Audio Market Intelligence Update March 2021 - Positive Stats and Look Ahead

Every day at audioXpress we look carefully at market intelligence updates from the leading research firms, and we normally look at data-based reports from multiple sources, trying to get a clear vision of what is happening in the markets, and how forecasts look for the audio industry. audioXpress is focused on serving the audio industry, and we are more interested in providing market intelligence than publishing subjective opinions about the measurement systems used by YouTube headphone reviewers - which seems to be the latest focus even for many competent audio publications these days.

InvenSense, a TDK Group company, announced a comprehensive portfolio of new technology solutions during the 2021 Consumer Electronics Showcase. Among the expanded MEMS portfolio, the new T5838 SmartSound MEMS microphone offers a low power mode of just 130uAmps and a high-quality mode of 330uAmps, while supporting a dynamic range of 68dN SNR and 133dB AOP at 20kHz bandwidth. Optimized for smartphones, microphone arrays, smart speakers, and headsets, the T5838 supports configurable wake-on-sound at power levels as low as 20 µA.

TDK Corporation introduced the InvenSense T3902, which the company touts as the world’s lowest power Pulse Density Modulation (PDM) microphone for consumer devices. The new T3902 offers a high SNR of 64.5 dB, and high Acoustic Overload Point (AOP) of 120 dB in a very small package, optimized for mobile devices, wearables, headsets, TV remotes and more, supporting far-field communications, enabling clear audio capture in loud conditions, and ideal for voice recognition.

Parks Associates is predicting that headphones and earphones are likely to experience sales spikes with the world changing to Work at Home, Home Schooling, and Entertainment-In-Place. The company's research highlights the need for enhanced user experience to aid with device integration as audio market shifts from whole-room home theater systems to standalone connected devices. Podcast, music, and news consumption habits are also changing as a result of the current public health crisis with COVID-19.