These Tiny Game-Changing Ear Gadgets Promise to Make Your Cheap Headphones Sound Expensive

Somewhere in the UK, a group of audio engineers spent nearly two decades figuring out how to fix a problem most people didn't know they had: their ears are lying to them.

Not in a philosophical sense, but in a very literal, measurable way that makes every song sound slightly wrong. That's the promise of Definition, a new passive in-ear device from Flare Audio that works like acoustic contact lenses for your ears.

The recent recipient of a King's Award for Innovation, Flare says these tiny, non-electric inserts reduce distortion in head-related transfer function (HRTF), which basically refers to the natural ways your ear canals process incoming sound waves. After 18 years of research and development, the company has mastered its patented technology, which somehow does not use electronics to amplify sound.

"I realized that there was a significant problem inside our ears that was not being addressed," says Davies Roberts, Flare's co-founder and co-CEO, who runs the company alongside his wife Naomi.

Instead, Defintion reshapes how music travels through your ear canal, drastically enhancing sound clarity without turning up the volume. Flare's pitch is audacious: slip these discreet devices into your ears, and your bargain-bin headphones will suddenly sound like they cost 10 times more.

However, the real test isn't in pristine listening environments like your quiet bedroom. Flare Audio says Definition excels in the sonic hellscapes where most of us regularly consume music, like noisy coffee shops, crowded streets, janky subway cars and clubs with sound systems that saw their prime when CDs were still cool.

The proof is in the pudding. EDM.com's staff tested out Definition at a recent Tiësto rave in Austin and the enhanced audio clarity was striking, even through The Concourse Project's state-of-the-art d&b Audiotechnik sound system.

Whether Definition can deliver on its promise to let you "hear music as the artist intended" remains to be seen. But in an era when tinnitus and other chronic ear conditions are becoming more pervasive, using good old physics to fight the noise war seems like a solid value proposition.

We caught up with Roberts to discuss the innovative Definition and his lofty goal to "improve everyone's relationship with sound."

Davies Roberts, Flare Audio co-founder and co-CEO.

Kenny McCracken

EDM.com: Most audio enhancement technologies focus on active noise cancellation or digital signal processing. Definition takes a passive, non-electric approach, which is a bold departure. What inspired this counterintuitive choice?

Roberts: We think of our ears as things that just receive sound so to say that they are distorting it can be a difficult concept. During the R&D for Calmer (our non-electrical alternative to earplugs that leaves you able to hear, but reduces stressful, annoying noise) as well as for our earphones, we learned that our ear canals act like a little echo chamber. When sound enters, certain frequencies bounce around and get amplified, especially the harsher high-end tones. This resonance can muddy details and add unwanted sharpness.

Our mission is to fix that. By designing products that reduce this internal distortion we are stripping away the noise your own ears are adding. The result is clearer, more accurate sound. Not boosted. Not colored. Just honest. A bit like the difference between talking in a cave or talking in a studio.

It’s audio design flipped inside out—treating your ear not just as a listener, but as part of the problem. And maybe, finally, part of the solution.

The technology was so popular with our customers that it was a natural progression to adapt it into a passive (non-electrical) product that can improve all sound.

EDM.com: Definition’s patented technology is a key differentiator. Can you talk about some of the specific advantages the product offers in real-world scenarios that active technologies cannot replicate?

Roberts: Much like shells, the shape of our ears resonates sound (particularly in the 2-8khz area). This creates unwanted distortions when listening to music. All loudspeakers and headphones tune this distortion out, either by design (adding bracing or wadding) or using electronics to apply an EQ to pull out the frequencies that sound unpleasant (that we now know is ear distortion).

The issue with this damage control approach is that by retrospectively correcting sound, it also reduces detail in sound, limiting the advancement in sound quality and making sound more subjective (everyone’s ears resonate sound at a slightly different frequency based on their different individual shape).

