Hottinger Bruel & Kjaer Electroacoustics Virtual Conference Takes Place September 28 - 29

Registration is now open for the upcoming Electroacoustic Virtual Conference, an event promoted by Hottinger Bruel & Kjaer (HBK), which this year will be fully online and offers an exciting two-day program. The Electroacoustic Conference will offer presentations from experts in all areas related with sound, noise, acoustics and vibration, with more than 21 presentations already scheduled. Sessions include presentations from companies such as Head-Fi, XMEMS Micro Speakers, Comsol, Embody VR, Vibrations Inc., Harman International and more.

Mike Klasco writes about xMEMS Piezo Microspeakers. How Piezo MEMS Address Development Challenges to Combine the Compact, Consumer-Friendly Form Factor of TWS With Hearing Assistance Features Into a Single Product. How Piezoelectric MEMS Microspeakers devices promise to enhance OTC hearing augmentation solutions, increasing comfort, while adding features and extending battery life. This article was originally published in The Audio Voice newsletter, June 3, 2021 (#330)

In this article for Voice Coil, Mike Klasco (Menlo Scientific) recaps MEMS Drivers and related hot technologies for 2021, providing an update about products and companies that stood out in 2020. The article, which summarizes the more extensive reports published by audioXpress in January 2020 and 2021, looks at the impact of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for audio and discusses the implications for other game-changing technologies that reduce size, increase performance, extend battery life, and enhance features and functionality in headphones, wearables and compact speakers.

Following a year of private demonstrations of its novel MEMS speaker design, xMEMS Labs is now coming out of stealth mode with is first piezo-MEMS speaker. Montara is the name for what the company claims to be "the world’s first true MEMS speaker," using a monolithic process that eliminates calibration and driver matching, and is SMT-ready. Montara also offers full-bandwidth (20Hz-20kHz), and is fully water, dust and shock resistant.

In this article for Voice Coil focused on MEMS loudspeakers, Mike Klasco reviews a bit of the history of the technology and previews the evolution and impact on the audio industry in general. The article examines MEMS devices in general, provides a basic explanation of how the various types of MEMS speakers work, and what commercialization challenges are ahead. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, December 2019.

xMEMS Labs, a MEMS solutions startup headquartered in Los Altos, California, announced the demonstration of a novel MEMS speaker for earphone applications. This demo, according to the company, showcases not only the benefits of MEMS technologies with small size and low power consumption, but also its scalable design that will enable applications in many markets. The company, which has not yet revealed specifics on their MEMS speaker technology, claims to have developed a complete MEMS process that reduces manufacturing complexities.