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xMEMS Labs, the Santa Clara-based company that set out on a mission in 2023 to replace the traditional drivers used in many wireless earbuds with a new breed of silicon-based microspeaker, today announced the availability of two new “reference designs” it hopes will accelerate the adoption of its novel technology.

One is a hybrid two-way wireless earbud known as Harding (shown), the other a full-range in-ear-monitor (IEM). Potential retail pricing for products based on these designs was not included in today’s announcement but the cost to companies interested in pursuing one or the other is $988, which includes a complete set of design files in addition to the acoustic, mechanical, and electrical components.

Harding is an active noise canceling (ANC) design that mates an xMEMS Cowell mid/high-frequency driver with a traditional 0.4-inch (9 mm) dynamic driver for bass. Hailed as the world’s smallest solid-state microspeaker, the tweeter is said to deliver “superior high-frequency response and clarity.”

The IEM model is a USB design that incorporates a high-resolution Synaptics digital to analog converter (DAC) in addition to the xMEMS high-output Montara Plus solid-state microspeaker, which is described as the “ideal full-bandwidth transducer for an IEM reference design” — one capable of delivering sound pressure levels up to 120 dB at 200 Hz.

“Montara Plus’ lightning-fast transient response and wide bandwidth (20 Hz to >40 kHz) 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,” according to xMEMS Labs.

xMEMS solid-state driver technology is currently used in wireless earbuds from Creative and Noble Audio.

For more information on xMEMS Labs’ Harding reference design, click here.

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Related:

Tech Watch: Silicon-Based xMEMS Microspeakers (3/23/23)

xMEMS Labs Demonstrates Tiny Silicon Chip Speakers (4/18/23)

xMEMS: New Breed of ‘Ultrasonic’ Microspeakers Will Fundamentally Change Earbuds (11/14/23)

Noble Audio Adopts xMEMS Driver Tech for New Wireless Earbuds (12/13/23)

Noble Audio Uses Cutting-Edge xMEMS Driver Tech in Second Set of Earbuds (12/20/23)

Noble Audio Features All-Silicon Microspeaker in New Wireless Earbuds (4/1/24)