Headphones are getting better and better, with advances in audio engineering coinciding with advances in wireless technology, active noise cancellation, and AI sound processing making the best headphones more accessible than ever. What style of headphones is right for you? Once upon a time, the way a pair of headphones sounded largely depended on how they were built; the size of the pilots, the quality of the materials, their shape and their form factor. Today, however, Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is an increasingly important deciding factor in the way our headphones sound, and as technology advances, this software is capable of improving the audio quality of headsets that would otherwise be held back by low-cost manufacturing equipment. . While DSP has been around for decades, the growing adoption of the technology in the audio world has led to an influx of premium headphones at affordable prices, with features like active noise cancellation, voice recognition, built-in equalizers, and even virtual surround sound. increasingly common, even in compact true wireless headphones. Audio features once the domain of expertly crafted high-end headphones can now be achieved without the need for expensive materials and bulky, powerful drivers, which begs the question: is good headphone hardware important? the DSP era? We spoke to Klipsch, an American speaker and headphone company, and Swedish audio processing company Dirac, about their new partnership and what it means for the relationship between hardware and software as the two pursue. companies to build the best helmet possible without breaking the bank.
What is digital signal processing?
Digital signal processing is a technology found in most modern audio devices, from headphones to smartphones in your pocket. It is integrated into these devices via a chip, which is designed to speed up audio algorithms; these algorithms can be used to fill the resulting gaps in the hardware. The active noise cancellation in true wireless headphones is a great example of DSP in action. In the past, headphone manufacturers relied on physical hardware to prevent ambient noise from entering the headphones and ruining your music. This was achieved through thick, heavily padded ear cups that completely surrounded your ears, physically preventing external sound from reaching your ears. In-ear headphones can also reproduce this effect (known as passive noise isolation) by using silicone or memory foam tips, which mold snugly in your ear. to create an airtight seal, preventing ambient sounds from entering. However, these methods have their drawbacks, and you'll be hard-pressed to find an ordinary pair of headphones that can completely block out ambient noise; they are simply capable of providing a strong enough physical barrier against the outside world. This is where DSP comes in. It works by using microphones built into the earcups to analyze ambient noise and create "noise canceling" frequencies that blend in with your music playback. This effectively cancels out the sound of your surroundings using analog or digital filters.
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AirPods Pro (pictured) come with active noise cancellation. (Image credit: Future) Innovations in active noise cancellation have meant that even small wireless headphones like the AirPods Pro and Sony WF-1000XM3 can block out ambient noise, even if they don't have the padded ear cups that once were a prerequisite for effective noise suppression. This is just one example of how DSP can be used to overcome deficiencies in headphone hardware. According to Sound Guys, “There's a DSP inside your smartphone to decode MP3 files, perform calculations for active noise cancellation, and recognize your voice when you say 'Hey Google! "". In addition, "DSP units are also found in wireless headphones to convert Bluetooth codes to analog signals, and home theater speakers to decode data streams into a surround sound experience."
A boost for physical deficiencies
Lars Isaksson, Commercial Director at Dirac, believes that making the perfect pair of headphones or earphones requires the use of software. "The key to great sound can be summed up in one word: balance," Isaksson tells us. "There are no resonances, no dead areas, nothing is overwhelming, everything is 'perfect'. Once you find the perfect place for each earphone, it blossoms and sounds full of life. Good material is always important, though," he acknowledges. "The most important aspect of material quality for Dirac is consistency of production. On some very low-cost headphones, we sometimes see a big difference between different headphones of the same model. But it's less of an issue these days since "Production quality has improved a lot in the last decade. And we always make sure to source multiple earbud samples from different batches and factories to make sure we make the right optimizations." Today's Best Klipsch T5 True Wireless Earbuds Klipsch T5 True Wireless ... Klipsch T5 True Wireless ... Klipsch T5 True ... Klipsch T5 In-Ear True ... For Dirac, a combination of physical construction and intelligent audio processing leads to the best sounding headphones. According to Isaksson, "When you put advanced technology and tools in the hands of some of the best engineers in the business, to manually build a configuration into a solid hardware design, magic happens." "Think of cars and improved performance when carburetors were replaced by electronic fuel injection—that's a good analogy for how software can make the same fundamental engine sing on a whole new level." Vlad Grodzinskiy, Prod. Manager at Klipsch Klipsch product manager Vlad Grodzinskiy agrees that this relationship is important when it comes to making headphones, saying that "hardware and software together can always perform better than either." of the two". Apple has proven this time and time again. “Some things in the physical realm are simply impossible to overcome, this is where the software mixes the limits,” says Grodzinskiy. “Think of cars and improved performance when carburetors have been replaced by electronic fuel injection. It's a good analogy for how software can blackmail the same basic engine to a whole new level." It's an exciting prospect, especially since Klipsch headphones already have an excellent reputation. The Klipsch T5 true wireless headphones are among the best wireless headphones around. that you can buy in 2020, thanks to its warm, detailed sound and beautiful design.
