Fresh From the Bench: Olive Pro Hearing and Bluetooth Earbuds

The Olive Pro Hearing and Bluetooth Earbuds were brought to market by Olive Union during 2021. These are 2-in-1 true wireless earbuds and smart (FDA-Registered class II) hearing aids, featuring a modern design that was intentionally conceived to look like futuristic Bluetooth earbuds to combat the social and economic barriers of hearing loss. When the company temporarily paused its sales efforts in the US, Brent talked with the company to find out what happened and their plans to adjust and return to market. This article was originally published in audioXpress, January 2022.

For the Test & Measurement Focus published in audioXpress March 2018, two of our authors tackled IK Multimedia’s ARC 2.5 room correction system. Ron Tipton investigated IK Multimedia’s claims that the new ARC 2.5 improves the audio monitoring accuracy of speakers in any studio or listening room, while Stuart Yaniger tested the new MEMS measurement microphone available with IK Multimedia’s ARC 2.5 System. In this section of the review, Ron Tipton looks in-depth at how to make the best use of the acoustic room correction possibilities of the ARC System.

I recently purchased a pair of MTX Audio Monitor 5i 5.25″ bookshelf speakers because I needed small monitors for a new computer. I do some audio restoration, so I wanted good sound quality when I wasn’t using headphones. My tests determined that the reviewers were right about the MTX 5i’s weakness in the midrange frequencies. I measured the response and it was not especially flat. This convinced me to update the drivers. This article was originally published in audioXpress, June 2013.

Usually we think of noise as a signal to be eliminated, or at least reduced, in any audio system. However, noise can be a very useful test signal because it is inherently broadband, which is faster and perhaps more accurate than spot or swept frequency testing. Article originally published by Voice Coil, December 2010