More than 40 years after Slade told us to ‘come on feel the noise’ two British innovators are making sure that we can.
The two musicians-turned-entrepreneurs are trying to shake us to our cores by working on the Subpac, a type of rumble pack cum sound system that causes the users bodies to vibrate to the music.
This allows music lovers to really experience their favourite tunes in a way more similar to a live concert, feeling the rumbling lows and penetrating highs as well as hearing them.
The Subpac consists of a pair of transducers similar to those found in traditional amplifiers or headphones, but instead of being surrounded by amplifying cones, the transducers are wrapped in special vibration-transmitting foam.
Though there are plenty of similar existing technologies, such as that in Google glass and gaming rumble packs, the pair believe that their product is ideally designed to improve music lovers’ experience of what they hear.
Speaking to the BBC, audio tactile sound researcher Sebastian Merchel said: “Just think of hearing – and feeling – a church organ, sitting on a wooden pew,”
“But when concert recordings are played back with hi-fi systems at home, the vibratory information is missing.”
The designers behind the Subpac want to bring back this vibratory information to make such recordings feel more complete and immersive.