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Q: Is it just louder?
A: Well, no. Louder is just louder. What Aumeo provides is tailored audio.
Like all things biological, there are variations in everyone's hearing.
Here's a typical case: Joe has a much stronger ability to perceive low tones than high tones on his left ear. He could listen to his music at a level which is just fine for his right ear, but that means he would not be able to hear the entirety of the soundtrack (specifically the high tones) clearly with his left.
Without Aumeo, our friend could just jack up the volume so his left ear can hear the high tones more clearly, but at the same time he's increasing the sound level of the low tones as well, maintaining the distortion of his perceived music. Let's not forget that his right ear (which unlike his left ear can perceive both low and high tones at the same level) is needlessly receiving louder music as well, which can lead to short-term hearing discomfort and/or long-term damage.
What Aumeo does is measure your unique hearing for each of your ears, and then tailor your music to provide the best, custom-fit audio experience. That way, you can hear all the frequency ranges with unprecedented clarity and enjoy music as it was intended to be heard, without having to hurt your ears.
Q: How is Aumeo different from any equalizer? Can’t I just make these audio adjustments on my own?
A: Aumeo is much more than an equalizer for the following reasons:
1. Aumeo measures your left and right ears’ hearing individually and tailors your music according to each of your ear’s hearing. So far we haven’t seen a product that does that on the market aside from ours.
2.Our audio-tailoring technology is also verified and based on actual science and expertise of audiologists and ENT doctors. We have done trials and analyzed hearing profiles to ensure the accuracy (97%) and reliability (95%) of our technology. This is much better than if a non-audiologist were to figure out on his own how well he hears with respect to each frequency and adjusting the EQ settings on his own, particularly if he is not familiar with the field of audiology. Aumeo can save you time and effort by taking care of your ears with our proven audio-tailoring process.
3. Finally, Aumeo has an amplifier built-in to ensure you won’t be limited to your phone’s output capabilities, and can enjoy better, clearer audio.
Q: So if you can redistribute audio based on my hearing strengths, does that mean I can get more clarity and a better audio experience with lower total volume?
A: Exactly. Not only do you get clearer and fuller sound, you can also enjoy this improved audio experience while preventing unnecessary volume damage to your hearing. Our clinical trial data confirms that people with normal hearing get better music appreciation and more accurate comprehension at a lower total volume.
Q: Is this like what Samsung phones have with their Adapt Sound?
A: Yes and no. Samsung phones do have a similar hearing test, but no data on the Samsung test has been published. Aumeo’s audio-tailoring technology on the other hand has been validated through clinical trials and proven to be 97% accurate and 95% reliable.
Also, as far as we know Samsung’s hearing adjustments only work on voice calls and their music player, whereas Aumeo the device can be used with your phone, your computer and other audio equipment."
Q: Where can I read the peer-reviewed medical papers on Aumeo's technology?
A: Our audiologists are excited to know you're interested in their work! Here are the links to the papers:
Unfortunately we are not allowed to distribute the papers ourselves even though we authored them, since the copyright now belongs to the academic publications. For this reason we can only provide the links to the medical journals, and there may be costs associated to viewing or downloading the papers.
Q: What's the effective frequency range of Aumeo's EQ, and how much can it amplify or attenuate at different frequencies?
A: Aumeo's effective frequency range is from 50Hz-20kHz, though we are measuring only 8 points from 125Hz to 12.5kHz in the hardware during calibration. The rest of the points will be "predicted" from the existing medical data for hearing print patterns, as we'd like to save time for the user so the test wouldn't take longer than necessary. Our amplification is around 25dB max on each of the frequencies.
Q: What if I want to share Aumeo with my friends or family? Can we create multiple audio profiles?
A: Yes, you can create multiple audio profiles in our companion app and choose whichever one you want to use with Aumeo the device.
Q: Do I need batteries for Aumeo?
A: No, we have a lithium battery built into our device.
Q: How long does it take for the battery to charge and can I use Aumeo while it’s charging?
A: The battery takes around 2 hours to charge, but we have taken special care that you can still use it while plugged in, and that it won’t hurt your battery life in the long run.
Q: What’s the battery life?
A: Fully charged, the device can run for about 8 hours on Bluetooth and 10 hours on jacks. The exact time may change as we may be adding new features to the device, but rest assured we’ll be making sure your on-the-go tailored audio experience will be as usable and convenient as possible.
Q: When will I get access to the companion app?
A: We’ve just submitted the latest version of the app to the App Store for Apple’s approval on June 9, so if all goes well it should be out before early July 2015. The Android app will be coming out at the same time as Apple.
