The Noveto SoundBeamer 1.0 Bluetooth speaker is now on Kickstarter, with a Super Early Bird price of $345.

As we reported back in November last year, Noveto’s SoundBeaming technology hopes to offer something in between the experience of speakers and headphones. Using 3D tracking and ultrasonic waves, Noveto’s first Bluetooth speaker, the SoundBeamer 1.0 fires music to your ears only, without the need for headphones. Noveto said they will be embedding this technology into devices from third-parties, as well as their own Bluetooth speaker.

With their own speaker, the SoundBeamer 1.0, Noveto are claiming that 90% of the sound is reduced at a distance of around 1 metre from the listener. Demonstrations are hard to give without the device in person, but here’s a video from Noveto showing the effect as best they can. We’re waiting for the speaker to get in the hands of the public to see real reactions. Noveto are still putting a heavy focus on video conferencing and podcasts over music, emphasising this speaker is not designed for hi-fi music streaming.

Now Noveto are heading to Kickstarter to make the SoundBeamer 1.0 a reality. The speaker is currently available at the Super Early Bird price of $345, offering $250 off the full price. At the time of writing, 156 of these speakers at the Super Early Bird price have been claimed, out of 500. If the Kickstarter picks up steam, the prices will increase through $425 and $495, before arriving at the final price of $595. There are also 100 limited edition Arctic White SoundBeamer 1.0s available for $995. The project has currently reached over $57k of its $175 goal, from 166 backers with 23 days left.

Should the Kickstarter see success, production is due to start in Q3, with shipping starting in Q4. This is still on track for its original December 2021 timeline. Noveto have partnered with Foxconn, who work with the likes of Apple, Sony, Nintendo and Amazon, to manufacture the speaker.

For more open-ear audio devices, check out these audio sunglasses from Bose, JLab and Flows Bandwidth.