A new and upcoming company out of France (Akoustic Arts) is working on a new speaker that only you can hear–well, unless someone stands “really” close to you. It is called “« A »” and functions by creating a “beam of sound” vs the usual cone spread, allowing it to focus the sound into a specific direction and into a tight area of space. This way, those near you won’t be complaining about your crazy death metal grunge music with lyrics that could easily remind someone about something they read in Dante’s Inferno.
Obviously my example is a little “out there” and the speaker can be used for so many other applications, but I think you get the point. If you step outside of the beam of sound, you’re not supposed to really hear anything. Stepping into the beam of sound will sound like any other speaker. It’s a neat concept and reminds me of Fry’s electronics and how they have the listening cones setup at some of their stores for listening to their albums they are promoting without interrupting the shoppers around you.
The speaker is currently in its crowdfunding period and you can jump into the mix at Indiegogo. It will be available in two different sizes, 20×20 cm (7.87 in) and 10×10 cm (3.93 in) and will be able to connect to your device via a 3.5mm cable (with the option of wireless coming soon, per their information). Could be a great gift for your younger siblings if you need quiet time for studying.
https://youtu.be/KseluEskohQ
