When the Breggz Hearables where introduced at CES 2024 as a made-to-measure luxury in-ear experience, the use of four Knowles balanced armature drivers per side was touted as one of the key aspects of the design. The Dutch company also promoted the advantages of a universal cartridge that is then applied to a 3D-printed mold, resulting from the scan of every user's ears for a custom-made fit. Both the choice of Knowles balanced armature drivers and the custom mold vision has since evolved in the Breggz concept.
The Zohn-1 fit and sealing is now based on a new digital fitting process where users can simply scan the ears with the camera on a smartphone to generate the shells, which are then 3D printed and finished with a bio coating for sensitive skins. The in-ears have also evolved to accommodate more sophisticated processing options with an expanded, more ambitious platform. And further personalization has also been added with the addition of a hearing test in the Breggz app using the renowned Mimi Hearing Technologies software and process.
Breggz believes it makes sense to offer a luxury alternative of a complete "in-ear computer" that will enable the latest Bluetooth technology and even running AI processing on-device. The company is working with Bragi to offer a range of possible options that each user will decide if it wants to load and use - including a ChatGTP subscription, powered by the Bragi AI platform and voice interface.
This is certainly an ambitious project, including the decision to combine Mimi Hearing personalization with a Knowles full-range balanced armature configuration in the Breggz Zohn-1 base model. Knowles has worked before with other manufacturers and suppliers of personalization software - such as Audiododo - in other projects. But the Breggz Zohn-1 is the first device of this type to fully rely on balanced armatures and to combine the possibility to fully personalize the frequency response for each ear, using the Mimi's software, which brings its own set of challenges.
Another angle to this cooperation is the need to protect users from hearing loss associated with both increased audio consumption and age. The technologies from Mimi and Knowles work together to tackle both needs – helping consumers get the best listening experience from their devices, while simultaneously compensating for mild to moderate levels of hearing loss to reduce further damage to the user's hearing.
"Hearing ability is unique and changes over time – influenced by age, health conditions, genetic factors, and increasingly listening behavior. We use glasses to see objects more clearly and reduce fatigue, so why don’t we use technology that can do the same for our hearing?" says Florian Schneidmadel, Mimi CEO. "By offering a precise hearing test and hearing ability-based sound personalization for each individual, we are democratizing the access to healthier listening features and improved sound experiences. Our solution, combined with Knowles balanced armature technology, allows manufacturers of wireless headphones to add hearing health features to their products and help all end users enjoy every detail and richness of the sound that balanced armature tweeters can reproduce."
"Knowing that treble boost and hearing personalization are essential to delivering that experience, we’re excited to see our BAs working together with the Mimi personalization software to allow people to hear the fullest potential of their sound. Together, Mimi and Knowles will help earbud designers create truly immersive, personalized listening experiences for their consumers," says Jon Kiachian, President of Medical and Specialty Audio at Knowles Corporation.
Knowles and Mimi hope that this collaboration and implementation in the upscale Breggz Zohn-1 in-ears might inspire more TWS earbud manufacturers to explore the possibilities enabled by balanced armatures to fully enable the potential of personalization, allowing listeners to tune the audio to their unique hearing while creating safer listening practices for consumers.
www.breggz.com
www.mimi.io
www.knowles.com
