3D Printing

World’s First 3D Printed Transducer Headset on Indiegogo

Max Virtual is almost half way to reaching its $20,000 indiegogo campaign goal. The company claims to have invented the first “3D printed ears free headset.” The Cynaps Mint is “a small, but extremely powerful, bone conduction headset and is made of 3D printed modular parts. They are easy to assemble and disassemble to suit a specific purpose. If you place the transducers anywhere on your head, you are supposed to be able to hear sound through vibration.

 3d printed headphones

According to the campaign, the Cynaps Mint connects by Bluetooth to pretty much any device, from a phone, tablet, PC, laptop or smartwatch. If it works comparably well to your favorite headphones then a benefit would be less ear blockage. When I listen to music through inner-ear headphones, after a while it can feel as though there is a very small fist jammed in my ear, punching my eardrums. Stereo headphones are much less invasive, but tend to induce an uncomfortable squeezing effect on my outer ears and top of my head.

3d printed headphones beanie

If you want to listen to music and take phone calls while you sprint to the nearest fast food restaurant, and you want to be able to hear cars warning you of their location in proximity to you, Cynaps Mints may do the trick. I can see these being a bit safer than traditional earphones when skating, biking, running, driving, walking or whatever else you do in the physical world.

There are some stereo headphones that can also be used as speakers, but they tend to be sort of pointless if you actually have speakers in the vicinity. This is where the campaign claims get interesting. By sticking the transducers on any surface, you can apparently transform any surface into a stereo speaker. This could come in handy if you find yourself trapped in a glass case of emotion.

3d printed headphones 4

In line with the customization ethos, if you choose to back any perk in the campaign, you can choose to have your headset printed in any of 1000 possible combinations.  You can order anything from a retrofit kit (if you already have the older Cynaps transducers), a standalone headset, partial kits, full kits, hacker kits and complete sets of 10.

5 3d printed headphones

The battery is a 400mAh polymer lithium ion battery, with a life of 2 to 12 hours depending on the volume level and frequency of use.  The regular transducers operate at a range of 52-80dB, while the super transducers have a wider range, from 72-120dB.

In the Indiegogo campaign video, product developer Mike Freeman demonstrates the various uses of the speakers, but it’s really tough to tell over a video whether or not the sound is particularly good.  For $19, I’m going to check it out for myself and see.