"I'm really big into using the 3D," says Watts. "I love the Full Ambient mode, where you just open up the mics and hear the room as your ears would be hearing naturally, I really appreciate that. It's extra cool during the show, because I get people coming up to tell me things, or when James (Corden) walks up and talks to me, I just click the switch and I'm immediately hearing him. Then I flip back to my full monitor mix with the band when we go to the break. So it's been really great using them."
Watts discovered the Sensaphonics 3D when the band OK Go appeared on the program. He noticed they all wore a second bodypack. "I was hanging out with them and asked, 'what's the idea behind the extra pack?' and they were like, these in-ears have microphones in them," he recalls. "I was immediately very, very excited. It was like a product I had hoped for had suddenly appeared. I got on it right away and ordered myself a set."
One thing Watts noticed immediately was the sound quality. "I have the dual-driver version, and they sound awesome," he says. "At first, I wasn't sure, because I was used to five drivers per side, and I kept hearing about in-ears with eight, 10, 12. It's like driver wars out there. But one thing the 3D taught me is, it's not about how many drivers you've got; it's about the whole system working as one. The Sensaphonics 3D does that, and it sounds great."
In addition to his work on the Late Late Show, Reggie is currently recording his fifth album, and has begun doing road dates with his band, Karen. "We're doing dates on our three-day weekends and when the show is dark, and the 3D is a big part of that. It keeps me connected to the audience, but if you listened to my set-up, you'd be surprised at how low the volume is. Yet I hear everything perfectly. It's the perfect product for me."
Asked to sum up how the 3D AARO aids his approach to music, technology, and hearing wellness, Reggie Watts is clear: "I'm a technology freak, and I had kind of imagined a product like this back when I first started using in-ears," he says. "So the Sensaphonics 3D is literally like a dream come true for me. They let me hear what I need to, they're easy to use, and they sound fantastic. Frankly, I think that Sensaphonics is what every musician should be using."
(Jim Evans)
