Binaural Headsets | Hear Birds Again

Binaural Headsets:

While our Hear Birds Again performs the necessary pitch-shifting of high bird songs, it is critically important to use our app in conjunction with a special "binaural headset" having microphones mounted at each ear that allow shifted bird songs to be heard in a natural three-dimensional space, thereby making it possible to accurately judge distances and directions and then go find and observe the singers. Refer to The Headset Conundrum for a more complete discussion.

A Well Designed Binaural Headset is Key to Hearing Pitch-Lowered Bird Songs in 3D Space and Being Able to Find and Observe the Singing Birds!

Unfortunately, there are no “perfect” pre-built binaural headsets currently available in the marketplace, but there are two workable solutions:

1. The Ambeo Smart Headset:

The Ambeo Smart Headset

Although no longer being manufactured, the Ambeo Smart Headset, is still available (at least for awhile) and provides an inexpensive “plug-and-play” binaural headset solution (doesn't require anything additional), with a purchase price as low as $50 US. The primary drawback is that it is equipped with microphones that are notably hissy, which can be annoying in quiet outdoor situations and may also be loud enough to obscure faint and distant bird songs. The Ambeo also plugs the ears somewhat, which may slightly muffle one’s normal hearing. In spite of these problems, the Ambeo provides a fairly decent binaural listening experience.

Learn More About the Ambeo Smart Headset

2. The High-Fidelity Binaural Headset (kit):

High-Fidelity Binaural Headset

In order to provide a "near-perfect" high-fidelity solution, we have come up with an optimized design that utilizes super low-noise microphones and loose-fitting headphones that do not plug one's ears. We call it the High-Fidelity Binaural Headset solution, and it is now available in kit form. While it is expensive in comparison to the Ambeo (around $175 vs $50) and requires some assembly (mostly the final twisting of cables), it undoubtedly provides the most pleasurable user-experience in the field, including superior “localization” of the high-pitched singers and extremely quiet and sensitive microphones that aid in the detection of distant and subtle bird songs. If you’re really into birds and are unafraid of the assembly aspect, we strongly suggest you take this route.

Learn More About the High-Fidelity Binaural Headset

High-Fidelity Headset showing headphones with mics, the Rode audio interface, and attachment to an iPhone.

Ordering the Micbooster Headset Kit

Click Here to order the headset kit (either the full kit or a partial kit) from micbooster.com, which is located in the United Kingdom. Prices are in British Pounds. If you are ordering from the United States, the website should detect your location and display a price of 143.20 pounds (about $170 USD) for the full kit. NOTE: If a higher price is displayed, please don’t worry … the proper price will appear in your shopping cart once you’ve registered your account and entered your US mailing address.

Disclaimer: Hear Birds Again does not profit financially from the sale of headset kits, nor is our arrangement with micbooster an exclusive one; we remain open to other headset possibilities and sources.

Headset Assembly Video Tutorials

The full micbooster kit includes all the required components and makes it very easy for individuals to complete construction. The low-noise mics are already professionally soldered to miniature cables equipped with connector plugs. All that needs to be done is mount the mics on the headset using mounting putty (which is easy), twist the cables by hand, and then secure the cables with several cable ties. The following videos convey everything you'll need to know to assemble the headset:

Go here for enlarged versions of the following videos.

The Binaural Headset - Part 1: Introduction

The Binaural Headset - Part 2: Kit Components

The Binaural Headset - Part 3: Rode AI-Micro Adjustments

The Binaural Headset - Part 4: Assembly Instructions

How to Hook-up the Rode Ai-Micro Audio Interface

CAUTION!: It is important to properly adjust settings for the Rode AI-Micro in order to prevent annoying feedback squeal:

Our recommended headset requires the use of the Rode AI-Micro interface, which will route the headset mics inputs into one's mobile device and the device's output (the pitch-lowered bird songs) back to the Koss Earphones. In order for this to work properly, it will be necessary for you to download Rode's RodeCentral application and then adjust the settings. The procedure is as follows:

1. Download RodeCentral and then open the app.
2. Connect your Rode AI Micro interface to your mobile device. RodeCentral should then automatically detect the audio interface.
3. TURN OFF the "Direct Monitor" option (the bottommost setting). CAUTION: If left enabled, you will probably experience loud feedback squeal!
4. Adjust other settings as as shown in the following screenshot of the RodeCentral user interface:

RodeCentral UI

Once the direct monitoring setting has been disabled, everything should work fine and you should not have to use the RodeCentral app again, except perhaps to occasionally check for updates to the Rode AI Micro firmware (RodeCentral automatically detects if your current firmware is out of date).

Do It Yourself Component List

We encourage experimentation with regard to headset design. Our "recommended" design (available in kit form) is the result of extensive field testing, but it is certainly not the only possible solution. So, we hope that a number of do-it-yourselfers will tackle the headset problem on their own and come up with innovative solutions. To enable such efforts, we provide a full list of components below.

Headset Component List For Do-It-Yourselfers (North American Sources):

UK-based Micbooster is also a trusted source of components, especially for UK and European Do-It-Yourselfers:

Ordering the Headset Kit from Micbooster:

Click Here to order the headset kit (either the full kit or a partial kit) from micbooster.com, which is located in the United Kingdom. Prices are in British Pounds. If you are ordering from the United States, the website should detect your location and display a price of 142.55 pounds (about $162 USD) for the full kit. NOTE: If a higher price of 171 pounds is displayed, please don't worry ... the proper price will appear in your shopping cart once you've registered your account and entered your US mailing address.

The full micbooster kit includes all the required components and makes it very easy for individuals to complete construction. The low-noise mics are already professionally soldered to miniature cables equipped with connector plugs. All that needs to be done is mount the mics on the headset using mounting putty (which is easy), braid the cables by hand, and then secure the braid with several cable ties. The following video shows how this is done:

Note: A video demonstrating the assembly procedure will soon be added here.

Disclaimer: Hear Birds Again does not profit financially from the sale of headset kits, nor is our arrangement with micbooster an exclusive one; we remain open to other headset possibilities and sources.

Do It Yourself Headsets:

We encourage experimentation with regard to headset design. Our "recommended" design (available in kit form) is the result of extensive field testing, but it is certainly not the only possible solution. So ... once our app is published, we hope that a number of do-it-yourselfers will tackle the headset problem on their own and come up with innovative solutions. To enable such efforts, we provide a full list of components below.

Headset Component List For Do-It-Yourselfers (North American Sources):

UK-based Micbooster is also a trusted source of components, especially for UK and European Do-It-Yourselfers:

The Binaural Headset - Part 1: Introduction