Hear Buds: Audio Augmented Reality set for Splashy Coachella Debut (Smashd)

It works like this: The wireless earbuds, about the diameter of dimes and thick as chocolate-peanut butter cups, connect to your smart phone and can customize hearing in real time with an EQ bar as well as a variety of special effects you can change with a swipe of the finger: Super bass boost, flange and echo reverb among them. Moreover, there are specific settings for unique vagaries of modern life: Airplane (a noise-cancelling mode that effectively silences crying babies), Subway (for eliminating surround-sounds that might otherwise prohibit intimate conversation), Crowd (so people, say, on dates in noisy restaurants can hear each other) and Office (which tamps down ambient sound to help you focus). Just don’t mistake them for headphones a la Beats by Dre or hearing aids—even if the Here earbuds’ 28-decibel range makes them a powerful tool for people battling audio processing issues…