In the tranquil settings of Mangalore, Navajith Karkera, along with his colleague Jagath, embarked on a remarkable journey of innovation that sprouted from their college days at Sahyadri College of Engineering. Driven by a profound passion for creating and a supportive environment fostered by their college’s “Dreamers” team, they found themselves deeply engaged in national tech contests. Their curiosity about audio experiences was sparked during a project aimed at crafting a smart helmet for motorcyclists, which challenged them to deliver sound without distractions. This exploration into how humans perceive sound led them to an ingenious breakthrough—developing audio technology that not only delivers sound through the air but also lets users feel it through their bodies. This groundbreaking discovery paved the way for the creation of Sonic Lamb, setting a new standard in the headphone industry by allowing a fully immersive audio experience that captivates both the ears and the body. We recently got a chance to have a great conversation with Navajith Karkera about his entrepreneurial journey and what lies ahead for him and Sonic Lamb. Here is the full commentary.

What inspired the creation of Sonic Lamb?

I am from Mangalore, and Jagath hails from Madikeri. Our journey as makers began at Sahyadri College of Engineering in Mangalore, where we pursued our bachelor’s degrees. The passion for building things led us to actively participate in national tech and innovation contests organized by prestigious institutions like IITs and NITs. Guided by the “Dreamers” team initiated by our college seniors, we found a supportive environment to work on innovative ideas and present them at national events. One of our significant projects was the development of a Smart helmet for motorcyclists, which earned us several victories in national innovation contests. Two remarkable moments stand out in our journey – the “Best Young Innovators” award in 2015 and a “Gold Award” in 2018. During the project, we were challenged to reproduce sound for motorcyclists without distracting them. This led us to explore different ways humans experience sound, and our study revealed that while we hear sound when it comes to lower frequencies, we feel them rather than hear them. This discovery sparked our interest in finding a new way to address the challenge. We engineered audio drivers capable of delivering sound through the body, and the results were astonishing. This led us to experiment by integrating this technology into regular headphones – and we were amazed at the results. Fuelled by our love for music and the desire for a more immersive audio experience, we created 3D-printed headphone prototypes for personal use. When we shared them with friends and family, their response encouraged us to revisit our invention. After three years of dedicated research, development, and benchmarking, we developed an improved prototype that left us and fellow audio enthusiasts captivated. As the word spread about our invention, we set up demo kiosks at high-footfall events, allowing people to experience our product and provide valuable feedback. The overwhelmingly positive response confirmed that we had something extraordinary on our hands, inspiring us to venture into building our own audio company. From day one, our goal has been to create a seamless connection between people and sound, providing a high-fidelity and blissful audio experience like never before. Thus, the tagline for our first product was born – “Crafted for an Eargasmic Experience.” Our mission has always been clear – to redefine the headphone experience and offer music lovers a new dimension in audio pleasure that traditional headphones couldn’t deliver. As we embarked on this entrepreneurial journey, we realized that India had yet to make a mark in audio technology innovations or the production of audio products for the global market. This realization fueled our determination to create a world-class product designed, engineered, and proudly made in India for the world. We are excited about the future of our company and the potential to make a real difference in how people experience sound. Together, we aim to push the boundaries of audio technology and leave a lasting impact on the Indian audio industry. Read Also: Sonic Lamb Review: Audio immersion taken to the next level

How does Sonic Lamb redefine the audio experience?

We believe that over the past decade, the audio industry has shifted its focus away from its core value of improving audio quality and enhancing the overall listening experience. At Rapture Innovation Labs, we are committed to bringing the focus back to sound and its experience by redefining the very method of reproducing audio. Our patented Hybrid Driver Acoustics technology utilizes a combination of air and body conduction, which incorporates our innovative Impulse driver to revolutionize the headphone audio experience. It allows users to hear music through their ears and for the first time also feel it through their body (skin and bone) adding a new dimension to the headphone audio experience and making Sonic Lamb excel equally in clarity and bass response. It emulates a full-range driver and subwoofer system in a headphone – A first of its kind. This makes Sonic Lamb deliver a powerful bass response and immersive audio experience. For a personalized audio experience, Sonic Lamb comes equipped with a one-of-its-kind control dial called Multimode. Users can toggle through four different modes right at their fingertips to customize the sound profile based on music genre, preference, and activity. The companion smartphone app provides additional features for further personalization.

Could you explain the unique technology behind Sonic Lamb that sets it apart from traditional headphones?