Make good sound cheaper
It is possible that the use of DSP makes the best headphones less expensive by reproducing sound from expensive drivers. As Grodzinskiy explains, Klipsch hopes his partnership with Dirac will help "bridge the gap between a dynamic speaker and a balanced armature." Dynamic drivers are known for their powerful low frequencies, obtained by moving a lot of air, while balanced armature drivers are preferred for their warm sound and high levels of detail, and are generally more expensive than dynamic drivers. While there are hybrid drivers, closing this gap with Dirac's audio software is likely to be more profitable for Klipsch, theoretically to address the shortcomings and exploit the strengths of both types of drivers without increasing the price for consumers.
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The Klipsch T10 headphones won't be cheap when they launch in the next few months. (Image credit: Klipsch) That said, you shouldn't expect Klipsch headphones to get significantly cheaper any time soon. While Isaksson and Grodzinskiy believe that audio processing can improve the sound of budget headphones, Klipsch isn't about to cut corners when it comes to producing its in-ear headphones — or lowering prices. consequently. The Klipsch T10 true wireless earphones, which have yet to be released, for example, are expected to cost €649 (around £490 / AU$930) when they launch in the coming months. A release date has yet to be confirmed, despite the headset announcement at CES 2020 in January. As Gronzinskiy said, "Delivering such a high-tech product in such a small form factor has turned out to be an easy task."
The best of both worlds
This is something else that DSP can help with: enabling smaller form factors, such as true wireless headphones, to deliver a level of audio quality comparable to over-ear headphones. Isaksson explains that "one of the difficulties of working in a small space like the ear is that there isn't much space before your material reaches a size that is literally painful for the listener", a problem that he thinks audio software de Dirac can help to solve it. overcome by solving "basic audio hardware problems". "Good hardware will always be useful, but it is not a substitute for good software." Lars Isaksson, Commercial Director. in Dirac So what can we expect future Klipsch headphones to sound like? Well, you won't be miles from other headphones on the market right now. "Klipsch isn't about distorting the sound of a headset, it's about enhancing clarity, depth and detail," says Isaksson. While these are all qualities we look for in headphones, we can't help but wonder if all this digital processing could negatively affect the accuracy of the sound.
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The best headphones (like the Focal Stellia, pictured above) shouldn't give your music its own characteristics. (Image credit: TechRadar) For many, the best headphones in the world deliver sound as close as possible to the sound the artist created in the studio, exactly how they wanted their music to sound. This means that the headphones shouldn't impart any of their own characteristics to the sound, which seems like a contradiction to us when software is added to the mix, much like when you spend years creating the perfect detachment 'just out of the read' hairstyle. . Unsurprisingly, Isaksson disagrees, saying software is "a requirement" in the quest to create the perfect helmet. He explains: “Audio equipment design is a series of trade-offs between material, acoustics, size, cost, appearance and other elements. "If I want to hear my music played the way the artist intended, I will always rely on a carefully digitally optimized system rather than an all-analog system. Good hardware will always be valuable, but it's no substitute for good software." It seems that good software can't replace good hardware, and today's headphone manufacturers must use both technologies to truly compete in an increasingly competitive marketplace.