If you've never heard of Able Planet, you're not alone: until encountering the company's booth at last week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, I hadn't either. Able Planet specializes in audio products with an emphasis on solutions for hearing loss, but its technology can be enjoyed by "all levels of hearing," as the company puts it.

Able Planet's secret sauce lies in its patented Linx Audio Technology, which "creates high frequency harmonics that enhance sound quality and speech clarity of difficult to hear words or notes, and increase the perception of loudness without increasing volume." In simpler terms, the result is a listening experience that those who have experienced hearing loss—which increases naturally with age—have likely not heard in many years, while those with perfectly good hearing will be able to notice the richer sound that Able Planet's headphones produce.

It's not a gimmick, either.

As the long-time owner of a pair of Bose QuietComfort headphones, I can attest that Able Planet's new Clear Harmony noise-canceling headphones I had the opportunity to demo sounded noticeably better than the Bose while costing the same $299. The headphones cancel an impressive 21 dB of background noise with virtually no perceived white noise, and the audio is simply first-rate.

Able Planet also offers less expensive headphones, including a pair of behind-the-ear headphones and stereo headphones for $49.99 each. Like the Clear Harmony, these headphones also packed an impressive level of punch for the price.

Able Planet Clear Harmony