New Materials for Earphones and Headphones

For the January 2019 edition of Voice Coil magazine, Mike Klasco and Nora Wong have compiled a special Focus article on New Materials for Earphones and Headphones. For those looking to differentiate their new products, the two Menlo Scientific consultants provide a unique and valuable perspective on multiple possibilities and designs for drivers, materials for assemblies and enclosures, choices for headbands and ear cushions, signal processing, and even cables.

With a very discreet announcement on their own website, SEAS Fabrikker has stepped ahead of many other major loudspeaker manufacturers with the commercial introduction of a graphene-coated 5-inch woofer. And the new W16NX003 model also signals the launch of a completely new series of Excel Graphene woofers, as the company confirms. "More than a thousand engineering hours and significant investments have been put into the Excel Graphene product line, and the W16NX003 is the first one," they state.

Optoma launched the Optoma NuForce BE Free5, its latest generation of true wireless stereo earbuds, focusing on quality sound, improved comfort and reliability. On the heels of introducing the popular Optoma NuForce BE Free8 first generation true wireless earphones in 2017, Optoma now leveraged Qualcomm's latest technology to produce a smaller, ergonomic design. At only $99, the Optoma NuForce BE Free5 break the price barrier for truly wireless earphones, featuring dynamic graphene-coated drivers.

audioXpress February 2018 explores the progress being made by ORA Sound and GraphAudio, two pioneering companies with distinctly different approaches to the use of graphene based transducers. We explain why open reel analog tapes are coming back in force, the differences between Line Source and Point Source speakers, and how Dante Domain Manager is providing an integrated approach to media network management. All this and much more, now available!

ERATO Audio, the pioneers of true wireless earbuds, have revealed the latest addition to their product line, which already includes four other models. The next-generation ERATO VERSE earbuds feature a new 5.8mm graphene driver, and leverages the best features from its successful Apollo 7 design, also recently updated with the Apollo 7s model. Each earbud only weighs 4.5 grams, and the VERSE design is IPX5 water and sweat proof.

Who says nothing exciting is happening in the loudspeaker industry? As the April 2017 edition of Voice Coil demonstrates, evolution is making headway in our industry. Read about the new GrapheneQ material from ORA Sound, how things are evolving in Microspeaker Design, and discover the major players in this exciting market. Also, learn what you need to generate Measurements for Loudspeaker Modeling Files and on drivers from two high-end manufacturers, Accuton and ETON, in Test Bench.

The GSMA association announced the latest initiatives and schedule of events for the 2017 Mobile World Congress, unveiling newly confirmed keynote speakers for the conference and additional participating companies. The Mobile World Congress will be held 27 February – 2 March 2017 at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona, with events also taking place at Fira Montjuïc. Even though this is mainly the world stage for mobile operators and smartphone manufacturers, the show is increasingly a launch pad for the latest wireless audio technologies.