These days its rare to be in an office or public space and not see someone wearing headphones, but they’re not perfect. Dealing with tangled cables is never fun, and even Bluetooth headphones have their downsides, which include shutting you out from your surroundings.
One alternative would be using a Bluetooth speaker, but your co-workers could get annoyed pretty quickly. That’s where the Music Wrap, now on Kickstarter, comes in. Described as a “personal sound space,” it is much more directional than most speakers, and operates at comparatively low volume, making it an interesting alternative to in-ear or over-ear headphones.
The Music Wrap can be placed nearby, or even wrapped around the user’s neck, and at less than half a pound, it should be lightweight enough to wear comfortably. The Music Wrap offers Bluetooth 4.0, eight hours of playtime, and features a built-in mic for calls. And IPX5 water resistance means you don’t need to worry about a little rain.
The Kickstarter campaign page for the Music Wrap quotes the U.S. Department of Health, saying that approximately 26 million Americans between 20 and 69 have suffered permanent hearing loss from using headphones and earbuds. Blasting a speaker next to your face likely isn’t much better, but the lower volumes the Music Wrap operates at should be much safer.
In addition to being placed on a surface or around your neck, the Music Wrap can also be wrapped — hence the name — around anything from faucets to a backpack strap. Three color varieties are available on Kickstarter: Sleek Gray, Electric Green, and Tan-Mocha Brown.
The standard Kickstarter pricing for one Music Wrap unit is $45, but a limited number are currently available for $40. A pair of units can be had for $70, bringing the price down of course to $35 a piece, though once the early bird pricing ends, the price goes up to $80, or $40 a piece.
The campaign is aiming for a relatively low funding goal of $20,000, and it has almost reached this point, nearing $18,000 at the time of this writing. The campaign comes to a close on March 4, so if the Music Wrap looks interesting to you, head over to Kickstarter to back the project.