Write a commentIf the title didn’t give it away, I figured this was a perfect time to take a look at some tech and tech-adjacent things coming in 2025. In all three cases, they have potential ramifications for 2026 and beyond as well. Perhaps that’s a bit too grandiose. Maybe it’d be less hyperbolic to say “here’s some stuff you should be aware of” when it comes to the narrow niche we cover here at SoundStage! Solo.
MEMS
There are three main categories of transducers modern headphones use to create sound. By far the most common is the dynamic category, essentially scaled-down traditional speakers, cones and all. Then there’s balanced armature, a fascinating tech found in the occasional earbud design. The third, planar magnetic, is found in big over-ears and, very occasionally, earbuds. There are a few other technologies, like electrostatic headphones, but they’re pretty rare.
MEMS, or micro-electromechanical systems, technically aren’t new. You probably have one in your phone right now, likely as the microphone. Wire it differently, and a MEMS microphone can become a MEMS speaker and vice versa (don’t try that at home—results may vary), so MEMS drivers have been finding their way into the occasional earphones for a few years now. SoundStage! Solo alum Brent Butterworth tested a pair for AudioXpress, for instance, and Creative has two pairs that also include dynamic drivers working alongside.
What’s the difference? Well, to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy, dynamic drivers use magnets, while MEMS drivers use piezos. They’re technically motors, and in this case, they’re attached to silicon membranes that produce sound with no magnetic field, impressive water resistance, and the potential for easy manufacturing.
There are pros and cons of any technology, so it will be interesting to find out what this new tech could mean for the earphone market, and likely the headphone market too if a MEMS driver is paired with a traditional dynamic driver. Maybe nothing, maybe something, we shall see. Uh, hear. We shall hear. Or at least I will, anyway, with some demos at CES next week.
Auracast
It seems we’ll start seeing a wider variety of products with Auracast this year. Auracast is part of LE Audio, which is available starting with Bluetooth 5.2. Essentially, it’s “Bluetooth broadcasting.” For the most part, Bluetooth has been used for device-to-device communication—providing a one-to-one connection for data transfer, including audio. Auracast has a single source, but allows the connection of multiple, potentially unlimited, devices.
Imagine a concert where, instead of music playing over loudspeakers, everyone’s earbuds are playing the same audio feed. Can’t hear a panelist at an event because of a bad PA system? Use your earbuds connected via Auracast to the same audio. Imagine an easy connection to the audio from a TV at the gym. There are lots of possibilities for this multiplayer Bluetooth mode.
We should see more support for Auracast this year, possibly with a few companies announcing support for previous products via a firmware update (if they had LE Audio support already).
The FTC
A few months ago, the US Federal Trade Commission announced it was “banning fake reviews and testimonials.” The idea is to “combat fake reviews and testimonials by prohibiting their sale or purchase and allow the agency to seek civil penalties against knowing violators.” To crib directly from its ruling, this aims to prohibit:
- Fake or false consumer reviews, consumer testimonials, and celebrity testimonials
- Buying positive or negative reviews
- Insider reviews and consumer testimonials
- Company-controlled review websites
- Review suppression
- Misuse of fake social-media indicators
On its surface, this is all a good thing. As someone who has made his living for two-and-a-half decades reviewing products, I am all for punishing sites too lazy or corrupt to do their own testing. And as someone with multiple books available, I am positive I lose sales to similar books that have 100,000 five-star ratings that were quite obviously purchased. For that matter, star ratings on Amazon and elsewhere have always been nonsense, and maybe this measure will address this. There are other potential positives in there too, and I recommend anyone interested check it out. The FTC also wrote a blog post about it, with the rather excellent title “We’ll pay you to give our new rule a good review.”
Honestly, though, I don’t think any of it will matter. Believe me, I wish I did. It’s all logical, fair, and pro-consumer, which is why I think it will amount to nothing. There are two reasons: Given the limited budget of the FTC, there is no way it could go after the infinite number of sites and companies that these rules are specifically trying to target. And if XYZ Corp from [INSERT COUNTRY YOU HATE] gets knocked by the FTC, it’ll just close down, wait a week, or a day, or maybe just hours, and launch XXYZZ Corp to start again. Which is to say, if someone is unethical enough to do the things this rule is trying to prevent, this rule isn’t going to stop them. The other reason is the, let’s say, “decidedly pro-business” administration coming into office in a few weeks. Is something like this high on its priority list? Probably not. Will it be if a company with deep pockets wants to push back on it? Almost certainly.
. . . Geoffrey Morrison
