xMEMS Labs recently unveiled two reference designs for true wireless stereo earbuds and in-ear monitors. Harding is the name for its design for 2-way True Wireless Stereo earbuds, and the other is for audiophile-grade full-range in-ear-monitors (IEMs).
Both were briefly shown with a brief trial for Fierce Electronics at Sensors Converge off the show floor and have been shown to reviewers in recent months. Both are available in limited quantities for a limited time for manufacturers to review. Purchasers will be able to request the complete xMEMS design files for each reference design, including acoustic, mechanical and electrical components.
Harding features Cowell, a tiny solid-state micro speaker. It serves as the tweeter for mid and high frequencies and comes with a custom-design 9 mm dynamic driver woofer for bass sounds. It provide Active Noise Canceling with a Qualcomm Bluetooth Audio SoC and three mics per earbud for noise cancelling. Cowell was also featured inside earcups for 2-way headphones, described in an xMEMS blog and part of the demonstration for Fierce.
Mike Housholder, vice president of marketing, said Harding has all the components needed to allow manufacturers to transition from legacy coil speakers to all-silicon micro speakers with TWS earbuds.
Solid-state MEMS speakers are xMEMS’ claim to fame, with precise audio provided through using only silicon and the semiconductor manufacturing process. Housholder contends in a white paper that solid-state technologies are easier to make at scale and offer enhanced reliability, performance and, eventually, lower cost. At xMEMS, legacy speakers with concentrated coil/magnet drivers, spring and plastic diaphragms are being replaced with piezo drives.
“Solid state fidelity is not just a new way to build speakers,” he wrote. “It’s something much more…an opportunity to raise the expectations for audio clarity, precision and reproduction accuracy for consumer and professional earbuds.” Reviewers with acute hearing have noticed the higher quality.
“The arrival of MEMS speakers to the earbud world will raise the performance ceiling,” said Christian Thomas in SoundGuys.com earlier this year.
The Santa Clara, Calif., company was founded in 2018 and has $60 million in funding with more than 70 employees. It introduced a MEMS micro speaker, Montara Plus, last year and is providing it for the IEM design to deliver sound up to 120 dB at 200 Hz. A USB-C design embeds a hi-resolution audio DAC from Synaptics and a voice MEMS mic from Infineon for phone calls and web support.
Housholder said the reference designs will help ensure the industry switch to MEMS speakers. The reference designs are available for $988 per unit.