Periodic Audio Embraces Direct Sales Model and Drops IEM Prices

Periodic Audio, the IEM company created in 2016 by consumer-electronics industry veterans Dan Wiggins, Mike Kim, Zeke Burgess, and Ben Webster, announced that the company will move to a direct sales model and as a result will pass distribution cost-savings to its customers. Effectively immediately, Periodic Audio announced a significant price reduction for its line of V3 in-ear monitors launched earlier in 2022.

Starke Sound, the company founded in Los Angeles by Scott DeLoache, Spring Qin, and Dan Wiggins, has now introduced the Fiera multichannel amplifiers, built for enthusiasts seeking higher fidelity from their surround and immersive systems for both film soundtrack and music reproduction in their homes. These new models provide substantial power and effortlessly realistic sound, using Starke's own switch-mode power supplies and Class D amplifier modules.

This Test Bench characterizes the very recent BWX-6501 Midbass driver from MISCO’s Bold North Audio Line. MISCO (Minneapolis Speaker Co.) is the oldest OEM driver manufacturer in the US, founded in 1949, and Bold North Audio is its new brand, launched in 2019. The Bold North lineup was recently expanded to include two new 6.5” XBL2 motor woofers. These new models, all designed and manufactured in MISCO’s own facility in St. Paul, Minnesota, feature dual inside-outside copper shorting rings in the motor to greatly reduce distortion. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, December 2020.

The driver under test in this Test bench is the SDx10 home audio woofer from Creative Sound Solutions (CSS) Audio, using XBL^2 dual gap motor technology licensed from inventor Dan Wiggins. The CSS SDx10 also has a well-appointed feature set that includes a very stiff coated black paper/carbon fiber blended composite cone with a convex black hard paper dust cap, NBR surround, and semi-progressive cloth spider. All this is driven by a (2.4" six-layer voice coil with two 12mm thick ferrite magnets sandwiched between a thick XBL-configured front plate and black-plated thick T-yoke. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, November 2020.

Expanding its line of premium and performance-based drivers, designed and manufactured under the Bold North Audio brand, MISCO announced the introduction of the BWX-6501 & BWX-6502, two high performance 6.5" high excursion woofers with an XBL2 motor design and 10 mm linear Xmax. These new models add to a growing line of premium and performance-based drivers, all designed and manufactured in MISCO’s own facility in St. Paul, Minnesota.

November signals another anniversary for Voice Coil, the leading periodical for the loudspeaker industry. In this edition, Md Mehedi writes about how new Hiperco alloys can contribute to improved microspeakers, Mike Klasco discusses "This Year’s Crop of Measurement Microphones," followed by a directory on the topic. And in Test Bench, Vance Dickason characterizes the new NERO-6MRN150D pro audio midrange from SB Audience, and the SDx10 home audio woofer from CSS Audio. Access it online now!

This Test Bench article addresses an interesting home audio tweeter from Creative Sound Solutions (CSS). The company sent Voice Coil its latest high-end tweeter, the LD25X, a special driver with a unique dual-gap patented XBL2 motor. CSS licenses the XBL2 technology from inventor Dan Wiggins for two of their woofers and for the LD25X tweeter. The XBL2 motor features a short voice coil traveling between two gaps, allowing for a higher Xmax than most conventional motors can provide. The LD25X tweeter features a 25mm silk dome diaphragm and flat silk surround, in a 73 mm diameter six screw cast-aluminum faceplate anodized semi-flat black. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, July 2020.

Periodic Audio is launching its new flagship in-ear headphones during the fifth annual CanJam SoCal show, June 22-23. Known for its use of periodic elements to create unique drivers with beryllium, titanium or a magnesium/aluminum alloy, Periodic Audio pushes the envelope with the new Carbon (C) IEMs, featuring diaphragms made from lab-grown diamonds. According to the company, the Carbon design provides the ultimate statement in resolution — with incredibly low distortion — below that of any other IEM on the market today.

Global specialty plastics provider Eastman collaborated with engineering consultants DW Designs to mold and test beryllium models in ear monitor housings using a variety of materials. Eastman's John Quigley and DW Designs' Dan Wiggins recently presented their findings at the annual CanJam @ Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest held in Denver October 5-7, 2018.