As fast as the world of audio is developing, all of our headphones still use physical amplifiers to generate sound which is then pushed against a diaphragm and into our ears. This approach traces its beginnings to over 100 years ago but today xMEMS Labs is offering an alternative with their Cypress ultrasonic solid-state speaker for TWS earbuds. These speakers ditch the physical amplifiers and instead rely on ultrasonic sound pulses which are normally imperceptible to human hearing.
The key development made by xMEMS is the
company’s ultrasonic amplitude modulation transduction. The speaker can
generate ultrasonic sound pulses which are then pushed to a demodulator to
transform the sound pulses into audible sound for the user. Ultrasonic pulses
offer an exact acoustic copy of their source signal which should translate to
superior audio reproduction across all sound frequencies. Cypress ultrasound
speakers are claimed to offer better quality and more detailed sound compared
to coil speakers while still supporting hi-res and spatial audio.
Each Cypress MEMS speaker fits in a tiny
6.3 x 6.5 x 1.65mm package and should also offer louder and deeper bass than
conventional speakers. The company claims its new ultrasound speaker can
produce 140dB low-frequency sound pressure level (SPL) and go as low as 20Hz.
Another advantage is the wider ANC bandwidth allowing earbuds with Cypress MEMS
speakers to drown out more unwanted higher frequency noises around you. The new
speakers are also touted to offer lower latency thanks to their constant
electrical-to-acoustic conversion time.
The Cypress ultrasonic speakers from xMEMS
will be demonstrated at CES 2024 while mass production is expected to start in
late 2024. The company did not share any pricing details just yet but it did
reveal it has reached a manufacturing partnership with TSMC which will make
them cost-competitive with mass-market speakers for wireless headphones and
earbuds.