A Hong Kong electronics manufacturer has leaped into the Bluetooth wireless hearing headset market with a new product that takes dead aim at Bose. Freetek International says its new Jabees BHearing personal sound amplifier will deliver more advanced features and better sound for $200 less than the popular $499 Bose Hearphones.
The BHearing PSAP features two earbuds hung from a neckband packed with digital hearing enhancement technology and powered by a rechargeable battery. It also comes with an associated smartphone app that enables volume and personal hearing profile adjustments.
Like Alango’s BeHear NOW hearing enhancement headset, it’s positioned to compete against Bose with a similar form factor and many of the same features. And, like the $249 Alango product, the $299 Jabees headset aims to lure customers away from the Bose cult brand with a substantially lower price.
New Technologies Deliver High Performance
Most important, the company points to technology enhancements it says will provide better performance. Louisa Cheng, Co-founder and General Manager of Freetek’s Jabees consumer brand, said one enhancement in particular—millisecond frequency adjustment (MFA)—provides a key advantage.
“MFA makes speech clearer,” she said in a demonstration at the recent CES consumer electronics conference in Las Vegas. “It addresses the biggest problem many people with hearing loss experience.”
MFA identifies high-frequency consonants in less than 2 milliseconds and instantly shifts them to lower frequencies that people with mild hearing loss are able to detect more easily. The feature is especially useful for conversations on mobile phones, which don’t transmit audio information at frequencies higher than 3,400 Hz.
Cheng said other advantages over the Bose Hearphones include dynamic equalization adjustments for phone calls and music through the smartphone app, up to 45 db amplification vs 35 db from Bose, and an additional detachable rechargeable battery.
The new product comes from a proven Jabees design operation, coupled with manufacturing in China mainland. Last year the company introduced wireless earbuds that compete directly with Apple Airpods, Bose SoundSport and other popular Bluetooth ear pieces, at half the price.
The company has also launched an Indiegogo campaign to help expand production and distribution of the BHearing headset.
Robert Finn says
I really appreciate your reporting on new hearing tech and products coming into the market. I currently use Oticon hearing aids and am not hearing face to face conversations very well. Conversations in noisy public settings are impossible. I’m in danger of losing my job because of this situation.
I have read somewhere that you have cochlear implants. I need to understand the limitations of Cochlear. Also new technology seems to be flooding the market. I need some practical advice that I find it heard to get from commercial sources. Can you make some suggestions. My ability to work and earn a living is at stake. I am an editor at a high tech company. Look forward to hearing from you. – Robert