Knops可调节耳塞降低你现实生活中声音的音量
knops adjustable ear plugs let you turn down the volume of real life sounds

由专筑网李琪，严越编译

你可曾经想过减小外部的噪音音量，或者像关掉电视机音量一样屏蔽背景噪音？幸运的是，荷兰新兴公司Knops也考虑了同样的问题，并且已经发明出一款十分美型的产品，作为你耳朵的“音量按钮”。由音乐家们成立的Knops，想要使佩戴者完全控制他们能听到的周围环境中的声音。这个发明用以保护耳朵免受大分贝噪声的危害，从而预防耳朵的永久性损伤。

ever wish you could just turn down the volume on outside noise, or mute background chatter like you mute your television? luckily, dutch startup knops are on the same wavelength and have created a rather good-looking device that works as a ‘volume button for your ears.’ founded by musicians, knops is designed to give the wearer full control over the surrounding sounds they hear. the design sets out to protect the ears from loud noises, preventing long-term damage.


Konps在声学上被设计为耳朵的音量按钮/knops is acoustically engineered as a volume button for your ears

背景噪音的音量可以通过旋转耳塞一边的按钮调节，从而能够满足一整天的佩戴。第一个等级是让你听到仿佛没有佩戴耳塞时的原始声音，第二个等级可以屏蔽噪杂城市中的背景噪声，第三个等级意味着减弱一场吵闹的音乐会，第四个等级将创造一个与世隔绝的寂静空间。由于良好的人体工程学设计，佩戴者能够舒适地佩戴Knops耳塞一整天，而不用反复摘下戴上。

aptly suited to wear all day long, the ‘volume’ of background noise can be adjusted by turning the simple knob on the side of the knops. while step one will allow you to hear as you would without the plugs, step two can cancel the background noise of a vibrant city, step three is meant for dulling down a loud music concert, and step four creates a little bubble of isolated silence. with no need for unplugging and plugging back in, knops are ergonomically engineered to stay in all day long.


设计受到了传统音量键的影响/the design is influenced by a traditional volume button

Knops诞生于对舒适、多功能并且外观良好耳塞的需求，同时还得提供优质的用户体验。虽然应用电子学原理的 hearables设备在降低噪音方面有很好的效果，但是存在声音失真和声音反馈略微滞后等问题。相比之下，Knops耳塞完全符合声学设计，每一级的噪声过滤都在声学实验室中经过精心调节以达到完美的音质效果。通过模仿人类耳朵对声音的自然反应，研究小组设法在所有噪声频率上降低分贝，这意味着声音在所有四个等级中传播时失真程度最低。

knops was born from a need for comfortable, high-functioning earplugs that actually looked good—all this while providing a decent user experience. whilst electronic hearables were good at lowering noise levels, the electronics distorted the sound, and provided feedback with a slight lag. on the constrast, knops works completely acoustically and each level of noise filtration has been fine-tuned in acoustic labs to perfect the sound quality. by mimicking the natural response of the human ear to sound, the team managed to create a reduction in decibels across all noise frequencies, meaning that sound travels through all the four steps with minimal distortion.


耳塞模仿了人耳对声音的自然反应/the plugs mimic the natural response of the human ear to sound

“相比使用电子设备去尝试合成人造声，我们是通过调整人耳的实际声波，达到减噪的目的。” Knops的创始人和技术负责人，拥有声学博士学位的arjen de jong 解释道，“所以，你听到的是已经进入你耳朵的，真实的，自然的压力波所形成的声音。”

‘instead of using electronics to try and synthesize something artificial, we’re taking the actual soundwaves that come into your ear, and modifying them,’ explains arjen de jong, founder and head of technology at knops, who has a PhD in acoustics. ‘so, what you hear is the actual, physical pressure wave, as it was already arriving into your ear.’


Knops从自然声到噪声消除设置了四个等级/knops have four settings, ranging from natural hearing to noise cancellation

Knops创始人的音乐遗产甚至渗透到产品的美学设计中，外形设计基于一个经典的圆形按钮，内部的形状是一个类似留声机的圆锥体。乍一看，光亮的像芽孢一样的耳塞可能会被误解，使人觉得它十分尖锐，会给耳部造成刺痛感。为了保证最好的用户体验，Knops团队反复创建产品模型，从一开始就让实验者佩戴耳塞，在实际生活中测试其性能，并且实时接受反馈。最终产品的设计，重点放在用户体验，让使用者能够完美控制他们所想要听到的内容。

the musical heritage of knops’ founders even filters down to the product’s aesthetic design, which is based on the look of a classic round button, with the inside shaped like a gramophone cone. at a glance, the sleek-looking buds could even be mistaken for a statement piercing. to guarantee the best user experience, the knops team’ created prototype on prototype, testing these with actual users in real life from the very beginning, and taking their feedback on board. the final product is designed to bring the focus back to user experience—putting the wearer in perfect control of what they want to hear.


设计的产品十分小巧和时尚/the device is designed to be subtle and stylish


Knops 将设计重点放在了用户体验和美学设计上/knops puts the focus of ear protection back to user experience and aethetics


Knops耳塞的入耳端是普通耳机的形状/the plug of knops takes the shape of a grammarphone


Knops 有一套将单色与银色或金色搭配的整体配色方案 /knops are available in a whole combination of colorways, mixing monochrome plus with silver and gold


团队将原型一遍又一遍地测试以实现极致的用户体验/the team tested prototype upon prototype to create the ultimate UX


出处：本文译自www.designboom.com/，转载请注明出处。