Product Design | Audio Electronics | Acoustics | DIY | Audio Innovations
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Qualcomm Announces Snapdragon Sound S5 and S3 Gen 2 Chipsets for Bluetooth LE Audio Products
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During its Snapdragon Summit 2022, Qualcomm unveiled the latest generation of Snapdragon processors and chips that will power mobile devices, wearables, and countless consumer electronics and audio devices to be introduced in 2023. The Snapdragon S5 Gen 2 and the Snapdragon S3 Gen 2 Bluetooth audio chipsets are the evolution from the devices announced in 2022, designed to support Bluetooth LE Audio. Read More
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Spatial Introduces Spatial Space Kit Hardware and Software Solution for Immersive Audio Experiences
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Spatial, the company that offers immersive audio experiences as a service, announced the preview of the Spatial Space Kit, a turnkey all-in-one solution that includes pre-configured hardware with Spatial’s powerful software to make it easier than ever to bring immersive audio to commercial applications. Leveraging years of immersive audio experience design, the new Spatial Space Kit combines purpose-built speakers designed in collaboration with Sonance, a connected amplifier, and seamless access to Spatial’s robust scene library . Read More
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DSP Concepts and Analog Devices Collaborate on Solution for Rapid Design of In-Vehicle Audio Entertainment Systems
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DSP Concepts is collaborating with Analog Devices on a solution for automotive OEMs aimed at accelerating design cycles and reducing costs for in-vehicle audio system implementation. The new end-to-end development ADI LISTN EZ-AUDIO system will enable versatile, differentiated audio entertainment projects using Analog Devices’ SHARC+ DSP technology and the newly optimized Audio Weaver development platform from DSP Concepts to reduce design complexity and costs. Read More
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Bluetooth SIG Targets 6GHz Frequency Band Mid-Band Spectrum Expansion Project
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Following international trends and increasing use for Wi-Fi 6E, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), a trade association that oversees Bluetooth technology, announced a new specification development project to define the operation of Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) in additional unlicensed mid-band spectrum, including the 6GHz frequency band. The new spectrum expansion project will help ensure that much-needed Bluetooth performance enhancements can continue well into the future. Read More
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Røde Releases NT-USB+ Professional USB-C Microphone with Built-In DSP Processing Features
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Røde has announced a new addition to its range of USB microphones, the NT-USB+. Based on the original and extremely popular NT-USB, the NT-USB+ is a professional-grade, class-compliant USB-C microphone loaded with next-generation features. It is also compact, portable, and versatile, making it an ideal plug-and-play microphone for musicians, podcasters, streamers, and even professionals who want to capture the best quality sound with ease. Read More
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Descript Transforms Transcription-Based Editing with New Product Release
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Descript, an AI-powered platform that simplifies video and audio editing, launched its biggest product update ever – reinventing the video editor as a simple tool to sit alongside docs and slides. Loaded with AI-powered magic, the new Descript is even easier to use, and offers more powerful, versatile new features. Descript also announced a $50 million Series C round led by OpenAI Startup Fund with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Redpoint Ventures, Spark Capital, and Daniel Gross. Read More
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CEVA Introduces Voice User Interface Solution for TI SimpleLink Wi-Fi Wireless MCUs
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CEVA announced the availability of its WhisPro speech recognition and control software to support designs using the Texas Instruments (TI) SimpleLink Wi-Fi CC3235x wireless MCU family, bringing ultra-low power, robust voice user interface to connected devices. The WhisPro Software Development Kit (SDK) allows full project customization, including choice of wake words and voice commands, and runs entirely on-device, without the need for a network connection. Read More
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LC3plus Certified for Hi-Res Audio Wireless by the Japan Audio Society
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The LC3plus codec, co-invented and licensed by Fraunhofer IIS, has received the Hi-Res Audio Wireless certification logo issued by the Japan Audio Society, following an extensive objective and subjective testing process. This shows that LC3plus High-Resolution meets the criteria set by the Japan Audio Society, in particular the support of a 96kHz sampling rate, at least 24 bits per audio sample, and the ability to reproduce frequencies of 40kHz and above . Read More
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Editor's Desk
J. Martins
(Editor-in-Chief)
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The 2023 Trade Show Year
Plan for CES 2023. Anticipate Change.
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"CES is the most influential technology event in the world – the proving ground for breakthrough technologies and global innovators. This is where the world's biggest brands do business and meet new partners, and the sharpest innovators hit the stage. Owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), CES features every aspect of the tech sector."
This quoted introduction is CTA's own description of the event that defines how technology will look for the rest of the year, and a description that I find very fitting. While there are bigger trade shows in Europe and Asia, CES remains the most influential and the most widely reaching. And its impact is the direct result of the diversity of technology sectors and markets that find a welcoming home at the annual Las Vegas, NV, show. From its origins in the generic "consumer electronics" concept, CES has evolved to become the place that defines technologies.
