High-tech headphones

Tyson Anderson

The Audio Bone Aqua uses bone conduction to transmit sound instead of playing sound directly into the ear canal.

By Tyson Anderson

Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009 | 3:56 p.m.

These new headphones might make you think you are a secret agent. The Audio Bone Aqua uses a new technology that transmits sound using bone conduction as opposed to playing sound directly in the ear canal like traditional ear phones. The headphones are worn similarly to normal headphones except that instead of going over the ear, they sit a little bit in front of the ear over an audio conductive bone. By sending vibrations to this bone instead of the ear drum, the headphones are able to play sound to the listener. The Audio Bone Aqua is available now in the U.S and it retails for $189 a set.

Aside from making you want to re-enact scenes from James Bond, these headphones offer other benefits over traditional headphones. Because the Audio Bone does not obstruct the ear canal, it is still possible to hear what is going on around you while using the headphones. This could be very helpful to runners or cyclists who want to listen to music while they exercise but still want to remain safe by being able to hear things around them. The Audio Bone also can be helpful in extremely loud environments that require ear protection such as law enforcement or mining. Workers can wear ear plug to protect themselves from load noises and still be able to communicate with each other using radios attached to Audio Bone headphones.