This Gadget Automatically Adjusts the Volume of Your Headphones in Noisy Places

Hear what you need, when you need to.

The whole point of headphones are to shut everything out: your neighbors having sex, subway performers who don’t understand you’re just trying to listen to your podcast, everything. And the Novo will help. It’s a smart, wearable accessory that listens to your surroundings when headphones are plugged into it and automatically adjusts your volume within a tenth of a second.


In Boost mode—say,  on a plane—it would raise your music’s volume to compensate for the screaming babies in the row behind you who won’t shut the hell up. But it’s not just for loud areas. In Reduce mode—say, in the office or on a busy street—it’d crank down your music to let you hear a coworker’s important interjection into your busy day. A handy slider on the side of Novo lets you adjust its sensitivity to match your environment.

Currently about 93% funded on Indiegogo, you can still snag one of these cool devices for $29 (they’ll retail for $50) and get it in December—just in time to hear (or drown out) your family for the holidays.

Photos by Adaptive Sound Technologies