CES 2017

Subwoofers are big and heavy. You hurt your back when you pick them up. One of the most important reasons for having children is so you can have them move your subwoofer. Right? Well, how about a watch-size subwoofer that you wear on your wrist? No children needed. Meet the Basslet.

Unlike regular subwoofers, you cannot hear the Basslet. It is silent to the outside world. Rather, it straps to your wrist and transmits beats and bass line vibrations to your body. Augmenting earphones, it adds that extra dimension to music. One of coolest things about traditional subwoofers is how they let you feel the music. The Basslet does something similar, minus the acoustic pressure level.

You wear the Basslet like a watch; it works with analog and digital sources. Designed in Germany (patents pending) the Basslet recreates bass frequencies down to 10 Hz; upper response is 250 Hz. The unit contains a battery with 6+ hours of playing time and a “LoSound engine.” Side controls let you vary intensity. The electronics are said to operate with very low latency, to keep the beat in time with the upper frequency music. A sender provides a wireless connection with any device with a mini-jack output. It is plug and play – no software or other configuration tasks are needed.

The interesting thing, of course, is that the bass is acoustically silent. The ability to feel the thump of the bass line while not bothering others is a pretty neat trick. True, it’s not the same as a traditional speaker, but it does something earbuds cannot.

As with many unique products, the Basslet was first featured on Kickstarter, in the summer of 2016. It raised more than $670,000 in 33 days, and ranks among the top 5 of the most successful German Kickstarter projects of all time.

The Basslet will sell for $200 with free shipping. It is launching in early February.