Music

Music Wrap moves Bluetooth headphones from your ears to your neck

Music Wrap moves Bluetooth headphones from your ears to your neck
The Music Wrap M25 headphones let you listen to music while still being aware of your surroundings
The Music Wrap M25 headphones let you listen to music while still being aware of your surroundings
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The M25 headphone used outside as a standalone speaker
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The M25 headphone used outside as a standalone speaker
The flexible design of the M25 headphone
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The flexible design of the M25 headphone
The M25 headphone can easily fit just about anywhere
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The M25 headphone can easily fit just about anywhere
The Music Wrap M25 is designed to be wrapped
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The Music Wrap M25 is designed to be wrapped
Use the M25 headphones as a personal speaker system
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Use the M25 headphones as a personal speaker system
The M25 is meant to be used outdoors
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The M25 is meant to be used outdoors
The Music Wrap M25 headphones let you listen to music while still being aware of your surroundings
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The Music Wrap M25 headphones let you listen to music while still being aware of your surroundings
The M25 is weather-resistant and flexible
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The M25 is weather-resistant and flexible
The M25 is water-resistant
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The M25 is water-resistant
The flexible design of the M25 lets it be wrapped around just about anything
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The flexible design of the M25 lets it be wrapped around just about anything
The Music Wrap M25 headphones can be used as standalone speakers
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The Music Wrap M25 headphones can be used as standalone speakers
The M25 can be placed on just about any surface
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The M25 can be placed on just about any surface
The Music Wrap M25 syncs to your music player or smartphone via Bluetooth
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The Music Wrap M25 syncs to your music player or smartphone via Bluetooth
View gallery - 13 images

Music Wrap is a new crowdfunding project with the aim of changing the way we listen to music, by eliminating earbuds and headphones in favor of its M25 headphone/speaker hybrid. The device sits around your neck, and creates what the company (perhaps a bit hyperbolically) calls a "personal sound field." Flexible, water-resistant, anti-shock and dust proof, the M25 is designed to free users' hands and ears while delivering a listening experience that will lessen the chance of damaging their eardrums.

A report released last year by the World Health Organization warned that 1.1 billion teenagers and young adults are at risk of hearing loss due to prolonged use of personal music players and smartphones, and exposure to damaging sound levels at concerts, nightclubs and sporting events.

Music Wrap's solution? Well, basically a pair of speakers you wear around your neck.

The company does say that the speaker's unique shape create a "directional audio" that transmits sound directly to the user without impairing alertness or causing inner ear damage. This may just be PR speak for "the speakers are pointing at you," though, and we'd be surprised if people around you wouldn't hear you jamming out to Rihanna's new album. That's going to severely limit the places you'll want to use the product.

The Music Wrap M25 headphones can be used as standalone speakers
The Music Wrap M25 headphones can be used as standalone speakers

As you'd expect, the M25 connects to any music device or smartphone via Bluetooth, and it also features a built-in hands-free speakerphone, as well as up to eight hours of battery life while in use or 16 days of standby time when it's not. Its flexible design lets you twist it into a multitude of shapes, including using it as a free-standing set of speakers.

Music Wrap first introduced the M25 at CES 2016 and recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to help bring the product to market. Early backers can secure an M25 for a pledge of US$35 compared to the suggested retail price of $69, if all goes according to plan.

Sources: Music Wrap, Kickstarter

View gallery - 13 images
3 comments
3 comments
Mr. Hensley Garlington
It could be directional and only audible in the "sound field" maybe if the technology is like miniturized LRAD Sound Cannon tech.
Jamurray
Great concept and infinity more comfortable than earbuds. The only place I see a disadvantage is where an athlete gets off the team bus at a stadium and walks past the gauntlet of sports reporters on the way to the locker room. In this instance conventional headphones save the day from all of those annoying questions.
dsiewert
I haven't seen anyone build this style of "headphones" since the 80's. There was a company selling a device they called the "BoneFone". Didn't really use bone-conducted sound. It did work well while biking.
This new unit definitely looks cooler and I'm sure it works better.