The new Montara Plus MEMS drivers were one of the highlights at the xMEMS suite during CES 2023, where the company also showcased a series of soon to be released products that leverage or complement its MEMS speaker technology. Extremely impressive for a relatively new MEMS company, how xMEMS manage to get so many client wins in a short amount of time, while at the same establishing MEMS drivers as a truly differentiated technology for the needs of today's audio industry.
The new Montara Plus is an ideal full-bandwidth transducer for "audiophile-level," high-resolution in-ear monitors (IEMs) for music enthusiasts, creating a path to smaller, lighter, simpler IEM designs without the phase alignment and design complexities of multi-driver IEM implementations. Engineering samples in both side-fire and top-fire package implementations will be available in March 2023, with mass production scheduled for Q3 of 2023.
The new Montara Plus drivers benefit from the inherent advantages of xMEMS’ solid-state micro speaker technology, namely lightning-fast transient response, near-zero phase shift and +/-1° part-to-part phase consistency paving the way to the most natural sounding IEMs with the most accurate time domain music reproduction. For manufacturers, the solid-state semiconductor process yields a highly uniform and reliable driver that eliminates the need to match and calibrate. And for for product developers, these MEMS drivers are extremely tolerant to any frequency response running and even adaptive active processing systems in hearables.
xMEMS is offering a Montara Plus evaluation kit for IEM and DAC/amp manufacturers, as well as audiophiles and enthusiasts who are excited by and want to experience this new solid-state transducer technology. The evaluation kit includes 3D printed Montara Plus earbuds and a DC bias supply for driving Montara Plus IEMs from a list of pre-qualified standard headphone amplifiers from the likes of Hifiman, S.M.S.L, and Topping. The kit (EVK-XSM-2400-B) is available for purchase at store.xmems.com.
"The response from the hifi audio community to xMEMS’ Montara family of Solid-State microspeakers has been tremendous. Audiophiles are quick to appreciate the fast transient response, phase consistency, wide bandwidth, reduced breakup, and precise reproduction from a single, small transducer," says Mike Housholder, xMEMS VP of Marketing and Business Development. "We’re excited to have iFi and Singularity as launch partners to accelerate the era of solid-state IEMs for HiFi consumers, getting us that much closer to IEM-endgame."
"The decision to design an IEM around xMEMS’ technology was obvious from the first moments of listening to their demonstration unit. We were floored by the speed and resolving power offered by their micro speakers and have been thrilled with the application support and guidance that they have provided," says Nicholas Palomarez, CEO of Singularity Audio. "Our upcoming Oni IEM embodies purity in sound and design, and features twin xMEMS drivers enclosed in a titanium shell. The Oni IEM will be revealed at CES and will be available for preorder early Q1 of 2023."
"iFi Audio is excited to be working with xMEMS as an official DAC/headphone amp technology partner," adds Victoria Pickles, Head of Partnerships for iFi Audio. "xMEMS’ groundbreaking micro speakers offer great potential to push the boundaries of IEM and headphone performance. And our portable audio technologies are uniquely positioned to ensure this potential is fully realized. With specially optimized iFi DAC/headphone amps set for launch in 2023, it’s going to be an xCITING year!”
www.ifi-audio.com
www.singularityaud.io
www.xmems.com
