[Scott Smith]

Some of you may recall my previous post regarding the Echofone(titled "A new
way to experience music? Useful for production?"), and I thought I'd provide
an update after purchasing and using this device for roughly one day. Let me
start by saying not only do I not recommend using this machine, I feel it
may be potentially dangerous.

Firstly, the electrodes themselves emit audible noise from the input source,
regardless whether they're placed up to the participants head/temples or
not. Secondly, the quality of the sound from these electrodes can only be
likened to that of a tweeter; there's absolutely no bottom or midrange
whatsoever. Yes, if you place the electrodes up to your temples you will
hear the source material, however after doing some experimentation, I found
that if you take and apply regular headphones to your temples, you can
achieve a similar effect, just with more bottom end.

The above in itself was disappointing enough, however I consider myself
rather open minded and still wanted to give this device a chance. After all,
the FAQ for the product states:

"The effects are cumulative and become more noticeable with daily use."

So, I thought I'd experiment with using it over the next week in conjunction
with various types of music and observe whether I noticed any cumulative
effect. What I initially noticed after using the device for roughly an hour
is that the area on my temples, where I'd placed the electrodes, was
stinging slightly. I assumed this was related to the ultrasonic component of
the unit. That eventually did subside, however after using the device for
the rest of the day, I began to notice a very audible ringing in my ears.
That ringing, even today(two days later), has not subsided however.

Oddly enough and to make matters worse, I had nasal surgery roughly a month
ago and was somewhat alarmed to observe my nose had developed a bit of
swelling the subsequent morning following its use. Needless to say, my
experimentation with the device was very much over at that point.

I put in a call to the owner of the company (Andy) to request a refund, and
I recounted my experience. He suggested that perhaps I'd "overdosed" on its
use. Overdosed? The FAQ for the product (at the company website) clearly
states:

Q: How much should you use Echofone? Can you over do it?

A: For recreation, use Echofone as often and as long as you like.

Anyway, based on many of the responses in the aforementioned initial thread,
most of you weren't contemplating using this device anyway, but for future
reference regarding its use as an audio production tool to any interested
party, I not only found this machine to be ineffective but more importantly,
as originally stated at the outset of this post, potentially dangerous. I'm
concerned over the fact the ringing in my ears has yet to abate, but I
suppose that's the price a person may potentially pay for experimenting with
unproven technology.

[Bill]

Scott Smith wrote:
Some of you may recall my previous post regarding the Echofone(titled "A new
way to experience music? Useful for production?"), and I thought I'd provide
an update after purchasing and using this device for roughly one day. Let me
start by saying not only do I not recommend using this machine, I feel it
may be potentially dangerous.

Firstly, the electrodes themselves emit audible noise from the input source,
regardless whether they're placed up to the participants head/temples or
not. Secondly, the quality of the sound from these electrodes can only be
likened to that of a tweeter; there's absolutely no bottom or midrange
whatsoever. Yes, if you place the electrodes up to your temples you will
hear the source material, however after doing some experimentation, I found
that if you take and apply regular headphones to your temples, you can
achieve a similar effect, just with more bottom end.

The above in itself was disappointing enough, however I consider myself
rather open minded and still wanted to give this device a chance. After all,
the FAQ for the product states:

"The effects are cumulative and become more noticeable with daily use."

So, I thought I'd experiment with using it over the next week in conjunction
with various types of music and observe whether I noticed any cumulative
effect. What I initially noticed after using the device for roughly an hour
is that the area on my temples, where I'd placed the electrodes, was
stinging slightly. I assumed this was related to the ultrasonic component of
the unit. That eventually did subside, however after using the device for
the rest of the day, I began to notice a very audible ringing in my ears.
That ringing, even today(two days later), has not subsided however.

Oddly enough and to make matters worse, I had nasal surgery roughly a month
ago and was somewhat alarmed to observe my nose had developed a bit of
swelling the subsequent morning following its use. Needless to say, my
experimentation with the device was very much over at that point.

