Check This Out: The Basslet. A Wearable Subwoofer

People often forward us emails at A Journal of Musical Things, letting us know about cool music and tech things that we might not otherwise hear about. Thanks to Fred Elkins, we got to learn about this cool little gadget: The Basslet wearable subwoofer.

Created by German startup Lofelt, the Basslet vibrates with the low-end frequencies of music you are listening to. It also varies in intensity, depending on the intensity of the music’s bassline.

In his review on Tech Crunch, Jay Donovan commented:

“While the device takes a little getting used to, the first thing I noticed after putting on the wrist-worn Basslet and listening to an accompanying music track was that the vibrations are intense. However after I felt the device sync with the music track I was hearing, it actually moved to the background of my senses a bit”.

Donovan also notes that when he took the Basslet off after wearing it for a while, he definitely noticed its absence. Furthermore, unlike other similar technologies such as the SubPac, “the Basslet aims at a mobile, portable way for music lovers to add a new layer to the music to which they listen”.

The Basslet has a frequency response from 10 to 250Hz and is powered by a “LoSound engine”, something created by Lofelt. Here’s a video that explains it:

This device might not be for everyone, but it could have a market for music enthusiasts and gamers. Jay Donovan also says that he can see it being a useful tool for musicians:

“Having played hundreds of rock and roll shows myself, in some of the crappiest sound conditions imaginable, I could also see uses for this between members of music groups as a way to keep really locked in for high-volume live performances”.

Lofelt just launched their Kickstarter today, however they’re also receiving funding from Horizon Ventures. They plan to release the first round in 2017.