CEVA Bluetooth Dual Mode 5.3 Platform Now SIG Qualified for Wireless Audio
CEVA announced that its RivieraWaves Bluetooth Dual Mode 5.3 Platform has achieved Bluetooth SIG Qualification, along with its GAF (Generic Audio Framework) and LC3 codec. As the first IP company to receive Bluetooth Dual Mode 5.3 qualification, CEVA brings the latest improvements in Bluetooth connectivity and LE Audio to the market, lowering the entry barriers for semiconductors and OEMs targeting LE Audio applications. 1 billion CEVA-powered Bluetooth devices are estimated to have shipped in 2021.
The Vitec Group Acquires Audix Microphones
The Vitec Group, an international conglomerate of hardware products and software solutions for content creation, announced that it completed the acquisition of Audix, the microphone manufacturer from Portland, Oregon, which in the past three years has successfully executed the most ambitious product catalog expansion in its history. With the acquisition, The Vitec Group expands its audio hardware business established with the 2018 acquisition of Rycote, the manufacturer of advanced microphone windshields and suspension systems.
Shure Improves SRH840A and SRH440A Headphones
Many of today’s content creators, professional musicians, and recording artists will underscore the importance of using gear that looks as good as it sounds. With this in mind, Shure has unveiled new enhancements and improvements to its portfolio of SRH Headphones. Featuring significant product design upgrades and nuanced improvements to sound quality, the second-generation SRH440A and SRH840A Headphones provide improved audio reproduction, long-wearing comfort, and durability.
PHABRIX Manufactures 8000th Handheld Signal Test Unit
PHABRIX, the manufacturer of video and audio broadcast Test and Measurement instruments that was acquired by Leader Electronics in 2019, announced that the 8000th of its Sx handheld unit is about to roll off the company’s production line. This significant milestone helps cement the brand's position as the broadcast industry’s most popular test and measurement device despite only being launched not even 14 years ago.
Røde Introduces Next-Generation VideoMic GO II Compact Shotgun Microphone
Røde expanded its legendary range of on-camera microphones, introducing the VideoMic GO II, an ultra-lightweight and compact shotgun microphone that’s packed with innovative features for today’s content creators. Like the original VideoMic GO, one of Røde’s best-selling on-camera microphones, the VideoMic GO II offers sound quality while being very simple to use, and now with the addition of USB-C also adds a few new tricks up its sleeve that make it extremely powerful and versatile.
Patent Review: Extended Duct with Damping for Improved Speaker Performance
This article reviews a patent granted to Apple, describing an electronic audio device including an enclosure having an acoustic output opening and a speaker positioned within the enclosure, as implemented in the company’s range of iMac desktop computers. The speaker and the acoustic output opening are acoustically coupled by an acoustic output pathway and damping chamber. Apple’s patent cites the Matsushita patent as prior art, but this is a more developed concept. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, December 2015.
audioXpress February 2022 Captures the Sound of Today
The February 2022 edition of audioXpress is now available and features our annual Market Update on Microphone technology. Vikrant Singh Tomar discusses TinyML and Voice Recognition Technology On the Edge, Richard Honeycutt writes about Quantification of Speech Intelligibility, and Mike Klasco expands on audio applications for Haptic Devices. George Ntanavaras builds a phono and line/headphone amplifier project, Brian Bylenok proposes a refined Current Feedback Headphone Amplifier, and Richard Honeycutt reminds us that Tube Power Amps also have Classes. Now available in print and online.
Fresh From the Bench: USound Megaclite 4.0 UH-R2040 MEMS Earphones
The Megaclite 4.0 UH-R2040 is a reference design based on USound's Achelous UT-P2018 MEMS drivers, comparable in length and width to smaller balanced armatures, but thinner. They’re SMT reflow-compatible, so easy to incorporate into automatic assembly processes. Brent Butterworth listened, measured, and compared the performance of this new design against conventional in-ear products using established driver technologies. This article was originally published in audioXpress, October 2021.
Zorloo Unveils Dual-Mode Zophia Wire.less Earphones and Earbuds
To Wire or Not To Wire? Why not have both? Zorloo, a consumer electronics brand from Hong Kong introduced a product design that does both and manages to explore the best of wired or wireless audio. The Zophia Wire.less earphones support both modes by combining Bluetooth 5.2 with aptX support, with a built-in USB-DAC on the pluggable cable that allows listening to Hi-Res Audio and MQA files at their best.
TDK Expands SmartSound Family of Performance MEMS Microphones and Introduces New MEMS Microphone with SoundWire at CES 2022
TDK introduced new digital MEMS microphones as part of its SmartSound family of products for mobile, TWS, and other consumer devices, providing advanced feature sets in small package footprints. The T5848 offers the highest dynamic range with I2S direct audio connectivity to a wide variety of SoCs, MCUs and IoT processors. And TDK also introduced the T5828 MEMS microphone with MIPI SoundWire functionality, adding 68dBA SNR and Acoustic Activity Detect features with always-on ultra-low power mode.