SoundFocus on Wednesday announced Amp, a special iPhone case compatible with the iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 5s and iPhone 5 that will offer users advanced sound features.
Amp is described as an “intelligent sound system,” that uses “a sophisticated audio engine and two high-quality speakers to deliver crystal clear phone calls, vibrant music and immersive sound for videos, movies and more.”
The case is able to determine the user’s hearing pattern and music listening preferences while also taking into account the changing environment in order to offer a customized hearing experience.
The Amp case packs an ARM M4 processor, 24bit digital-to-analog converter, headphone amplifier, 14 x 20mm drivers, and “6 cubic centimeter acoustic backflow volume to deliver warm, rich bass notes and crisp highs.” The case can offer 7 hours of audio playback (via speakers) or up to 20 hours (via headphones) and can increase the phone’s battery by more than 25%.
The only problem with the case might be its size, especially for iPhone 6 models, as the Amp will make them look even bigger.
The Amp case is available for preorder today for $69, and should ship at some point in spring 2015.
A video showing the Amp case and the full press release follow below.
SOUNDFOCUS LAUNCHES INTELLIGENT SOUND SYSTEM IN SMARTPHONE CASE
Amp smartphone case is the first in a series of personalized audio products to usher in a new era of sound on mobile devicesSan Francisco, CA – October 8, 2014 – SoundFocus, the company building the next generation of personalized audio products, today announced Amp, an intelligent sound system in a case that slides on to your smartphone. Amp uses a sophisticated audio engine and two high-quality speakers to deliver crystal clear phone calls, vibrant music and immersive sound for videos and movies.
Using a science-based approach, Amp combines the technology behind hearing aids and professional audio production. With precision engineered hardware and software, Amp’s personalized sound experience vastly improves the audio quality coming from mobile phones. The case uses an audio test that creates a fingerprint for each person’s hearing patterns and tailors all of the audio for the individual, not the masses.
“Everyone hears differently,” said Alex Selig, co-founder and CEO of SoundFocus. “To create amazing sound, you need audio products that are tailored to each person’s hearing preferences and the environment around them. With Amp, individuals can customize sound exactly the way they want it, no matter where they are.”
Amp personalizes audio by learning a person’s hearing pattern, musical preferences and adapting to his/her changing environment. Using these three things, Amp is able to remaster the audio output from smartphones on the fly – both through Amp’s high quality speakers and through headphones plugged into the headphone jack.
“Over the past decade everything about smartphones has improved exponentially with the exception of sound quality,” said Varun Srinivasan, co-founder and Head of Engineering at SoundFocus. “These devices have become our primary channels for media consumption but the sound half of the equation has been completely ignored. We want to personalize audio to you, your tastes and your environment, so that you can have a great listening experience whether you’re listening to Spotify, watching Netflix or taking a phone call.Amp’s sophisticated audio engine and high quality speakers creates an unparalleled experience for phone calls, music, games, and movies. The Amp case includes powerful 14×20 mm drivers and a 6 cubic centimeter acoustic backflow chamber to deliver warm, rich bass notes and crisp highs. Additionally, Amp also increases a smartphone’s battery life by more than 25%. It provides 7 hours of audio playback through the speakers or 20 hours from headphones. Amp has a sophisticated audio architecture complete with ARM M4 processor, advanced audio codecs, 24-bit digital-to-analog converter and a headphone amplifier.
Amp is the first in a line of personalized audio products from SoundFocus, the company behind the popular music app of the same name that tunes music to your hearing. The app has been downloaded over 150,000 times, has a 5 star rating and personalizes over 1.5 million songs per month for 18,000 monthly active users. The SoundFocus team has used the app to refine its hearing test and build a database of thousands of hearing patterns over the last year to create intelligent audio products for mobile devices.
The Amp case will be available for the iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and will begin shipping in the spring of 2015. Presales are for $69 and are available today and will be powered by Tilt.
SoundFocus is supported by an impressive list of technical advisors including Robert Jackler M.D., Sagar Savant, and Shu-En Lim Au. D, and Paul Beckmann. Investors included Kapor Capital, Y Combinator, VegasTechFund, OVO Fund, RTA Capital and August Capital Partners of Singapore [1].About SoundFocus
SoundFocus is a San Francisco, CA-based startup creating the next generation of personalized mobile audio products. The company was founded by Alex Selig and Varun Srinivasan in September of 2012 with the mission of helping the world hear better. The company is a graduate of the Y Combinator summer of 2013 batch and announced their first hardware product, the Amp smartcase, in October 2014. Investors include Kapor Capital, Y Combinator, VegasTechFund, OVO Fund, RTA Capital and August Capital Partners of Singapore. Hear more at http://www.ampaudio.com.
