final is an established audio brand that has made its name over the years, with the S'NEXT company it belongs to claiming several engineering designs and patents in addition to a solid reputation in the consumer and professional audio markets as a whole. We took a look last year at what I thought was final's first TWS (True Wireless Stereo) set of IEMs, but apparently that being a collaboration meant it did not count in terms of wholly representing the final brand. As such, final informed us recently that it had indeed been working on its own vision of a first TWS product, which is named the final ZE3000. Sound quality and comfort were prioritized in the design process, and accordingly the use of a single driver was done to avoid phasing issues. The driver itself, a full-range dynamic driver with a new 6 mm adhesive-less injection molded diaphragm, a special silicone surround and a CCAW (copper-clad aluminium wire) voice coil, aims to provide extremely low distortion while at it.

This "f-core for Wireless" driver unit is paired with final's proprietary f-LINK damping system to regulate the air pressure change inside the enclosed housing without introducing a vent. The advantages allowed come in the form of the necessary TWS components not affecting the air pressure regulating system necessary to make the most of the driver, as well as maintaining IPX4 environmental resistance that is crucial for TWS solutions today. This is how final claims the ZE3000 to be able to deliver a non-fatiguing, "relaxing and enjoyable music experience regardless of the music genres". On the technology side, the final ZE3000 is paired with a Qualcomm chipset allowing Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity and aptX Adaptive codec support for music playback up to 24-bit/48 kHz, as well as pre-programmed touch controls. The shells employ a claimed ergonomic design with three points of contact in the ear concha, and being on the smaller side also helps with the physical fit. It uses final's Type-E ear tips, which are excellent in my opinion, and comes in black or white colors with a matching case. The advertised battery life is up to 7 hours per charge, and up to 35 hours with the case. The final ZE3000 is available to buy now for £119/€119/$149 from Hifiheadphones (UK) and Amazon US/Amazon UK.

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There's no shortage of TWS headphones in the market these days, but Philips latest addition, the Fidelio T1's are standing out from the crowd, least not thanks to its claimed 9 hour battery life with ANC on, or 13 hours with it off, which to our knowledge is class leading. Philips also announced a pair of over-ear ANC headphones in the shape of the Fidelio L3 which claims to have a 32 hour battery life with ANC on, which increases slightly to 38 hours with it off.

The T1's come in black or white/silver colour options and feature a 10 mm dynamic driver, as well as a balanced armature, something that is still quite rare in the TWS marketspace. The L3's use typical 40 mm drivers that most headphones in this class seem to use some variant of. Philips has incorporated its Noise Cancelling Pro+ technology, which is said to be a combination of state-of-the-art hardware and advanced audio processing and it's used across both sets of headphones. Both also have no less than four microphones for ANC, with the T1's getting no less than three mics for phone calls, whereas the L3's only gets two, with both supporting echo noise cancellation during calls.

xMEMS Labs today introduced Montara Pro, the world's first monolithic MEMS µspeaker with integrated DynamicVent enabling smart TWS earbuds and hearing aids that create best-of-both-worlds user experiences combining the benefits of closed-fit (occluded) and open-fit earbuds. xMEMS is providing first demonstrations of Montara Pro this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Montara Pro's patented DynamicVent technology can be intelligently opened or closed by the earbud system DSP based on ambient noise levels detected by microphones or the listener's activity from motion sensors. With the vent closed, Montara Pro creates a listening environment with the best passive isolation for music and media consumption or for improved focus in the presence of background noise. With the vent open, Montara Pro enables improved spatial awareness, increased listening comfort, and reduced occlusion effects, such as the perception of the user's own voice as too loud, "boomy," or "hollow." Equally important, DynamicVent eliminates the need for traditional static vents that create a persistent low frequency roll-off that impacts music and media quality and also impacts consumers with low-frequency hearing loss. The DynamicVent can also eliminate the need for oversized speakers in earbuds that are commonly used to compensate for low frequency loss caused by persistent, static vents.

USound, a global developer and manufacturer of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) loudspeakers for personal devices and wearable technology, today announced that it has raised $30 million (€25 million) to move into mass production of its second generation MEMS loudspeakers for several global companies. The investment round was led by Austria's leading venture capital firm, eQventure, with participation from venture capitalists Hermann Hauser (co-founder of ARM) and Longzhong Yang (co-founder of BYD), as well as a strong participation from the European Investment Bank.

USound MEMS loudspeakers take up 50% less space, use 80% less energy, and boast a greater frequency range than rival speaker products used in TWS earphones, headphones, smartphones, VR/AR glasses, wearables, and hearing aids. Due to its reduced size, MEMS speakers impact the size and weight of any wearable, providing more in-ear comfort and style for the consumer. USound's MEMS speakers are dramatically reducing system costs due to its SMT reflow capability, enabling fully automatic assembly of audio products to achieve the highest quality and performance. In comparison to a pure monolithic MEMS solution, USound's MEMS speakers are smaller and offer higher sound pressure levels, better sound quality, and lower manufacturing costs.

Linsoul Audio has been striving to bring the acoustic performance of professional in-ear monitors to the public. After two years of putting passion for perfection to the test and engineering, Linsoul has worked in conjunction with Peacock Audio to introduce the Peacock Flight, which is a superior hand-crafted set of true wireless earphones. Each Peacock Flight unit is handcrafted from start to finish, from the shell molding process to the wiring of the drivers. This is a bespoke design, which makes the earphones be a true one-of-a-kind artwork. The engineering and tuning process is meticulously conducted, and strict testing of each driver component ensures the greatest precision and quality control.

Acoustic performance always comes first on priorities for earphones. Equipped with a Qualcomm aptX HD-compatible chipset, the Peacock Flight supports aptX codecs, which ensures crystal clear sound production with extremely low latency. What's more, the Qualcomm QCC3040 Bluetooth chipset brings a stable connection to achieve the most coherent connection and listening experience. On top of that, the Peacock Flight is also equipped with Qualcomm's latest Clear Voice Capture (CVC) 8.0, which is a noise reduction algorithm that effectively filters out background noise to reduce up to 30 dB of unwanted ambient sound during phone calls. By accurately calculating the position of the caller in relation to environmental sounds, CVC 8.0 allows a pure sound transmission for cleaner and more audible calls.