BUSINESS IDEA: PERSONALIZED BUDS

I was asked recently what I do to pass time when completing a long run, which could take up to 3 or 3 1/2 hours. Most of the time, I don't think about anything too complicated, otherwise it throws off my breathing cadence and I start to get cramps. Sometimes I might play a mind game, like guessing the number of steps it takes to get to the next street sign. On rare occasions, I come up with something that I think might make a good invention or business idea. Here is my latest inspiration:

With so many people sporting iPods and other portable music devices, a lot of time is being spent listening to tunes (I'm not exempt). However, I've never liked the headphones that come with these things because they lack bass and suck at keeping external sounds out. I bought a pair of Sony ear buds earlier this year that solves this problem by using rubber seals around its ends, and I am having an amazing experience with my portable music! That got me thinking about what experiences other mobile music lovers are having. I'm sure each person would have a difference experience even if everyone had the same headphones, just because our ears respond differently depending on age and sensitivity. Well, what if a test could be done to determine the exact sensitivity of each person's ear and this information used to create a personalized set of ear buds that emitted sound at that listener's optimum range? Maybe someone who has less high end sensitivity could have the music tweaked specifically for those missing ranges. The other benefit of this product, in the long run, is that it will actually help preserve hearing. You no longer have to crank the overall volume of the music just so you can 'hear it' (to your liking). Instead, your enjoyment comes from hearing the music clearly at a safe volume. This is more of an expansion of the idea of electronic equalizers but takes the approach from the listener's stance as opposed to being a broad stop gap process.

Now take this one step further. A person who chooses the smooth sounds of R&B will have a different preferred listening environment than someone who is listening to Rock. Again, it's not just an issue of overall volume but the emphasis of a range of sounds or space that is characteristic of that genre. This information (generated through a one time listening survey) can be captured and used to make the headphones 'remember' your preferred musical surroundings depending on the song that is being played (i.e. one 'remembered' setting for your Jazz playlist, another setting for your Country playlist).

Because of its potential health benefits, this could even be a product that falls under a social health care program, which would make this enjoyment of music experience accessible not only to those who can afford it. Of course, I have not given thought to how much it would cost to bring such a product to market. Or the fact that if this product was uber successful, it would create a somewhat disconnected society, one where people walk by one another without saying a word because their ears are plugged. Oh wait, that's already happening! Uh, I feel a cramp coming on...