Our ears are all shaped differently. This means that when it comes to earphones, it’s definitely not the case of one-size-fits-all. If we wore headphones with cups that either rest on or cover our ears, that would be a different story. This is why earphone manufacturers such as Shure and Sennheiser tend to bundle foam/silicon earbuds that come in different sizes.
However even then there are some users who find that none of these sizes truly fit very well. That being said, Normal, a high-end earphone manufacturer, has revealed that they are planning on using 3D printing technology to help create earphones that will fit your ear specifically. These earphones will ultimately cost the user around $199 for a pair of customized earphones, which we have to admit is pretty decent, especially when you consider other customized earphones which can cost thousands of dollars.
Normal, the brainchild of Nikki Kaufman, will have an app available on iOS/Android that will take photos of the user’s ear by using a coin as a reference, so that they will be able to gauge the size of your ears without you having to come in to their offices. The app will also allow users to customize their headphones further, such as cord length, color, accent colors on the earphones, and so on.
According to Kaufman, “When we set out to make Normal we wanted not just an amazing brand, and an amazing fit and a product that you design, but one that sounds incredible. Anyone would really appreciate that sound. We went out to find the best components we could find and it’s about the engineering, too — how it’s engineered and manufactured. Because of the 3D-printed custom fit, it’s creating a seal for you which makes it sound that much better.”
In the meantime for those interested, you can download the app from the iTunes App Store or the Google Play Store where you can customize and order your very own customized earphones. Alternatively the company plans to launch their own storefront on their website starting in August.
Filed in . Read more about 3D Printing and Headphones.