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About Brent Butterworth

Brent Butterworth has been a professional audio journalist since 1989, and has measured and evaluated thousands of audio products. His headphone measurements and reviews currently appear on wirecutter.com. He has served as editor-in-chief of Home Theater and Home Entertainment magazines, contributing technical editor for Sound & Vision magazine, senior editor of Video magazine, and reviews editor of Windows Sources magazine. He has also worked as marketing director for Dolby Laboratories, and as a consultant on the design and tuning of speakers, subwoofers, and headphones.

All items written by Brent Butterworth

New Ways to Measure Noise Cancelling, Transparency, and Other Modes in Headphones and Earphones

January 24, 2024 by Brent Butterworth

New Ways to Measure Noise Cancelling, Transparency, and Other Modes in Headphones and Earphones

Now that headphones and earphones are adding situational awareness, hearing protection and hearing enhancement features, HEAD acoustics created new test methods to evaluate these functions, faithfully simulating environments that a consumer might typically encounter when using products with these features. As an experienced reviewer in this category, Brent Butterworth was invited to visit HEAD acoustics' US headquarters in Brighton, MI, to learn about all the solutions the company has developed for this purpose, based on measurement techniques outlined in ETSI standards.

Fresh From the Bench: Knowles KN2 True Wireless Reference Design and Franklin 2 Developer Kit

October 12, 2023 by Brent Butterworth

Fresh From the Bench: Knowles KN2 True Wireless Reference Design and Franklin 2 Developer Kit

In this valuable review for product developers, Brent Butterworth shares what he learned about two evaluation solutions intended for designers of true wireless earbuds, the fastest growing product category in the audio industry. With this reference design and developer kit, Knowles made it easier for companies to add sophisticated true wireless earphones to their lines — whether they develop their own design or adopt one that’s ready to go. audioXpress tried out both options.

Fresh From the Bench: Røde NTH-100 Headphones

January 12, 2023 by Brent Butterworth

Fresh From the Bench: Røde NTH-100 Headphones

The Røde NTH-100 headphones are a late but refined entrance from the Australian company into the product segment. The headphones are engineered to be durable as pro audio products need to be. All the important components are also user-replaceable and can be removed and swapped out in seconds. The fully adjustable headband with a unique FitLok locking system is a very distinctive feature that will be appreciated over time. Find out how the NTH-100 stacks up to the competition. This article was originally published in audioXpress, June 2022.

Fresh From the Bench: Olive Pro Hearing and Bluetooth Earbuds

April 21, 2022 by Brent Butterworth

Fresh From the Bench: Olive Pro Hearing and Bluetooth Earbuds

The Olive Pro Hearing and Bluetooth Earbuds were brought to market by Olive Union during 2021. These are 2-in-1 true wireless earbuds and smart (FDA-Registered class II) hearing aids, featuring a modern design that was intentionally conceived to look like futuristic Bluetooth earbuds to combat the social and economic barriers of hearing loss. When the company temporarily paused its sales efforts in the US, Brent talked with the company to find out what happened and their plans to adjust and return to market. This article was originally published in audioXpress, January 2022.

Fresh From the Bench: USound Megaclite 4.0 UH-R2040 MEMS Earphones

January 11, 2022 by Brent Butterworth

Fresh From the Bench: USound Megaclite 4.0 UH-R2040 MEMS Earphones

The Megaclite 4.0 UH-R2040 is a reference design based on USound's Achelous UT-P2018 MEMS drivers, comparable in length and width to smaller balanced armatures, but thinner. They’re SMT reflow-compatible, so easy to incorporate into automatic assembly processes. Brent Butterworth listened, measured, and compared the performance of this new design against conventional in-ear products using established driver technologies. This article was originally published in audioXpress, October 2021.

CTA-2010: A Better Way to Measure Subwoofers

September 8, 2021 by Brent Butterworth

CTA-2010: A Better Way to Measure Subwoofers

Exploring the Standard Method of Measurement for Subwoofers (ANSI/CTA-2010-B R-2020), Brent Butterworth discusses how this might be a better method for avoiding the confusion on measuring bass extension of subwoofers. The article details how CTA-2010 measures usable output at 1/3-octave intervals within the subwoofer’s operational range, instead of measuring frequency response at a low sound pressure level. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, June 2021.

Fresh From the Bench: Nuheara IQbuds2 MAX Hearing-Assist Earphones

July 14, 2021 by Brent Butterworth

Fresh From the Bench: Nuheara IQbuds2 MAX Hearing-Assist Earphones

More than five years in development and after multiple iterations, Australian startup Nuheara achieved its goal with the Nuheara IQbuds2 MAX, a bridge toward truly smart hearables. This advanced design uses digital technology to bring hearing aid functionality into true wireless earbuds. audioXpress asked Brent Butterworth to try them and share his experience and evaluation. This article was originally published in audioXpress, July 2021.

Fresh From the Bench: Widex Moment mRIC RD Hearing Aid

February 24, 2021 by Brent Butterworth

Fresh From the Bench: Widex Moment mRIC RD Hearing Aid

In this article for audioXpress, Brent Butterworth reviews the Widex Moment mRIC RD hearing aids. In a first for his career as a regular reviewer of headphones, hi-fi components, and other consumer audio products, Butterworth spent considerable time with the Widex Moment, one of the newest entries in the high-tech hearing aid category. His review objectively looks at the differences and similarities in the critical sound experience.This article was originally published in audioXpress, February 2021.

Fresh From the Bench: G.R.A.S. Sound & Vibration RA040X Ear Simulator

May 15, 2018 by Brent Butterworth

Fresh From the Bench: G.R.A.S. Sound & Vibration RA040X Ear Simulator

Brent Butterworth reviews the new RA040X Ear Simulators from G.R.A.S. Sound & Vibration. Measuring headphone response at frequencies above-10 kHz has been an imprecise, non-standardized process. The new RA040X ear simulator represents part of an effort by G.R.A.S. Sound & Vibration to update headphone measurement equipment to suit the needs of today’s headphone industry, and make the measurements more meaningful. This article was originally published in audioXpress, March 2018.