Definition’s technology removes ear resonance at source, enabling the wearer to experience greater levels of definition, especially when using headphones that have not had HRTF frequencies removed (these tend to sound overly smooth and less dynamic, with less detail in mid and high frequencies) or in loud sound environments like bars, cafés, restaurants and at gigs, concerts and festivals.

EDM.com: The in-ear device market is as crowded as ever. How do you convince both non-technical consumers and skeptics that a passive device can deliver superior results in noisy environments?

Roberts: It’s exceptionally hard to do! And it’s something we’re incredibly aware of. Everyone needs to experience it for themselves in order to believe its effects. We do have a 100 day return policy so people can try out the tech risk-free. We expect the technology to be a slow grower due to this but as more reviews come in we expect awareness and interest to grow.

A couple of weeks ago we found out that we’d won a King's Award for Innovation—that meant an awful lot to us because I felt that it gave our technologies credence and I hope will ease the skeptics minds that our techs work in the way that we say they do!

EDM.com: Flare Audio’s 18 years of acoustic research is a significant foundation for Definition. Can you share a specific breakthrough moment or unexpected discovery from this journey that fundamentally shaped the development of Definition?

Roberts: We’d been designing loudspeakers that produced sound with as little distortion as possible. They’d been used on some brilliant gigs: Skrillex, Mark Ronson, Chase & Status, Pendulum, etc. We often had producers and engineers visit us at Flare HQ and we’d demo them our very fancy and expensive speakers: Flare Zero. Zero produces very little resonance and is made from aluminum plates clamping vortices that surround the loudspeaker driver (you can still hear them at Selfridges Cinema in London). We had a great response to these speakers but people were still asking us to “tweak the 4kHz” and “can you give me a bit more 2kHz?"

It was at this point that I became aware that there was subjectivity—and where there was subjectivity there must be distortion. I discovered that there was much more distortion going on inside our ears compared to that produced by headphones and speakers.

So, over the last 18 years, I’ve developed a unique particle approach to invent our sound technologies as it allows me to visualize distortion issues that have been missed using the traditional acoustic approach. This work led me to explore the human ear in detail and it was during this work that I realized that there was a significant problem inside our ears that was not being addressed.

EDM.com: By minimizing distortion and enhancing clarity, Definition alters the listener’s psychoacoustic experience. Have you conducted studies on how this affects emotional engagement with music or cognitive processing of sound? For instance, does the increased detail lead to measurable differences in enjoyment or even memory retention of musical content?

Roberts: That’s such an interesting question! I’m so glad you asked.

We’re currently working very closely with the brilliant producer Flood and we firmly believe that by reducing resonance in sound we’re giving the listener a much cleaner pathway and connection to the music, in turn increasing enjoyment and immersion in sound.

It’s a similar concept to looking at your favorite piece of art or watching your favorite film through blurred glasses—would you be able to enjoy it as much, would you be able to fully immerse yourself?

The difference to listening to music with and without Definition is night and day. Your favorite tracks reveal even more detail and subtle nuances that you’ve not previously heard are suddenly very present. There is a much deeper connection to your favorite music—goosebumps with every track.

Flare Audio

When we delved deeper into sound we read that noise is the second biggest killer after air pollution. This is because our body is put under stress and releases things like cortisol, which then leads to an increase in heart attack and obesity—conditions linked to stress.

Our theory is that it’s not noise that’s the issue—it’s that our ears are not compatible with our noisy world. This is because of HRTF (head-related transfer function) which distorts and boosts sound between 2kHz-8kHz. This distortion triggers the release of cortisol, which in turn puts our entire body under stress. HRTF is there to stress-respond and alert us to threats. It’s the ear's way of saying "alarm" or "danger." Sounds in the 2-8khz range resonate like a bell inside our ears to make them more prominent. Useful when we lived in nature—not so useful when you fast-forward to present day and our busy towns and cities.

Anyone who has experienced a loud, distorted loudspeaker knows how that feels and it’s even been used in the past to torture people. By removing HRTF inside the ears, even the most distorted sound environments become more bearable and often even enjoyable. (Maybe not the London underground!)