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CES is the most influential technology event in the world – the proving ground for breakthrough technologies and global innovators.
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It's not accidental that CES happens so early, at the start of each year. That's because most business people involved in technology are available to kick-start the year in full force at that time. If you have a business that pertains to the industry, you need to go to CES. Those companies that exhibit make a mark for the rest of the year, and those that don't will struggle for attention the rest of the year (with the exception of Apple, which still attends in full force but doesn't exhibit).
I have written many times about trade shows and the importance of trade shows in marketing strategies, but I felt it was time to talk about CES 2023 now because this is the right moment to provide a final warning for those who are still having second thoughts, those afraid to get back in action, or those still affected by the pandemic-induced numbness. As we all know, there's nothing better than an early start. And as I advised in my editorial published in 2020, in the first months of the pandemic, "You want to be ready to respond to the markets that recover first. The last problem you want to face is things returning to normality and not being prepared for it!"
In that same editorial I also advised: Plan for a Return. Anticipate changes. Plan for different rules.
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I have fond memories of CES 2020, and I'm eager to get back in 2023. Many of the audio companies I highlighted from the 2022 event will be high on my list.
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I hear of people wary of what the year ahead might bring, fearing the very real effects of inflation, geopolitical instability, or afraid of the recession overcast. But I also hear - frequently from the same sources - that business remains strong, and demand for products and services has never been higher, as one would expect from a post-pandemic relief. These are very unusual circumstances and I believe one should not strategize based on variables we cannot control.
Actual challenges continue to be the supply chain instability, manufacturing hurdles resulting from the prolonged COVID restrictions in China, transportation and logistical problems, and the difficulty in hiring for much-needed engineering and technical positions. Those are the circumstances that deserve attention and taking action.
For those who didn't plan for change, the last thing you should do is wait or do nothing. Standing still is the worse strategy.
One of the main reasons why I believe some trade shows will be crucial in 2023 has to do with the supply chain problems. Very few companies have full control over their complete production chain, and many are selling existing inventory without any certainty of being able to restock current portfolios. In the multiple industry events I attended in 2022, I have witnessed that most companies were still struggling on how to be fully transparent about those challenges.
In 2023, there's very little room to kick the can down the road, leave unfinished products on the production lines, and not being open about these challenges. It's important for brands to admit the need to discontinue products they are no longer able to manufacture. And more importantly, start promoting future production and road maps based on new designs adjusted to availability. Those who have openly admitted their struggles, and have adjusted more quickly, are in a good place now. In 2023, everyone will need to be very realistic in terms of their abilities to actually ship what they are promoting, and promote based on the ability to deliver.
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There's no show like CES to gain a perspective of how key technologies and innovations are incorporated in actual product concepts. At the annual show we can find both the technology providers and the brands that are using the technology.
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Remember the term "off-the-shelf"? And when we associated "off-the-shelf" to things that were readily available?
As the pandemic effects revealed, off-the-shelf products are ones that manufacturers basically "dumped" in large volumes to distribution channels and forgot about. When those "off-the-shelf" products sell out - more often than not, the manufacturer is unable to resume production of the exact same item for all sorts of reasons (including factories that had closed more than 10 years ago, as we've learned).
And the frightening discovery was the realization that some of these items, including widely used electronic components, were sitting on shelves for many years, and no one was really controlling the whole inventory given it was all being held by "omnichannel" suppliers or global distributors that have very good inventory management on their own, but apparently don't report back to factories and are not sharing that information outside of their own systems. The result is, manufacturing clients who have been sustaining production from "off-the-shelf" components without really any notion of the risks. Once they realized what was happening, it was too late.
Yes, many manufacturers have reacted quickly and anticipated the need to redesign boards, replace core processors, and even rethink and renew whole products. In the circumstances that a brand has committed to long-term delivery - as it happens for many government, military, and commercial projects - under the inevitability of not being able to keep an item in production, it's critical to ensure minimum stocks are kept for existing projects, while ensuring that an improved direct replacement is offered in time. This will be a trend in 2023. Not necessarily introducing completely new concepts, but instead offering products that improve and replace existing items in a catalog. Whenever possible, updating products to the latest and forward-looking technologies.
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There's no other show in the world where a visitor can find innovators and start-ups side by side with the largest companies in the world, and find a new flying car in the next booth.