I put in a call to the owner of the company (Andy) to request a refund, and
I recounted my experience. He suggested that perhaps I'd "overdosed" on its
use. Overdosed? The FAQ for the product (at the company website) clearly
states:

Q: How much should you use Echofone? Can you over do it?

A: For recreation, use Echofone as often and as long as you like.

Anyway, based on many of the responses in the aforementioned initial thread,
most of you weren't contemplating using this device anyway, but for future
reference regarding its use as an audio production tool to any interested
party, I not only found this machine to be ineffective but more importantly,
as originally stated at the outset of this post, potentially dangerous. I'm
concerned over the fact the ringing in my ears has yet to abate, but I
suppose that's the price a person may potentially pay for experimenting with
unproven technology.


Well,
You can't say we didn't warn you. Usually if it sounds too good to be
true, well, you know the rest.
Bill Baka

[Scott Smith]

"Bill" wrote in message
. net...
Scott Smith wrote:
Some of you may recall my previous post regarding the Echofone(titled "A
new way to experience music? Useful for production?"), and I thought I'd
provide an update after purchasing and using this device for roughly one
day. Let me start by saying not only do I not recommend using this
machine, I feel it may be potentially dangerous.

Firstly, the electrodes themselves emit audible noise from the input
source, regardless whether they're placed up to the participants
head/temples or not. Secondly, the quality of the sound from these
electrodes can only be likened to that of a tweeter; there's absolutely
no bottom or midrange whatsoever. Yes, if you place the electrodes up to
your temples you will hear the source material, however after doing some
experimentation, I found that if you take and apply regular headphones to
your temples, you can achieve a similar effect, just with more bottom
end.

The above in itself was disappointing enough, however I consider myself
rather open minded and still wanted to give this device a chance. After
all, the FAQ for the product states:

"The effects are cumulative and become more noticeable with daily use."

So, I thought I'd experiment with using it over the next week in
conjunction with various types of music and observe whether I noticed any
cumulative effect. What I initially noticed after using the device for
roughly an hour is that the area on my temples, where I'd placed the
electrodes, was stinging slightly. I assumed this was related to the
ultrasonic component of the unit. That eventually did subside, however
after using the device for the rest of the day, I began to notice a very
audible ringing in my ears. That ringing, even today(two days later), has
not subsided however.

Oddly enough and to make matters worse, I had nasal surgery roughly a
month ago and was somewhat alarmed to observe my nose had developed a bit
of swelling the subsequent morning following its use. Needless to say, my
experimentation with the device was very much over at that point.

I put in a call to the owner of the company (Andy) to request a refund,
and I recounted my experience. He suggested that perhaps I'd "overdosed"
on its use. Overdosed? The FAQ for the product (at the company website)
clearly states:

Q: How much should you use Echofone? Can you over do it?

A: For recreation, use Echofone as often and as long as you like.

Anyway, based on many of the responses in the aforementioned initial
thread, most of you weren't contemplating using this device anyway, but
for future reference regarding its use as an audio production tool to any
interested party, I not only found this machine to be ineffective but
more importantly, as originally stated at the outset of this post,
potentially dangerous. I'm concerned over the fact the ringing in my ears
has yet to abate, but I suppose that's the price a person may potentially
pay for experimenting with unproven technology.
Well,
You can't say we didn't warn you. Usually if it sounds too good to be
true, well, you know the rest.

Without a disclaimer, someone will sue the company sooner or later.

[Peter Larsen]

Scott Smith wrote:

..., I not only found this machine to be ineffective but more importantly,
as originally stated at the outset of this post, potentially dangerous. I'm
concerned over the fact the ringing in my ears has yet to abate, but I
suppose that's the price a person may potentially pay for experimenting with
unproven technology.

Highish audio frequencies without the LF part of the spectrum is likely
to bypass the sensitivity regulation of the sense of hearing and thus to
be very stressing for the hearing as well as failing to get a proper
loudness- and thus risk estimate from the listener.

Very easy to verify using a bi- or tri- amplified loudspeaker system:
turn off the bass while listening and notice the short time until ears
begin to ache in spite of the high frequency part of the audio being no
louder than it was previously.


Peter Larsen