As a chronic skeptic, exposed to decades of advertising hype, I had to prove to myself that this technology really works. So I slipped into my Dr. Frink lab coat, hopped in my car, and paid a visit to my brother.
Parked in his driveway, I told him to whip out his cell phone and stand a few feet away from my car. With the engine running, I rolled up the windows, turned on the a/c full blast, and really cranked the stereo. I plugged theBoom into my 650 and called his phone. I literally could not hear my own voice as I WHISPERED into theBoom's mic. "Can you hear me okay?" "Yes, clear as a bell." "Can you hear the A/C fan or the stereo?" "Nope, all I hear is your voice, loud and clear. How does that thing work?" "It's magic" I grinned.
Thanks to theBoom's in-your-ear gel, I could hear him just fine too. Halfway down its 54 inch, thin wire cord is a little silver box with a rotary volume wheel and a press-and-hold mute button. When using theBoom, you have two volume controls � the side rocker or buttons built into your Treo and theBoom's little wheel. So using either or both, you have plenty of control over listening volume.
At home, in prepping for this review, I made dozens of calls to other TreoCentral writers, friends, and relatives. Whether my TV volume was blasting, or I was playing rock music on my laptop through its powered speakers two feet away from me, not ONE single person I called could hear more than the faintest background noise. "I think maybe I hear something faint, way back there somewhere, but I can't be sure" was the typical reaction. Meanwhile, whether I talked at a normal volume or whispered into theBoom's mic, they could hear me like gangbusters.
If you have two phones, this is easy enough to test yourself. Put on theBoom, crank up your stereo, and call your other phone, let it ring until it switches to voice mail or your home answering machine, then quietly speak or even whisper in a message, hang up and listen to the results. It's absolutely startling. If I didn't hear it for myself, I'd think its science fiction.
theBoom's technology just plain works. Without batteries. Pure acoustical engineering genius is the only way I know how to describe it.
Two models—same technology
UmeVoice makes two models of theBoom. Well actually three: there's also a full range, circumaural stereo headset model with battery-powered noise cancellation ("ANR") called "theBoom Quiet", which will be the subject of another review a little bit later, since it's targeted to a slightly different end-user.
The $149.99 "theBoom" is constructed of very high quality materials. You can easily bend and shape the softly-padded thick and rubbery ear hook to fit your left or right ear - you choose. The hangy-down boom part, about 5 inches long, stays put where you bend it. To put it on, slip the ear gel into your ear until it's comfy, then bend the hook over the fleshy part of your outer ear, adjust the mic near the corner of your mouth, plug the 2.5mm jack into your Treo's audio port and you're in business.
Now people come in all different sizes and shapes and so do their ears and ear canals. If the gel penetrates your ear canal too deeply, (you do NOT want it in so deep that it touches your eardrum, unless you enjoy pain and screaming).. UmeVoice recommends you cut off a little bit of its end with a sharp scissors, but since they only supply one gel in the box (more are available on their site), you've only got one chance at this.
At this price point, I think they should do what Jabra does with its $5.00 headset � toss in a few different-sized ear gels, and I've made this point known to UmeVoice's head man.
The design of theBoom makes using the gel mandatory � without it, the earpiece sits too far back from your ear to work properly.
The thin wire cable, at 54 inches is VERY long, so you'll want to use a little lapel or shirt clip to attach the wire to your clothing for strain relief, lest you stand up to walk away and have theBoom ripped right off your head. Why doesn't it come with a cable retracting spool, you may ask? Well I may answer: because the little volume control/mute button box is smack in the middle of the wire, so unless UmeVoice could figure out a way to combine a retracting spool WITH those controls, you'll just have to live with the long wire at its full length all the time, or you could bundle some it with a twisty-tie to shorten it. But in theBoom's box (yes, an actual box!) you'll find a nice drawstring vinyl carrying pouch.
THE "O"THER MODEL
theBoom "O", at about fifty bucks less, takes on a different form factor. It looks for all the world like a 21 st century version of an old fashioned switchboard operator's headset.
Eschewing the ear hook, the "O" stays put with a plastic over-your-head style band, with a nicely padded "pleather" supra-aural (sits on top of your ear) ear piece on one side and a padded, swiveling rectangular bar that rests on the other side of your skull. The headband extends and retracts about an inch and a half to accommodate different sized heads. If you have a huge head, it might not expand enough. Fully extended, it JUST fits me, but I'm not a small person.
It's easy to flip it around and use it with either ear, and the mic on its boom is virtually identical in form and totally identical in function to theBoom's boom � flex it around, position it where you want it and it stays there.
The "O" is a bit bulkier, but it goes on and comes off faster, and since it doesn't use an ear gel, it's more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. And yes, it's low-profile enough to wear a baseball cap (my chapeau of choice) on top of it. The noise canceling technology in both models is identical. Unlike its pricier, more compact brother, the "O" comes in a "destroy it to open it" plastic tomb and you get no carrying pouch.
Specs? We gotcher specs right here:- Sensitivity -35 dBVrms
- Impedance 2,200 Ohms
- Frequency 50-20,000 Hz
- S/N ratio >70 dB
Conclusion >>
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Read Merciful by Casey Adolfsson
Parked in his driveway, I told him to whip out his cell phone and stand a few feet away from my car. With the engine running, I rolled up the windows, turned on the a/c full blast, and really cranked the stereo. I plugged theBoom into my 650 and called his phone. I literally could not hear my own voice as I WHISPERED into theBoom's mic. "Can you hear me okay?" "Yes, clear as a bell." "Can you hear the A/C fan or the stereo?" "Nope, all I hear is your voice, loud and clear. How does that thing work?" "It's magic" I grinned.
Now people come in all different sizes and shapes and so do their ears and ear canals. If the gel penetrates your ear canal too deeply, (you do NOT want it in so deep that it touches your eardrum, unless you enjoy pain and screaming).. UmeVoice recommends you cut off a little bit of its end with a sharp scissors, but since they only supply one gel in the box (more are available on their site), you've only got one chance at this.
theBoom "O", at about fifty bucks less, takes on a different form factor. It looks for all the world like a 21 st century version of an old fashioned switchboard operator's headset.
The "O" is a bit bulkier, but it goes on and comes off faster, and since it doesn't use an ear gel, it's more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. And yes, it's low-profile enough to wear a baseball cap (my chapeau of choice) on top of it. The noise canceling technology in both models is identical. Unlike its pricier, more compact brother, the "O" comes in a "destroy it to open it" plastic tomb and you get no carrying pouch.
