Come join us in the
Ziegfeld room on the 4th floor (directly below the 6th floor Broadway Ballroom) of the New York Marriott Marquis for a series of interactive discussion panels with some of the industry’s leading experts in audio technology. Always entertaining, extremely engaging, and very informative, these seminars give you a behind the scenes look at the headphone audio industry like nothing else. Spaces are limited, so be sure to arrive early. See you there!
Saturday, March 9, 2024
It’s About Time - What New Measurements Reveal About Audio Quality
11:00a to Noon
xMEMS’ new class of transducers deliver the highest precision audio reproduction in the time domain, and this has now been proven via subjective and objective testing by HEAD Acoustics. xMEMS and HEAD Acoustics will present the results of this benchmark testing conducted upon products made with these new Piezo-MEMS µSpeakers utilizing MDAQS metrics. MDAQS algorithms are based on 6 years of cutting-edge research in human hearing and audio perception and validate the praises of golden ears from around the world about xMEMS µSpeakers, that traditional audio testing methods could not reveal.
SPEAKERS: Michael Ricci, Sr. Director of Electroacoustic Engineering, xMEMS Labs, Inc.; Jacob Soendergaard, HEAD Acoustics
Myths About Measurements
Noon to 1:00p
Objective measurements are everywhere in audio. Never before has so much data been so accessible so easily, but is that a good thing? Join our panel of experts to learn why measurements shouldn’t always be trusted, why we should always take measurements with a sizable grain of salt, why we should never treat them as absolutes, and how objective measurements are often quite subjective. Most importantly, learn about what’s being done to address these flaws, to achieve better clarity for us all moving forward.
SPEAKERS: Konstantin Davy (Oratory1990), Acoustic Engineer, USound GmbH; Blaine LaCross (Mad Economist); Cameron Oatley (GoldenSound)
Digital Isn’t
3:00p to 4:00p
Digital is digital, it's all ones and zeroes. Except that, no it isn't. Beyond the fundamentals of the digital-to-analogue conversion process, there are a host of additional factors that can dramatically affect the sound of your DAC — and consequently, what you will hear through your signal chain. Discover how power supplies, analogue devices and circuit design, galvanic isolation, digital cables and more can dictate your listening experience. But most importantly, learn how sometimes, digital isn’t.
SPEAKER: Rob Watts, Digital Design Consultant, Chord Electronics
Ear Pads As Critical Acoustical Devices
4:00p to 5:00p
Many Head-Fiers view ear pads as simple replacement parts and nothing more. And whilst they are undoubtedly consumables, ear pads are also coupling devices that form part of the complex acoustic chamber between your headphones and your ears. As such, their mechanical and material properties can dramatically affect what you hear. Join Tal Kocen, Co-Founder and COO at Dekoni Audio, to explore how ear pads can preserve — or even perfect — the sound signatures of your favorite headphones.
SPEAKER: Tal Kocen, Co-Founder and COO, Dekoni Audio
How To Start A Headphone Company
5:00p to 6:00p
Zach and Bevin Mehrbach's entry into the headphone industry was unconventional. They'll share their business journey, including anecdotes and images from their early days to the present, covering multiple measurement rig upgrades, various workspaces from apartments to basements, and the design of an 8000 SQ foot manufacturing facility. Come by for a fun time and bring questions!
SPEAKERS: Zach & Bevin Mehrbach, ZMFheadphones
Sunday, March 10, 2024
New Headphone Target Curves Defined on the B&K 5128: How Different Do They Sound and Which One is Most Preferred?
11:00a to Noon
The release of the Brüel & Kjær 5128 HATS in 2018 ushered in a new standard in accurate measurements of headphones. Its introduction also meant that headphone target curves defined on the older standard were no longer valid when measured on the 5128. Since then, several different headphone target curves for the 5128 have been proposed, but most lack scientific validation based on controlled listening tests. This raises an important question: how different do they sound from one another, and which one is most preferred? My talk will give an overview of the various headphone target curves proposed, how they were derived, and some analysis of how different they sound from one another.
SPEAKER: Dr. Sean Olive, Senior Fellow, Acoustic Research, Harman International
A Novel Approach to Measure Headphone Transient Response
Noon to 1:00p
The Farina logarithmic sweep test method, in use since 2000, enables engineers designing electroacoustic products to obtain a device’s impulse response from a constant-amplitude sinusoidal sweep. Due to the non-transient nature of this stimulus, this impulse response may differ from a response generated when using a transient stimulus. This presentation discusses how one can characterize transient behavior of headphones using single-cycle tone bursts to augment measurements obtained through sine-based testing.
SPEAKER: Dan Foley, Do No Harm Music
Making Great Sound from Thin Air
2:00p to 3:00p
What if we told you that the perfect membrane can be made from—air? Learn how we engineer solid-state AIR drivers using modulated ultrasound, delivering exceptional bass from compact speakers while reproducing highs flawlessly. Explore their current applications and the transformative potential they hold for the future of audio. Join us to unravel the magic of AIR drivers and their groundbreaking impact.
SPEAKER: Moti Margalit, CEO, SonicEdge Ltd.
Critical Listening: How to Judge
3:00p to 4:00p
Many designers use listening tests to improve the design of their products. But since the provenance of recordings are unknown, how can one be sure that genuine improvements are being made so that real progress towards transparent reproduction is being achieved. It is very easy to think that an "improvement" is actually better when it's worse. Objectively assessing sound quality is key and this seminar will explain how. This will be followed by a Q&A session when you can ask any question about Digital audio.
SPEAKER: Rob Watts, Digital Design Consultant, Chord Electronics
Ask The Reviewers AMA @ CanJam New York 2024!
4:00p to 5:00p
What was best-in-show at CanJam NYC 2024? Is there a "correct" sound signature, and what might that be? How much power do we actually need to truly drive our headphones? What is the best in-ear monitor or headphone, for my music, within my budget? You have questions, bring them all to our panel of expert reviewers as they answer them all live, and in real time!
SPEAKERS: Crinacle, DMS, Golden Sound, Resolve and ZEOS Pantera;
SPECIAL GUEST MODERATOR: Zach Mehrbach, ZMFheadphones
