‘ear adapter’ by jc karich offers a way to combine the comfort of headphones with the portability of earbuds

the work of chilean-born, paris-based designer jc karich, ‘ear adapter’ lets users adapt their devices to their listening habits by transforming earbuds to over-the-ear headphones. while earbuds are extremely portable and offer a focused, isolating sound experience; karich reflects that headphones are often more comfortable, and permit a user to listen to music without completely blocking out his environment, if desired.

‘ear adapter’, currently in its second iteration but with future developments in planning, fits the earbuds into a headphone-like structure, complete with fabric cushioning. karich notes, ‘the shape intends to be open to ambient sounds so the will mix in with the music‘, although a more closed version would also be possible to design and produce.

the current design of ‘ear adapter’ is available on thingiverse for users to 3D print themselves.

earbud / headphone adapter by jc karich view of mechanism (here of the first iteration prototype)

earbud / headphone adapter by jc karich detail of second iteration

earbud / headphone adapter by jc karich the 3D printed parts are fit over ABS filament in this prototype, although karich plans to develop a commercial version

earbud / headphone adapter by jc karich view of the device in use

video of the production process of the first iteration (which used aluminum rather than ABS filament for the over-the-head structure)