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February 23, 2007
Clear Harmony Headphones by Ableplanet
 Every time I boarded a plane and had to walk through First and then Business Class to get to my seat in row 27, 33, or even row 46 I felt envy. I didn’t envy their seats, the dollars they paid to get them, or the fact that I have to walk another 130 feet to a tiny seat. I just used to crave their humongous headphones. You know those people. They are always watching the latest movies or a symphony concert/ballet performance on their portable DVD player. They all looked so happy, as if their headphones removed them from the mundane noise that the rest of us make, while I had to settle for a paperback novel or an MP3 player with tangled cables and tiny earbuds that ALWAYS fell out of my ears.
 Now, thanks to Ableplanet, I too have a fine looking black case that I can unzip to find the best set of headphones I have ever owned. This product is the Clear Harmony with LINX AUDIO Active Noise Canceling Stereo Headphones. The Clear Harmony product is winner of one of six CES 2007 Innovations awards collected at CES by Ableplanet this year. The company is dedicated to helping people with hearing loss to live a better life through the use of their products.
I am not an audiologist or an electronics wizard. I just know what sounds good to me. I do know that most everyone’s range of sounds narrows as they age. Mostly on the high end. I am living proof of that rule. So I made some tests with the equipment I had at hand.
I plugged the Headphones into a jack on my desktop computer and turned on the green light that signifies the Linx Audio enhancement is operating. I clicked on the computer’s Media Player and played music including folk, rock, soul, and symphonic. It was pretty amazing. I heard what I would call a broader range of sounds. By that I mean guitars seemed to sound crisper. The plucking of strings really stood out as compared to my earbuds or even another headset I have in the house. Vocals were also much clearer to me. I then connected the Clear Harmony Headphones to a Creative Muvo that I use for listening to Audible.com’s books. I could hear the words better but not as improved as I might wish it to be. I also listened to a few songs using the Movo and these headphones. The music sounded better to me even while using that inexpensive MP3 player. I then asked my wife to do a similar set of tests and she also felt there was an improvement in her listening experience.
The noise canceling portion of the product worked best during music or audio book play. Some outside sounds did come through if just wearing them.
The connecting cable has a mute button as well as a volume control on it that is easy to reach when you find, as I did, you need to turn it down due to the improved reproduction of sounds. The headphones are very lightweight on your head. The case makes them easy to carry on board. At this point I only impress the 6 people who sit behind me in the last few rows of the plane. They probably don’t care but I now hear the music or the book and not the people around me.
Ableplanet is a company dedicated to providing a better hearing experience for those with major hearing loss. Luckily their products work to make it a better sounding world for everyone.
This product can be used with or without a hearing aid. I do not have one.
Retail price $299.99
LINX AUDIO™ technology advantages as outlined by Ableplanet
• Enhances sound quality
• Improves speech clarity
• Filters undesirable sound
• Reduces distortion
• Restricts electromagnetic interference
• Increases perceived loudness without increasing volume
For more details on Ableplanet and their work on hearing loss go to This web page.
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