[Pete Lewis] from SparkFun takes audio and luxury severely, and just lately shared particulars on making a custom-made set of Tremendous Headphones, granting high quality sound and stereo ambient passthrough, whereas offering listening to safety on the identical time by isolating the wearer from the setting.
Such merchandise may be bought off the shelf (often known as some variant of “digital listening to safety”), however each hacker is aware of nothing beats some DIY to get precisely the options one desires. In any case, off-the-shelf options are targeted on listening to safety, not sound high quality. [Pete] additionally needed options like the power to freely regulate how a lot ambient sound was blended in, in addition to the power to combine a line-level audio supply or Bluetooth enter.
![](https://hackaday.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Super-headphones-early-prototype.jpg?w=250)
On the floor the required parts are easy, however as standard, the satan is within the particulars. Microphone choice, for instance, required a number of testing. A superb microphone wanted to have the ability to take care of extraordinarily loud ambient sounds with out distortion, but nonetheless be delicate sufficient to be helpful. [Pete] discovered a very good answer, but in addition muses that two units of microphones (one for loud environments, and one for quieter) is likely to be price a attempt.
After a number of prototypes, the result’s headphones that permit protected and loud band observe in a basement as simply as they supply high-quality music and situational consciousness whereas mowing the garden. Even so, [Pete]’s not executed but. He’s engaged on bettering consolation through the use of photogrammetry to assist design and 3D print custom-fitted parts.