Nervana The High Headphone Raises $600K on Indiegogo

Remember those headphones that get you high so you can reach Nervana? They’ve just reached $600,000 on Indiegogo.

Nervana The High Headphone Raises $600K on Indiegogo

Everyday we find out there’s another new headset looking to make their mark in the booming headphone market. Nervana, which is definitely a unique headphone, smashed their Indiegogo campaign by 773 percent in late April. Wow! But then again, how could it not. The headphones take a non-invasive method of stimulating the user’s vagus nerve, which causes your brain to release all those chemicals that have you feelin’ all the feels, like dopamine and seratonin, while playing music. It is the first of its kind.

The concept behind Nervana is to feel music like you never have before – no DAC needed. The headset is actually a two-part system. The generator is a pass through for the type of audio selected by the user and the headphones contain proprietary earbuds made in-house that stimulate the vagus nerve. However, to be more exact, the left bud will receive the left channel of the music signal as well as the stimulation signal within the ear bud to deliver electrical stimulation to stimulate the vagus nerve. There are three modes in which the generator can be set to give the user their high.

In music mode the generator analyzes the music signal and generates a targeted vagus nerve stimulation output that synchronizes with the music’s signal. In ambient music mode, the generator can be used to filter music from the wearer’s surroundings, say a concert, to send signals to the earbuds and stimulate the vagus nerve. Formula mode is to be used without music – operating on a pre-defined nerve stimulation signal. The level of signal intensity can be customized for each mode on a scale from 2 to 25.

While USA Today said “the feeling was intensely serene,” The Verge reported what felt like “a sort of subtle zap hitting your ear like an electrified Q-Tip.” Though, the CEO Ami Brannon said if the buds aren’t in proper contact with the skin, the signal will not transmit. “So if someone has an ear canal that’s really large, and our earbud is not big enough, then they won’t actually get that contact. They won’t get that signal transmitted and it won’t work for them.”

But high-feeling aside, how do the headphones sound? That questions remains unbeknownst to us. That being said, those interested in purchasing the good-vibes headphones for $289 can do so on Indiegogo. But be advised, Nervana is not meant to be used as a medical device and should not be used if one has a medical implant that could be affected by electrical signals.