The thinksound ts02 in-ear headphone costs $79.99 and loves the environment.
Thinksound is a young company founded by Aaron Fournier and Mike Tunney, who met while working at Tivoli Audio, where Fournier was an audio engineer and Tunney was the creative director. Fournier and Tunney later collaborated on the launch of Sapphire Audio, where Fournier designed loudspeakers and built an important relationship with Cary Christie (cofounder of Infinity and founder of Artison). “A few years ago,” Fournier told me via e-mail, “I decided to take Cary’s advice and stay in China to learn the ropes and develop my own company that I could personally believe in.”
Thinksound believes in “clear sound with a clearer conscience.” To that extent, the company makes all of their products from wood and employs intelligent and responsible packaging design, utilizing recycled, bleach-free materials, with the now-familiar orange, green, and brown color scheme—if Whole Foods made headphones, they’d probably look like these. You won’t find an annoying, impenetrable plastic bubble or dozens of pieces of wire or tape keeping you from enjoying the thinksound headphones. Instead, the thinksounds are housed in a smart cardboard enclosure with their tangle-resistant, PVC-free cable secured by a simple piece of string. A cotton pouch, cord clip, and four different silicon ear fittings are also included.
Fournier emphasized that his green approach is not mere fashion or fad: “I am trying to be as eco-friendly as possible while making audiophile grade headphones for an affordable price. We are not a lifestyle company or a fashion company….”
My initial impressions are entirely positive: I love the concept and design, and I’m looking forward to listening. I envision a future installment of “The Entry Level,” mating a selection of affordable in-ear monitors with a cool headphone amplifier.
