Audio brands and manufacturers can now buy cutting-edge reference designs for solid-state, all-silicon micro speakers online to bring new generations of true wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds and in-ear monitors (IEMs) to market faster, xMEMS Labs said Tuesday.
This is another step toward realizing the “ultrasonic revolution” I wrote about in-depth in November 2023. In it, old-school speaker technology still used even in tiny earbuds may give way to new solid-state tech providing the full sonic range digitally compressed audio has compromised.
“Steve Jobs was a digital pioneer, but when he went home, he listened to vinyl,” classic rocker and noted audiophile Neil Young once said. He was getting at all the sonic detail lost to digital compression in forms like MP3 files.
xMEMS Labs debuts solid-state reference designs for TWS earbuds and IEMs
So xMEMS Labs now lets companies buy its patent-supported reference designs for two separate solid-state, all-silicon micro speakers directly from its online store. xMEMS hopes this helps put new waves of earbuds and IEMs on a faster path to market.
“All the talk about hi-res music delivery and lossless or spatial formats is premature. Few can tell the difference — unless they listen through hi-res, solid-state speakers,” said Mike Housholder, xMEMS Labs’ vice president of Marketing and Business Development, in a blog post. He reminded me of the Neil Young quote and the singer’s early efforts to reproduce lossless audio.
And as a reminder, xMEMS Labs has made inroads into the consumer audio market already. Some earbuds and IEMs already incorporate its solid-state drivers. These include products from companies like Soranik, Singularity Industries and Noble, as well as Creative’s surprisingly affordable earbuds.
Driving faster adoption
Photo: xMEMS Labs
xMEMS Labs names one design now up for sale “Harding.” It’s for two-way TWS earbuds that still include a traditional dynamic driver as a woofer but also a solid-state speaker for mid- and high-range frequencies. The other one, “Montara Plus,” is for audiophile-level full-range IEMs. And of course the point here is to make it as easy as possible for manufacturers to incorporate the new drivers in products and make them available to customers.
“As we continue to build momentum and awareness around our MEMS-based technologies that deliver a better sounding speaker with greater production efficiency and uniformity, we’re doing everything we can to support every customer who understands the value of making MEMS speakers part of their future product story,” said Mike Housholder, xMEMS vice president of Marketing and Business Development.
“That’s why we’re making available for purchase a limited number of our TWS earbud and IEM designs to any forward-looking brand or manufacturer seeking a roadmap for the fastest possible adoption of xMEMS technology,” he added.
You can read much more about the technology and its benefits in my previous posts: here and here.
Laying it all out for an easy build
Photo: xMEMS Labs
Buyers of each design will also be able to request complete xMEMS design files, including acoustic, mechanical and electrical components.
Here’s xMEMS Labs’ description of the Harding design:
The Harding 2-way TWS earbud design delivers superior high-frequency response and clarity featuring Cowell, the world’s smallest solid-state micro speaker. Cowell serves as the tweeter for highly realistic mids and highs and is paired with a custom-designed 9-mm dynamic driver woofer that delivers thumping bass. This ANC-ready (Active Noise Canceling) design embeds a Qualcomm Bluetooth Audio SoC and three microphones per earbud for noise canceling.
All told, Harding is a turn-key ODM design that’s fully integrated with all the needed components and expertly tuned acoustics to enable a seamless transition from legacy coil speakers to all-silicon micro speakers in TWS earbuds.
And this is the description for the more-advanced, full-range Montara Plus:
Montara Plus, the world’s highest output MEMS micro speaker, is the ideal full-bandwidth transducer for an IEM reference design that delivers sound pressure levels up to 120 dB @ 200 Hz. This USB-C IEM design embeds a hi-res audio DAC from Synaptics and a voice microphone for phone call and web support.
Furthermore, Montara Plus’ lightning-fast transient response and wide bandwidth (20Hz to >40kHz) achieve the highest fidelity and clarity in a simplified, single speaker IEM, creating a path to smaller, lighter, simpler IEM designs without the phase alignment and design complexities of multi-driver IEM implementations.
“We’re seeing demand for xMEMS speakers grow exponentially as brands all over the globe try to stand out in the market and streamline their production efforts,” Housholder said. “By selling these reference designs, we’re doing our part to ensure the switch to MEMS speakers is as smooth and efficient as possible so more brands, manufacturers and their customers can soon benefit from xMEMS’ industry-changing innovations.”
Consumer audio brands and manufacturers can buy each reference design for $988 per unit at xMEMS Labs.
