All items in category Blogs
High End 2024 - The Munich Show, the Trade and B2B
by Joao Martins

High End 2024 - The Munich Show, the Trade and B2B

High End Munich 2024. Once again, one of best organized audio shows in the world, with a wide spectrum of very high-quality audio solutions presented, and an excellent business environment. All perfectly complements this international trade show, making it highly valuable for all. A true "marketplace" for the audio industry in the best sense of the term. These are my first impressions.
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Input-Output Impedance Matching – Or Not
by Jan Didden

Input-Output Impedance Matching – Or Not

In analog audio, you often must connect a source to a “receiver” unit. Pre-amp to power amp, phono preamp to an active crossover, the crossover to the power amp, that sort of stuff. Each of these units has an input impedance and an output impedance spec. I often get questions like: “My power amp has 20kΩ input impedance, my preamp has 100Ω output impedance, and maximum load is specified as 10kΩ. Will that work together or will I break something?”. Jan Didden explains all about Input-Output Impedance Matching.
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When Is a Regulator a Regulator?
by Jan Didden

When Is a Regulator a Regulator?

Regulator Needed for Stable, Noise- and Ripple-Free DC Relationship. Does your nice circuit get what he needs from the power supply? Jan Didden explores when a regulator is a regulator. ...when it regulates, you’d think. Yet, in many online fora and discussions you see circuits that ‘do something’ but there’s absolutely no regulation taking place.
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Open Ears and the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds in Review
by Joao Martins

Open Ears and the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds in Review

I tested the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds and I'm Keeping Them. They sound great and allow listening at safe levels while being aware of what other people say. These make a great case for Open Ears and that's the topic of this article where I have inserted my review of the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds and I provide examples of how the industry has been exploring alternative designs that avoid in-ear occlusion, from loose-fit earbud shapes to the recent air conduction craze.
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Flip Phones, AI, Naturally Dumb Glasses, and Enhanced Audio: MWC 2024 Major Impressions
by Joao Martins

Flip Phones, AI, Naturally Dumb Glasses, and Enhanced Audio: MWC 2024 Major Impressions

What is like to explore audio technologies in the massive show that is Mobile World Congress. A report from MWC 2024 in Barcelona from an audio product development perspective. Audio for mobile platforms, wireless technologies, wearables and true wireless earbuds and hearables. And lot's of AI! MWC 2024 has nearly returned to pre-pandemic size levels, closing with 101,000 attendees from 205 countries.
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CES 2024 Automotive Audio (The Good News)
by Roger Shively

CES 2024 Automotive Audio (The Good News)

The Consumer Electronics Show has become a showcase of products of the future, and this year’s content was stronger than ever. The automotive sector in the West Hall was filled beyond capacity, with Mobility spilling into the North Hall. Roger Shively reports on how hardware-dependent development is shifting to software. How Artificial Intelligence has found a practical role. How it all changes car audio systems.
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Niron Magnetics: Green High-Performance Magnets Get More Green From Samsung
by Mike Klasco and Salvador Magdaleno-Adame

Niron Magnetics: Green High-Performance Magnets Get More Green From Samsung

Back in 2020, Barry Vogel, the director of the Audio & Loudspeaker Technologies International (ALTI) Association called me excitedly about Niron Magnetics and about a new magnet material developed from research at the University of Minnesota. Iron Nitride (FeN) was perhaps the biggest news in magnets in 40 years. Composed of common elements — Iron and Nitrogen - the potential of permanent magnets from Niron could be a breakthrough and a game-changer for the audio industry.
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Integrated Systems Europe 2024 - What Does It Mean for the Audio Industry?
by Joao Martins

Integrated Systems Europe 2024 - What Does It Mean for the Audio Industry?

I returned from Barcelona, Spain, after five exhausting days, which were not easy for anyone in the audio industry who was forced to fly from the NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA directly to Europe. I wrote this First Impressions ISE 2024 report in an effort to summarize this extremely well organized and successful event - celebrating the show's 20th anniversary. I discuss what is sustaining this systems integration event that everyone understands as many different things, and what does it means for the audio industry.
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The IEC 60263:2020 Standard - Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words?
by Geoff Hill

The IEC 60263:2020 Standard - Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words?

With the proliferation of different electronic formats and screen grabs, aspect ratios, scales, and sizes for plotting frequency characteristics and polar diagrams, presenting audio measurement results in a clear and informative way is an even greater problem today than in the past! Geoff Hill explains what there is to know about the IEC 60263:2020 updated standard: Rules for scales and sizes for plotting frequency characteristics and polar diagrams... and what could go wrong.
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CES 2024 Lasting Impressions: The Highlights
by Joao Martins

CES 2024 Lasting Impressions: The Highlights

CES2024 was the best in a long time. I said that in my First Impressions article, and as we distance ourselves from the whirlwind of those hectic six show days, the stronger that feeling grows. And one of the reasons has to do with the fact that important technologies are already making a difference in the audio products that we will soon see in the market - while many others are about to. And there are clearly companies that left us with very positive, lasting impressions that we can and need to share.
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