Bluetooth Roadmap: The Promise of Wireless Audio Realized?

Hope is on the way for High-Quality Wireless Audio. The Bluetooth SIG is accelerating its technology updates and anticipating an ambitious roadmap of technology updates. With more than 50 active enhancement projects in process for upcoming specifications, including High Data Throughput, Bluetooth will evolve to support lossless codecs, high-resolution audio, and even multichannel formats. What should we expect next from Bluetooth?

DPA Microphones is moving into the wireless market with the release of its new N-Series Digital Wireless Microphone System. Announced at ISE 2025, the first wireless solution from the Danish company is a fully digital, true diversity wideband system, in a robust and easy-to-operate format that is well-suited to a wide array of live, rental, and installed systems applications. In addition to the dedicated wideband capabilities available with each N-Series device, DPA designed the solution to differentiate in its attention to every detail and increased flexibility.

Sennheiser unveiled Spectera, the first bidirectional wideband microphone and IEM solution using Wireless Multichannel Audio Systems (WMAS) technology, at IBC 2024. After that, it showcased the solution at numerous international trade shows. Now, Sennheiser is taking the first step for market introduction with the Spectera Pioneer Program, which gives selected customers from live audio and broadcasting the opportunity to experience the new technology in their daily work.

It didn’t take long for Shure to make its own WMAS (Wireless Multichannel Audio System) product announcement, leveraging the superior RF performance and audio quality associated with the multichannel wideband technology that significantly increases spectral efficiency. The new Shure Digital PSM wireless in ear monitor system is powered with WMAS innovation, and will be available early 2025. A solution that offers unmatched flexibility and scalability for monitor engineers, RF engineers, and rental houses.

At IBC 2024, Sennheiser unveiled Spectera, the world's first wideband, bidirectional, digital wireless ecosystem for microphones and monitoring. A major breakthrough for the company, the announcement follows the gradual global regulatory approval for the use of Wireless Multi-Channel Audio Systems (WMAS) technology. Designed to meet the challenges of highly demanding live performance and studio applications, Sennheiser is first-to market with this advanced wireless technology.

This is the eagerly awaited characterization of the new LM10n planar ribbon from Radian Audio, one of the most interesting drivers launched in 2023. Like all of Radian's latest planar transducers this one was designed by 35-year loudspeaker engineering veteran Igor Levitsky, with the LM10n being the latest and larger sized model, described as a wide range 120Hz to 20kHz ribbon planar transducer, which excels as a midrange and can be utilized in both open-back (dipole) and closed-back (monopole) formats.

This article expands the conversation around feedback theory for electronic circuits and audio amplifiers. Do we "really" need wideband open loop in audio amplifiers? The subject came up at the 154th Audio Engineering Society (AES) convention in Helsinki, Finland. Looking at the frequency domain, not necessarily, Jan Didden argued. In this article he looks at the question in the Time Domain. Narrow Bandwidth, High Open Loop Gain Amplifier versus a Wide Bandwidth, Low Open Loop Gain Amplifier in the Time Domain.

Although feedback theory for electronic circuits has been established for over a century, it is still a subject for discussion. This short essay is an attempt to shed some light on one of those recurring controversies. The subject came up at the 154th Audio Engineering Society (AES) convention in Helsinki, Finland. Audio amplifiers are basically integrators or, if you will, low-pass filters. That means that at some frequency, their open-loop gain starts to fall off. With that, the loop gain available for feedback also starts to fall off, leading to a diminishing of the curative effects of feedback: distortion starts to rise, gain accuracy starts to drop, output impedance starts to go up, etcetera.

Aviation pilots and professionals working in extremely noisy environments now have access to hearing protection and communication solutions that are able to reduce noise levels by up to 55 decibels. Two Swiss startups, KeepEars and AVAtronics have announced the successful prototype test and launch of the quietest earbuds on earth, able to be used as hearing protection and communications systems in extreme noisy environments, effectively canceling signals in a wide range of frequencies.

CEVA announced Bluebud-HD, a pre-configured software package for its Bluebud wireless audio platform that includes all the audio, voice and context-aware software required in premium TWS earbuds, gaming headsets, hearables, and other smart audio products. The company also updated its SenslinQ software framework and DSP tool kit for Bluebud that streamlines software migration from other processor architectures to the CEVA-BX1 DSP and virtualizes DSP programming for application developers.