Headphones that can make your commute safer

Many bicycle commuters face safety dilemmas when they want to enjoy their music, having to decide whether to hear their tunes or hear the world around them. Enter the earHero headphones (MSRP $149.99). Designed to be different from most headphones, the earHero doesn't block out the noise around you, but instead lets those barking dogs and honking horns through. The idea is that you can travel safely and stay aware of your surroundings while still hearing your tunes.

In order for listeners to hear outside noise and enjoy tunes simultaneously, earHero strips away bass, leaving you with a mere musical phantom. With the bass gone, music loses much of its foundational weight, though the midrange and high notes you'll hear come through clearly.

These headphones sound absolutely nothing like what you're used to, and the performance results are far from great. In this instance, low scores in our lab tests don't mean a bad product, though, because our scoring system includes criteria that take response into consideration, among other things.

As for the fit, the earHero in-ears aren't exactly plush, since the tiny speaker heads are hard plastic, but extended listening is certainly feasible. They stay in place, too, thanks to the clear ear locks that fold into your outer ear. However, the earHero doesn't offer the flexibility of a microphone or remote, so you'll have to reach for your phone to deal with calls and music while on the go.

Though they lack bass and they suffer some distortion in the midrange, the earHero in-ears nevertheless fill an interesting gap in the market: The coveted be-safe-while-listening-to-music gap. Will music sound anything at all like you're used to? No. So the choice is yours: A) Listen to better headphones while cycling and maybe get hit by a van because you never heard it coming B) Don't listen to music while cycling C) Listen to a lamentable version of your music while safely cycling with the earHero.

This concept is most likely too specialized and too expensive for most of us — we'd probably go with option B — but if you have that music itch, the $149.99 earHer is a safe bet.

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