Q: When will Aumeo be shipped to us?
A: We'll start production right after our campaign ends, and will start shipping out Aumeo to funders in November 2015! For more details, please see the "Roadmap to Delivery" section above.
Q: Will it pass-through microphone signals?
A: Yes it will.
Q: I have severe hearing loss. Will Aumeo work for me?
A: Our device can improve audio experience if you have mild to moderate hearing loss (below 70 dB), but as of right now it is not meant to be a substitute for hearing aids.
Q: What is the version of the Bluetooth component?
A: The Bluetooth component is Bluetooth 3.0 for audio transmission.
Q: Does the device support aptX codec?
A: Currently our prototype does not support the aptX codec as it costs more to produce, but since so many have been asking for it we're considering making it a stretch goal, so if we do well enough our engineers will include that capability in the final product.
Q: In terms of amplifier used, what is the headphone support in terms of ohm?
A: The built-in amp in Aumeo can do 100mW at 16 ohm.
Q: What is the signal to noise ratio in terms of dB numbers?
A: The amplifier used in Aumeo has a signal to noise ratio of 96dB.
Q: If I'm listening to hi-res audio (say, 320kbps) will any of the audio quality be lost when I use Aumeo?
A: Our sampling rate is 48000 samples per second, and we are using 24 bit sampling. 320kbps is an encoding setting, which means it is of better quality than 128kbps, but the actual sampling rate and resolution may vary. Our DSP is fully capable of doing better than CD quality, so in most cases it should not affect the quality of sound. The device also has automatic gain control to avoid overpowering output.
Q: Is there a line-out for Aumeo?
A: There is no line-out for Aumeo at the moment as Aumeo is originally designed to be used with headphones. However, to avoid the double amplifications from the internal amp and the external high-end amp (which is something a lot of people have asked us about), we will be adding a setting to lower the internal amp's amplification to avoid that situation.
If this current crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo goes well, we may create a new version of Aumeo without the internal amplifier, and re-design some of the internal routing so it can be used with desktop speakers and separate amps. This version of Aumeo is still in the early planning stage however, as it'll require a lot of engineering and testing to ensure the audio-tailoring is accurate.
Q: All this sounds great, but why aren't you making a headphone product?
A: We hear you loud and clear (because we use Aumeo)! We may indeed have plans for that down the road. For our debut product however we want a separate device because of the following reasons:
1. Our core value is "individualized hearing" and we want it to be the focus of this product. If we made a pair of headphones and people like it, it is very easy to be confused what contributes to the improved enjoyment - is it the foam? The shape of the headphone? The gold-plated phone jack?
By being a separate device that integrates into your existing setup, it is clear that any improvement comes from Aumeo’s technology.
2. Aumeo is a friend of all things audio. We understand that audiophiles and music lovers have their own preferred headphones, speakers, and music players. Some have taken a lot of time to set up their audio systems. By building a separate device as an "audio companion", we can tailor music to your ears’ unique hearing—allowing you to experience the audio as it was intended to be enjoyed—while you can continue to use your existing audio setup and components.
Q: Why do you need it to be in hardware form? Is the software not enough?
A: You’ll want Aumeo the device for two reasons:
1. It is not possible to use our phone app to apply our tailored audio technology on anything other than the songs in your music library. The app can only modify music that iOS and Android allow us to touch, which are only the songs physically loaded onto the phone. Our app cannot tailor audio outside of your phones library: it cannot be used with music on your iCloud, phone calls or apps like YouTube, Spotify, or Angry Birds. (That is, not unless they incorporate our tech into their end.) That is why Aumeo the device is designed to take your tailored audio experience beyond your phone's music library. With the device, you can apply your audio profile to all audio output, whether it is from your phone, your computer, or your hifi system.
2. Some phones (most notably Android phones) simply cannot handle the boost in the app’s audio-tailoring effect. On some occasions, the powered up sound can exceed the phone’s output capabilities, leading to clipping issues and static noise. Aumeo the device has a built-in sound chip that are better than what’s in those phones PLUS a built-in amplifier, which means it can provide you with a better, more accurate tailored audio experience.
Q: How can I use the app for all my audio needs, like phone calls? YouTube? Spotify? Angry Birds?
A: The answer is similar to the first part of the previous one: It is not possible to use our phone app to apply our tailored audio technology on anything other than the songs in your music library. The app can only modify music that iOS and Android allow us to touch, which are only the songs physically loaded onto the phone (i.e. your phone's music library). With Aumeo, you can tailor all audio output to your ears.
Got any more questions we haven't covered? Ask us in the comments section or email us at info@aumeoaudio.com! We're all ears.
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