LA startup SubPac are making devices that take music beyond just listening by letting you feel the bass, literally.

Los Angeles startup, SubPac, have created a wearable music device on a new level. Using sub vibrations they hope to make listening to music a full body experience.

They’ve gained major support from music artist Timbaland who says that he wants to combine both his love of music and technology to create something that revolutionises the way we consume music. He’s found this in the SubPac M2 a “wearable Tactile Bass System” that you wouldn’t be mistaken for thinking is a backpack with no storage space at first glance.

Timbaland says of the technology: “You’re going to change the word listen to feel. It’s about whole body, completing the experience. SubPac is for anyone who wants a deeper connection with feeling.” It’s not just Timbaland who’s made his support vocal but also artists like George Clinton, Flying Lotus, Plastician, and many others.

SubPac co-founder John Alexia says: “This idea came about with the understanding that music is actually physical.” The best way to picture it is the vibrations you feel when at a loud concert, but in this case it’s internalised and precise for an unparalleled listening experience that goes beyond just listening to the music.

There are also incredibly unique, breakthrough uses of the SubPac for example the ability for deaf people to experience music via the vibrations. Deaf people have often said they enjoy feeling music with the absence of hearing it and this allows them to experience it on another level.

The SubPac works via Bluetooth and is completely silent, translating the bass into vibrations rather than sound. It’s not just for music however, with the potential to enhance gaming experiences or even provide an immersive film viewing.

SubPac list the benefits for both sides of the music industry:

DJs and Producers

  • Allows you to properly monitor low frequencies (more accurately feel difference between bass, kick and sub-bass)
  • Experience your track/mix as if it were being played in a club system
  • Flat response with no EQ or compressors – SubPac provides the true signal
  • Portable: you can produce with the proper frequency spectrum on the go – plane, hotel, café, train etc.
  • Can produce at all hours of the night without noise complaints
  • Preserves hearing – no need to crank your system

Music fans

  • Creates an immersive listening experience
  • Experience the visceral club/live atmosphere, anytime
  • Re-connect with your entire music catalog
  • Quiet to the outside world – no noise complaints
  • Creates a higher state of relaxation
  • Ideal for music, films and games
  • Can be used anywhere – car, home, office etc.

SubPac recently closed a series of funding where they acquired $6 million and have been gaining the attention of high profile investors around the world. You can order a SubPac M2 now from the SubPac website for $349 where the SubPac S2, a sub that attaches to your seat, is also available for $299.