A few weeks ago I was talking to Robin who is now in charge of the Snugs marketing department, and he told me about a press release for the first 3D ear scanner in the UK, so obviously I was very excited when I received the invite via email.
The event was on the 1st of July in London, the location was close the Blackfriars and easy to find, it was a nice little restaurant/bar with multiple floors. Snugs had access to a room on the 2nd floor and everything was very well organised.
It started at 12pm and finished at 5pm, I only arrived at 3pm unfortunately as I had to work that morning, but I was very eager to get there as quick as possible. When I arrived I was greeted by Emma Jobin and offered a cold drink, which I gladly accepted due to the outside temperature that day.
I got chatting to a few people when I arrived, who turned out to be Tom Court and Sam Light, both world class Kite Surfers, who have helped launch Snugs as suitable for extreme sports. Both really nice guys to talk to and it’s interesting talking to people outside of the audio world and getting their opinions.
I felt very welcomed when I arrived, and shortly after talking to Sam and Tom I got talking to Paul Jobin, whom I had met previously at Hifiheadphones.
I had a few questions about the scanner, which he gladly answered, as many have questioned about Ultimate Ears having exclusivity to use this technology. Paul explained that Ultimate Ears have exclusivity worldwide to use the scanner for professional products, whereas Snugs are a consumer product, he also talked me through what they wanted me to do to help them get better coverage in the market. I will be making a short video, demonstrating the Snugs in use during my daily commute to work on the train.
We also discussed the upcoming CanJam event in London, as it would be an excellent place for them to showcase this new technology and also market the brand alongside a retailer.
Shortly after speaking to Paul, Robin came over and asked If I wanted my ears scanned, well that is what I had come for. First of all I had to clean my ears out, fairly standard procedure, then they put a headband with ovals over your ears. The scanner itself is a handheld device that has a light probe and accurately scans the inner and outer ear. It is not invasive like normal ear impressions, and it is also quicker, you just have to stay still when you have your inner ear scanned.
“A complete ear scanning solution capturing precise dimensions by use of a 3.2mm light probe and integrated tracking system.”
It is nothing like having normal ear impressions, and those that do not like having their ears filled with putty can rejoice with this new technology.
After having them scanned, I had to pick the colours for the Snugs, as they are providing free samples to the people that attended the event, they are supplying the SoundMAGIC E10 with snugs tips.
Once done I got chatting to Emily Hewitt who runs the social media side of the company and we had a few drinks and chatted about audio and more. It was a chilled atmosphere, I missed the rush at lunchtime when it got busy, but around 4:15pm it got busy again, and Shaun Gostelow from Hifiheadphones arrived and I had a good catch up with him.
It was a great afternoon, meeting some new people and catching up with old friends, I thoroughly enjoyed it and Paul Jobin is a great guy who is always happy to answer questions about his products, I look forward to a long lasting partnership working with Snugs, and to receiving the E10 with my Snugs tips which I will duly review.
A big thank you to Paul, Robin, and everyone who organized the event and made it what it was, well done!
