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"  &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s hard for me to find earphones that fit me well; I have weird ears.&amp;quot; If you&amp;#039;ve ever uttered these words, Normal CEO and founder Nikki Kaufman has a solution for you. In fact, it&amp;#039;s the very reason she&amp;#039;s named her company &amp;quot;Normal&amp;quot;\u2014from her perspective, everyone&amp;#039;s ears should be considered normal. It&amp;#039;s earphones that should conform to your ears, not the other way around. But when Kaufman looked into getting a custom-made pair of her own, she found that her options weren&amp;#039;t great: The process involved a visit to the doctor&amp;#039;s office, uncomfortable silicon molds, a wait that could last up to three weeks, and (worst of all) getting saddled with a $2,000 price tag. So today, Normal is launching its own tailor-made earphones. The smart personalization service uses a simple app and an in-house 3D printing at a New York-based factory/retail space. Here&amp;#039;s how it works: Download the free mobile app (available for iPhones and Android smartphones), and get a quarter ready. The app instructs you to take the coin and press it to your cheek, then it launches an in-app camera. It takes a number of burst shots as you turn your head to the side, showing off your ear. You do this for both left and right sides, and an algorithm maps out and measures a fit that will give you a perfect seal. Afterwards, you can customize the pair by choosing your colors for the earform and plug housing, and your preferred cable length. The Normal team receives your order and gets to work. (To be clear, only the earphones&amp;#039; wing tips are 3D-printed.) Your brand new earphones are delivered to your address in as little as 48 hours. Piece of cake. Beneath its 3D-printed exterior, a pair of Normals has some interesting guts, too. The earphones house a 14mm neodymium driver, a coaxial connector, and a bass tube. While we have yet to try a pair ourselves, those innards combined with a personalized fit make us optimistic about sound quality. There are also a bunch of other thoughtful design features in each pair, like a straight 3.5mm headphone jack instead of a 90-degree one, so you can plug the Normals into phones fitted with cases that have extra depth (the Mophie for iPhones is one culprit), and the option to tuck the cords behind your ears while running, if that&amp;#039;s your preference. A pair of Normals cost $199, and pre-orders are available starting today through the smartphone app. The first shipments will go out a bit later, by the first week of August. If you&amp;#039;re so inclined, you can even visit the Normal flagship store in Chelsea and watch your pair get 3D-printed in person. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/audio/a10830/normal-s-new-custom-fitted-earphones-are-made-using-3d-printing-16965612/>