Back in June, Doppler Labs launched their second product on Kickstarter. The Here Active Listening system, created by cofounders Noah Kraft and Fritz Lanman, offered the world’s first audio AR experience by letting users control live sound with special effects and sliders for EQ levels.
The plan was to create just 10,000 units of the first run, starting with a Kickstarter launch.
But unlike most Kickstarter projects, the Here is going to ship on time, according to Kraft. He told TechCrunch during a demo of the final prototype that the team was on schedule to meet the estimated December ship date.
Speaking of the final prototype, the finalized product performs exactly as promised.
I tried out the original prototype back in July, and though the user experience for audio and controls was on point, the hardware itself was relatively clunky and uncomfortable.
The final version, however, feels like slightly over-sized ear buds in terms of size.
The Here dubs, in their first iteration, are aimed at audiophiles and musicians, giving those users the ability to hear live music exactly as they’d like. With controls for trebles, mids, lows, and a handful of fun effects like Reverb, Echo, and Flange, users can tune the audio around them (both live and recorded) to their own specific preferences.
That said, musicians are just a slice of the long-term vision. Kraft envisions the next version of Here offering the ability to single out certain frequencies and tones so that users can walk around in the world and tune out all the noise, as it were. For example, a user could shut down the noise of a baby crying at brunch, or the screech of a train as it enters the station.
Moreover, a user could take a date to a live concert and tune the Here Active Listening system to only pull in the sound of the music and the voice of that user’s date.
But before that can happen, Doppler Labs is using this first run of Here, with just 10k units, to get as much user feedback as possible and serve the music community.
Doppler’s first product was the Dubs, which are mechanical ear buds that help maintain audio quality at live shows while still decreasing the decibel level.
Doppler raised a $17 million Series B in funding in July. You can check out Here for yourself right here.