Conventional headphones incorporate a single driver in each ear up to produce the entire sound spectrum of 20Hz to 20000Hz, unlike a loudspeaker which supports a separate driver for each audio band and a subwoofer unit for reproducing low frequencies to reproduce sound that we feel through our body which is missing on all headphones. The challenge is to integrate a subwoofer for low-frequency (bass) while maintaining accurate reproduction of mid and high-frequency (vocals and instruments) Our patented Hybrid driver technology uses a precision-tuned full-range dynamic driver along with our proprietary impulse driver to overcome the limitation and reproduce a true-to-the-ear, life-like and immersive sound Unlike regular headphones that solely rely on air conduction to transmit sound waves to the ears, Sonic Lamb combines both body conductions. This innovative combination allows for a truly immersive audio experience where not only do you hear the sound, but you also feel it through your body. Sonic Lamb offers high-fidelity audio with powerful bass that can be felt, providing a more dynamic and realistic sound experience. Additionally, our headphones provide the flexibility of personalized sound based on music genre, user preferences, and specific activities. A high fidelity, fully immersive and personalized audio experience sets Sonic Lamb apart from traditional headphones in the market and we’re working on coupling this with great customer experience and after-sales support.

How have partnerships with programs like SoundTech contributed to Rapture’s growth and product development?

Rapture’s collaboration with SoundTech proved to be a game-changer for our growth and product development, especially in the Indian market, where access to cutting-edge audio technology and expertise can be limited. Through the SoundTech partnership, we gained access to: Testing equipment: World-class audio innovation centre equipped with the latest testing equipment for our headphones. Advanced Development Tools: Tools specifically designed to fine-tune and optimise our headphone performance. Invaluable Expertise: Mentorship from retired engineers from renowned premium audio companies, bringing their wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. This partnership addressed a critical challenge for Rapture – the inability to validate product development efforts entirely within India. SoundTech provided the missing piece: Validation and Feedback: The ability to rigorously test headphones against global standards and ensure they meet or exceed expectations. Superior Sound Quality: Access to the latest advancements and expertise allowed Rapture to refine their headphones, delivering exceptional sound that surpassed existing market offerings. In essence, the SoundTech partnership bridged the gap between Rapture’s potential and its ability to achieve it. They provided the resources and guidance to ensure Rapture’s headphones not only met global standards but also delivered superior sound quality. Read Also: Sonic Lamb headphones launched in India

How does Rapture ensure its Indian-manufactured products meet global quality standards, particularly with testing at Soundhub in Struer?

We do not compromise on global quality despite manufacturing in India. Our partnership with SoundTech’s advanced audio innovation centre in Struer bridges the gap. This facility boasts cutting-edge testing equipment to ensure headphones meet rigorous global standards.  But it goes beyond just machines. Rapture benefits from the expertise of Retired engineers from industry giants like Bang & Olufsen and Harman. This collaboration allows us to refine designs, verify our approach, and ultimately achieve superior sound quality, making our headphones a true contender in the global market.

How has support from government departments and investors influenced Rapture’s R&D efforts and product quality?

In the early stages, grants from the Government of India and the Government of Karnataka helped us a lot. These grants helped fund our R&D expenses – a crucial lifeline for any hardware startup. Building exceptional products takes time and money, and this support allowed us to focus on innovation without the constant pressure of immediate profitability. The government programs didn’t just help with initial funding. This wasn’t limited to just R&D – it extended to prototyping and even patent filings. This financial support was a major stepping stone for Rapture. It allowed us to not only develop our initial concepts but also refine them through prototyping, secure valuable collaborations, and protect our intellectual property. It’s a testament to the power of government initiatives in fostering a culture of innovation, and we’re incredibly grateful for their contribution to our journey.

How does Rapture gather and utilize customer feedback in its product development process?

At Rapture, we don’t just develop headphones, we craft experiences.  And those experiences are built with you, our valued listener, at the forefront. From the initial spark of an idea, we involve our target audience. Through alpha and beta testing with prototypes, we get people’s feedback at every stage. It’s your honest opinions help us validate our designs and identify areas where we can push the boundaries even further. Up until now, our sales strategy has involved direct selling, enabling us to maintain a direct dialogue with our customers, engaging with them and gathering feedback. However, as we expand our distribution channels, including making our products available on platforms like Amazon, we are encouraging customers to register their products. This registration provides customers with direct access to us, allowing them to receive regular product updates and upgrades, while also enabling us to gather relevant feedback. Additionally, events provide us with another avenue to engage directly with customers and hear from them. We prioritize customer feedback and integrate it into our research and development process. It’s through this ongoing talk with customers that we keep learning and growing, ensuring that every Rapture product not only delivers cutting-edge technology but also elevates your listening experience to new heights.

What upcoming products or advancements can we expect from Rapture Innovation Labs?

At Rapture, our focus is on providing a unique and premium audio experience driven by innovation and a vision to be the brand of choice globally for a blissful and immersive audio experience. With our Hybrid Driver technology, we have identified various use cases for improved and immersive audio experience beyond consumer headphones which is on our product roadmap along with concepts of its implementation in loudspeakers and earbuds.