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A new xMEMS micro speaker promises major audio upgrades for open earbuds, smart watches, and XR glasses
- xMEMS has announced it’s new micro speaker, known as Sycamore
- At only 1mm in thickness, Sycamore has the potential to revolutionize audio in open earbuds, smartwatches, XR glasses, and more.
- The silicon micro speaker promises improved low-frequency and high-frequency response over traditional dynamic driver systems.
Here at SoundGuys, we’ve reviewed a lot of open earbuds. The form-factor has become increasingly popular for a variety of reasons, including comfort, awareness, and even fashion. Unfortunately, we always have to knock these earbuds when it comes to sound quality, as existing technology simply isn’t up to par. xMEMS is hoping to change that with its new Sycamore MEMS micro speaker.
We’ve extensively covered MEMS technology in the past, and why it’s a game-changer for both headphones and earbuds. Make sure to check out our MEMS explainer for a full overview of the technology. In short, it’s one of the most significant innovations in speaker technology of this decade. With today’s Sycamore announcement, we may soon see this technology brought to open earbuds, smartwatches, AR glasses, and more mobile devices.
At only 1.13mm, Sycamore is one-third the thickness of current dynamic driver systems. This drastic decrease in size and weight is a huge benefit for portable technology of all types. Whether it’s creating more comfortable open earbuds, shrinking the frame on AR glasses, or decreasing the width of a smartwatch, Sycamore has a wide range of potential applications.
Despite its small size, xMEMS has high expectations for the audio performance of Sycamore. Early testing from xMEMS shows that it can offer as much as 11dB more headroom in sub-bass extension compared to existing offerings, which would alleviate one of our biggest gripes with current open earbuds. Additionally, Sycamore is capable of more high-frequency output, promising as much as 15dB more headroom at 5kHz over legacy drivers. This makes Sycamore a promising tweeter alternative in laptops, smartphones, and car headrests.
As an all-silicon solid state micro speaker, Sycamore is also IP58 dust and water-resistant. This is important for athletes seeking durable audio products that can hold up to the demands of a workout.
We likely won’t see Sycamore in consumer products on store shelves until 2026, but we are excited to try out the technology soon, and we will make sure to test the first Sycamore products in our headphone testing lab as soon as we can.