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Comment by mlmonkey

9 hours ago

Not to threadjack, but this is a question that I've had for a while and I've been looking for the right forum to ask: are there any "open source" earbuds? I would like to take a pair of earbuds and invert the noise-cancellation curve: basically, amplify any ambient noise (with filtering of course). My grandma (not in the US or EU) is hard of hearing, and the only options available to her are random Chinese junk. I would like to try this experiment, where I just invert the noise cancellation curve and make the ambient noise louder.

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mlmonkey

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KeplerBoy  9 hours ago

Pixel buds have this feature, it's called transparency mode. I use it for cycling so I'm still aware of my surroundings in traffic.

  • smusamashah  9 hours ago

    Lots of earbuds have transparency mode. I have Earfun Air Pro 4+ (which were big too big for my ears). They sound very good and have really good transparency mode. The company keeps releasing firmware updates every now and then.

    Also got a nothing Ear. They are very comfy, and have very good sound. But transparency mode in those is awful. Other things are bad too.

    • omnimus  9 hours ago

      The later versions of Nothing headphones/buds got pretty good.

      I actually have their budget brand CMF Buds 2 plus and they are straight up great even before you consider the price. Pretty good headphones are commodity now, everybody makes them. Apple is just winning the branding game.

crooked-v  2 hours ago

For what it's worth, Airpods Pro 2 or 3 have a Hearing Aid mode out of the box, but I understand plenty of other earphones out there these days have something equivalent that just can't call itself that because they don't have the clinical certification Apple got.