me at CES so far .