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Although there are many trade shows lining up for the first months of the next year, CES 2023 will be the first, and it will be also unique for many reasons. The Bluetooth LE Audio transition is one of the key topics. As well as the fact that this will be the first and largest Smart Home focused trade show since the publication of the Matter 1.0 specification. And there's also strong momentum for hearables, wearables, and true wireless designs, all the excitement around Edge AI, sensor fusion, MEMS (microphones and speakers), USB Power Delivery (USB-C), smart amps, and many more pieces of the technology puzzle, of which the audio industry is a part. And specifically for CES, all the incredible levels of innovation in automotive technologies surround the car platform itself. And those are just some of the core reasons for audio industry professionals to be excited.
And there's another important topic to address. CES is a very strong B2B trade show in all technology areas. For each exhibitor that holds a booth in one of the multiple show floors (in the many Tech Areas and many different locations), there is another company with a business suite or invitation-only showcase around Las Vegas. For every registered visitor to CES, there is another trade supplier in town doing business with those exhibiting companies. Increasingly, there is a whole ecosystem of vendors and suppliers doing business with industry companies and OEM/ODMs who are just visiting. And with the pandemic having made CES smaller, and consequently some of the best located rooms and spaces becoming again available, this whole B2B ecosystem will get closer to the show itself - and is likely to grow.
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Immersive, spatial, multichannel, object-based audio and binaural rendering are key topics in the audio industry, and CES 2023 will allow an overview of how the consumer electronics industry is embracing those technologies.
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As previously announced, audioXpress is supporting the Audio and Loudspeaker Technologies International (ALTI) Association Hospitality Suite at CES 2023, located on Level 3 of the Venetian Expo and Convention Center (that used to be the Sands convention center). In Suite Lido 3101B, ALTI is welcoming a number of associated member companies, including Menlo Scientific, Nuvoton, DB Enterprises, SensiBel, Composite Sound, Dinaburg Technologies, Radian Audio, Ferrotec, Audio Codecs, Sonical.ai, and others, all of which are key technology, speaker and parts suppliers for the audio industry. The ALTI suite is also the place where copies of audioXpress and Voice Coil magazines will be available.
Barry Vogel, ALTI's Executive Director, is already busy planning further B2B initiatives to support ALTI member companies in other important audio industry events next year. Details to be soon announced. Meanwhile, preparations for a strong return to the DoubleTree by Hilton in Orlando, FL, for ALTI Expo and Conference 2023 (June 11-12, 2022) is also well under way.
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The ALTI Suite at CES 2023 is where all companies in the audio industry will converge during the mega Las Vegas annual event. A place to organize meetings, reorganize between meetings, and network with other key audio companies during the show.
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Audio Objects as Platform Technology in Vehicles
By Christoph Sladeczek (Fraunhofer IDMT)
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This article on the use of object-based audio for automotive audio was one of the key presentations at the June 2022 Automotive Audio AES conference in Detroit. With the emergence of immersive entertainment and personalized sound staging for automotive audio, the article describes a new workflow comprising the rendering of audio objects, for the production and tuning process, as well as the implementation on resource-limited hardware. Since the object-based audio is independent of the loudspeaker setup, this significantly reduces the complexity of the tuning processes for car manufacturers. Essential reading for those working directly in automotive platforms, but also for those working with object-based spatial audio implementations. This article was originally published in audioXpress, September 2022. Read the Full Article Now Available Here
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SEAS’ W15CH001 5.25” Excel Hexadym Motor Midwoofer
By Vance Dickason
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This Test Bench explores the W15CH001 5.25" Excel Midwoofer from Norwegian high-end loudspeaker stalwart SEAS, which Vance Dickason considers to be one the most highly inventive and innovative out-of-box Hexadym Motor designs from the company. The article details all that is unique in this midwoofer design and its historical motivations, helping to solve the problem of reflections off the motor system and frame of a woofer back into the cone. The problem that motivated SEAS' engineers to develop its patented Hexadym radially charged magnetic motor structure - US Patent 6,020,805 (filed in December 1998 and granted in December 2000). A fascinating exploration with complete measurements. This article was originally published in Voice Coil, July 2022. Read the Full Article Now Available Here
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Advancing the Evolution
of Audio Technology
audioXpress features great articles, projects, tips, and techniques for the best in quality audio. It connects manufacturers and distributors with audio engineers and enthusiasts eager for innovative solutions in sound, acoustic, and electronics.
Voice Coil, the periodical for the loudspeaker industry, delivers product reviews, company profiles, industry news, and design tips straight to professional audio engineers and manufacturers who have the authority to make powerful purchasing decisions.
The Loudspeaker Industry Sourcebook is the most comprehensive collection of listings on loudspeaker material in the industry. Purchasers and decision makers refer to the guide for an entire year when making selections on drivers, finished systems, adhesives, domes, crossovers, voice coils, and everything in between.
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