These wireless earbuds let you adjust the volume of your surroundings

In a windowless office on a tiny San Francisco side street, Noah Kraft is making me hear things in a way I've never heard them before

I'm wearing a wireless earbud in each ear. The devices, which are white and look kind of like big Altoids mints, are the latest prototype built by Doppler Labs, a wearable-technology startup of which Kraft is cofounder and CEO. Kraft is sitting diagonally across from me, chatting, and using an iPhone app to manipulate the sound of his voice and the relatively quiet background noise of the office in ways that only I can hear

He adds an echo to his voice. He raises and lowers the bass, treble, and midrange. Then he stands up and walks several feet away, but he sounds as loud as if he were yapping right in my ear — until I take out the earbuds and confirm that he's actually speaking pretty quietly Read more...