All items in category Blogs
Test Tunes for Subjective Evaluation of Drivers and Loudspeakers
by John Marks

Test Tunes for Subjective Evaluation of Drivers and Loudspeakers

Test Tunes for Subjective Evaluation of Drivers and Loudspeakers, expertly selected by John Marks. From Donald Fagen to Franco Vassallo, Julia Fordham and Frederica von Stade. Some carefully selected audio tracks for subjective evaluation of drivers and loudspeakers. Voices, Male, Female, and Group. Tracks available as high-quality streaming on QOBUZ and TIDAL.
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Digital Signal Processing for Over-The-Counter Hearing Aids
by Alexander Goldin

Digital Signal Processing for Over-The-Counter Hearing Aids

I wrote a whitepaper looking at the principles of digital signal processing, algorithms,and software that improve hearing for people with hearing loss. This article is intended as an introduction. The complete whitepaper is available for download. The inspiration for this whitepaper comes from the World Health Organization's recent World Report on Hearing (WHO), which shows that 1.5 billion people worldwide have some degree of hearing loss and 430 million people need rehabilitation services. Shockingly, less than 3% (on average worldwide) use hearing aids.
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SonicEdge MEMS Ultrasound Speaker-In-Chip: Next Gen MEMS for TWS Earbuds and Hearing Aids
by Mike Klasco

SonicEdge MEMS Ultrasound Speaker-In-Chip: Next Gen MEMS for TWS Earbuds and Hearing Aids

Mike Klasco writes all about the cutting-edge SonicEdge MEMS Ultrasound Speaker-In-Chip. A next-gen MEMS solution for TWS earbuds, hearing aids, and hearables. Entering production in 2023, this unique ultrasonic shutter MEMS-based speaker system represents a decade's work in a unique topology. The core of the design is one or more apertures driven by the ultrasonic carrier signal and one or more movable and over-sized obstruction elements that are configured to modulate the ultrasonic carrier signal (think of a shutter) thereby generating audio.
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Wireless Audio and Bluetooth LE Audio - Assistance, Hearables, and Headphones 3.0
by Joao Martins

Wireless Audio and Bluetooth LE Audio - Assistance, Hearables, and Headphones 3.0

What happened at CES 2023 related to wireless audio and Bluetooth LE Audio. And what might happen at MWC 2023. And why there's lots more happening in assistance, hearables, and Headphones 3.0. This article discusses Bluetooth LE Audio and Android 13. Bluetooth 5.4 updates. Sennheiser's MobileConnect Assistive Listening app that actually works over Wi-Fi. Sonical, Antennaware, et all, Headphone 3.0. UWB, and high-quality wireless audio. Originally published in The Audio Voice 410, February 16 2023.
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ISE 2023 Barcelona Impressions: The Unstoppable Monster Trade Show?
by Joao Martins

ISE 2023 Barcelona Impressions: The Unstoppable Monster Trade Show?

ISE 2023 Barcelona first impressions report. Ham and Coke. Cold and Sunny. Impressions from Barcelona and reflecting on how the audio industry is being squeezed in Monster Trade-Shows. Phenomenal, Great, Extremely Successful! But what's holding these companies together? Is this model sustainable? This article was published originally in The Audio Voice, February 9, 2023.
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Hearables in 2023: Comfort Must Come First
by Andrew Bellavia

Hearables in 2023: Comfort Must Come First

Predicting what trends we’ll see in hearables in 2023 seems like a fool’s errand. With the release of the OTC hearing aid rule in the United States, these are predicated on devices that can be comfortably worn for long stretches of the day in a form factor that people are willing to wear in social settings. Without that foundation, these interesting and useful applications will not achieve mass-adoption. Anticipating CES 2023, Andrew Bellavia looks for the Next Big Thing in Hearables and the Multiple Sides of Comfort.
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Simplify Engineering - Building a Collaboration Platform for System Engineers That Specialize in R&D and Manufacturing
by Joshua Levy

Simplify Engineering - Building a Collaboration Platform for System Engineers That Specialize in R&D and Manufacturing

I'm a hardware engineer with over ten years of experience, based in Southern California. I've worked on products like the Amazon Alexa and Meta Oculus, and I have grown frustrated with the current processes and inefficiencies of the consumer electronics industry. This is why I created The Lyceum, an online collaborative software that facilitates hardware system engineering research & development and manufacturing by automating data-intensive tasks, keeping a track record of historical technical data, and offering tools for online group work.
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Bringing Directionality to Consumer Products
by Frederic Lepoutre

Bringing Directionality to Consumer Products

Soundskrit is the company behind the world's smallest directional microphone. Hailing from Montreal, Canada, the startup has cracked the code on eliminating unwanted noise at the hardware level – a never-before-seen feat for consumer product integrations. The Soundskrit SKR0400 directional MEMS microphone, combined with proprietary software is able to isolate a person's voice while eliminating any other sounds and noise surrounding it.
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Beyond the Smartwatch: Three Wearable Technology Trends to Watch
by Tess Skyrme

Beyond the Smartwatch: Three Wearable Technology Trends to Watch

As the smartwatch market matures, the capabilities of alternative wearables continue to expand. In the coming years, alternative form factors could begin tempting consumers away. Not only could these devices provide more value – they also have the potential to access new biometrics. The wearable technology industry is being driven by the demand for more data – but is faced with hitting maturity during an era of economic contraction. This article summarizes what life could look like beyond the smartwatch boom, with three trends to watch.
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Voice Control for Low Power Microcontrollers
by Ido Gus

Voice Control for Low Power Microcontrollers

Ido Gus, Deep Learning Senior Team Leader at CEVA’s Sensor and Audio Business Unit, writes about voice control deployment on low power and resource constrained microcontroller-units (MCUs). The article discusses what to consider for the development of products using voice as a primary human interface, and how speech recognition models using AI technology can support a wide variety of use cases and languages, without compromising on power requirements.
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