The Acoustical Challenges of Designing True Wireless Earphones

Expanding the perspective on the evolution toward hearables, this article explores the current trends as well as the acoustical challenges and solutions for designing true wireless earphones. The article explains the enabling technologies currently converging as the TWS market continues to grow and use cases multiply, with more consumers using wireless earbuds for a diverse and varied set of applications, from listening to podcasts and audiobooks to Internet meetings and interacting with voice assistants. This article was originally published in audioXpress, April 2022.

To expand our readers' perspective on the topic of true wireless earbuds and hearables, defined as ear-worn electronic devices, this article discusses how hearable technology is at the intersection of wearables and headphones, and was designed for multi-purpose use, including voice transmission, sound amplification, and wireless communications. The CEO of Fluent.ai details how consumers' expectations for using earbuds everywhere, including for work communications in noisy public environments, is pushing technology to face the challenges at the source, on-device. This article was originally published in audioXpress, April 2022.

The April 2022 issue of audioXpress offers an overview of voice for true wireless stereo earbuds with contributed articles from Knowles and Fluent.ai. Stuart Yaniger reviews the possibilities with GaN amplifiers, and Steve Temme explains the evolution of Rub & Buzz measurements and the latest perceptual algorithms. Ethan Winer designs a sample & hold circuit for a guitar-controlled, all-analog synthesizer project, Richard Honeycutt explores the meaning of “frequency response” as applied to rooms, and Mark Driedger explains why and how to test tubes.