Because everyone’s ears are a unique shape, quantifying the advance is tricky. The easiest way to demonstrate it is to use the product in a loud environment and then remove it. Every user then experiences a significant increase of distortion and becomes aware of exactly what Definition is doing.

It's important to note that Definition is not an ear protector—in simple terms they’re a resonance reducer, and by reducing resonance we’re revealing previously lost detail in sound.

EDM.com: Given that Definition alters how the brain processes sound by reducing distortion, have you explored collaborations with neuroscientists or audiologists to study its impact on auditory processing disorders or hearing health? In other words, could Definition have therapeutic applications, such as aiding individuals with hyperacusis or tinnitus?

Roberts: We’ve sold over 2 million pairs of our product Calmer (which again is a passive, non-electrical device that reduces our stress response to sound) and this has given us incredibly useful insight into who is buying Calmer and for what purpose. We know from the feedback we’ve had from thousands of customers that this technology is particularly helpful for people with sound sensitivities and neurodivergent people. We don’t claim it will help everyone but we’ve been blown away by how many people with these issues have told us it works for them.

We are at an earlier stage with Definition, but we believe that the technology could help people who struggle to hear in noisy situations and those who have sensitive hearing. Traditional hearing aids fail in noisy situations as they amplify sound, which in a noisy space can be detrimental. With Definition being passive we believe that it could be a vital tool for people to use when their hearing aids fail them.

This is an area that Flood is very interested in exploring. It’s well-known that when people lose their hearing and don’t get hearing aids, they’re much more likely to develop conditions like Alzheimer’s due to their isolation from conversations and from integration in society. We believe that by reducing resonance and distortion, we can improve everyone’s relationship with sound.

EDM.com: With the rise of spatial audio and immersive formats like Dolby Atmos, how does Definition fit into the future of music consumption? Does its passive nature limit its adaptability to these technologies, or do you see opportunities to integrate your tech with next-gen audio experiences?

Roberts: We firmly believe that in the future, Definition could be used in harmony with other technologies and that it will become the best way to experience higher-definition music.

Using Definition in a Dolby Atmos room is impressive as sound placement becomes a lot more precise, creating an improved experience both in the studio and in a venue. The patented technology also allows for electronics to be added, enabling the potential for a range of earphones, hearing aids and a range of other devices to improve our relationship with sound.

Flare Audio

EDM.com: Definition claims to let users hear music "as the artist intended." However, artists often create music with specific environments in mind. How do you reconcile this claim with the reality that Definition fundamentally alters the listening experience?

Roberts: For decades, serious compromises have been made to music in the studio so that tracks sound averagely good on average devices. We want to change that so that music production can evolve into greater levels of detail and that compromises don’t have to be made.

A good example of this is a smartphone loudspeaker. Listen to a track on a smartphone played loud wearing Definition, then as the track is played, remove Definition. You will hear that it is not the smartphone that is distorting—it’s your ears. It’s a mad concept to get your head around at first but it’s completely addictive and hypnotizing once you’ve heard it.

EDM.com: Definition seems to be a stepping stone in Flare Audio's broader mission to redefine how we experience sound. What's the next frontier for your team?

Roberts: I love that terminology! It definitely feels like we’re on a mission. Flare was founded back in 2007 to solve the fundamental issues in sound quality. It took just over a decade (and a whole lot of loudspeaker designs) to discover that the fundamental issue was inside of us! Now our focus is to develop a range of products that advance sound quality for everyone.

It’s mad to me that we used to listen to The Prodigy on our speakers as a test track and that now Liam Howlett uses our Flare Studio Master earphones in the studio to produce tracks and scores! I have to pinch myself.

Keep an eye out for our new earphones (currently the Flare Studio range). They feature our unique technology that enables wearers to experience significantly more detail and realism in music.

But aside from that, we’re incredibly excited as to what we’ve got coming. We’re currently working with the Alpine Formula 1 motor racing team to help improve its performance and we’ve got an exciting range of products scheduled for launch in upcoming months. 

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