Guest Blog Author: Mehul Kochar, Sr. Director Business Development, Audio Solutions at Knowles Intelligent Audio

When you make a claim like, “the clearest sound ever,” you better be able to back it up. The JLab Epic Lab Edition True Wireless earbuds live up to the hype, thanks in part to a partnership with Knowles to create one of the most robust soundstages on the market.

The JLab Epic Lab Edition will be the first TWS earbuds to market with the ability to be tuned to the Knowles Preferred Listening Response Curve. Epic Lab Edition users will be able to customize their equalizer settings for the earbuds in the JLab App, choosing between four settings: JLab signature, Knowles Preferred Response Curve for a higher treble frequency boost, Bass Boost, and a final option to customize their own settings.

Who Is Knowles?

Founded in 1946 by Hugh Knowles, the company began making its mark in the audio world by creating the world’s first miniature microphones and receivers for hearing aids in 1954. The microphone technology would famously capture Neil Armstrong’s words, “That’s one small step for man – one giant leap for mankind,” during the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. As an early leader in the hearing health market, Knowles was essential in innovating precision hearing assistance and speech intelligibility. Knowles introduced balanced armature receivers to the hearing aid market and effectively improved sound quality and audio fidelity, realism, and detail.

Since then, Knowles has gone on to become the leader in Balanced Armature (BA) design and manufacturing. Each Knowles BA driver is individually adjusted and tested at the factory for consistently high performance.

Knowles’ decades of audio know-how included extensive testing to determine what people genuinely want to hear when they experience sound. Knowles analyzed more than 200 recordings, chosen from the last 20 years of the Billboard Hot 100, to represent much of the music that headphone wearers are likely to be streaming. From here, the team conducted controlled blind testing of a wide variety of listeners – with a range of demographics and hearing abilities – to determine what makes the best sound for streaming music, as listeners prefer.
The research behind the Knowles Preferred Listening Response Curve revealed that listeners of all ages and hearing abilities prefer expanded treble response beyond 10 kHz for delivering the best and most satisfying music listening experience.

What is a Balanced Armature?

Balanced armatures differ from traditional drivers by taking the electronic audio signal and using it to vibrate a tiny reed balanced between two magnets in a micro enclosure. The motion of the reed is transferred to a stiff aluminum diaphragm. This is free of resonances in the audio band for clear, detailed sound.

These drivers were originally developed for hearing aids and other critical listening applications. The BAs offer improved fidelity, realism and detail over traditional dynamic drivers. They are incredibly small and lightweight and provide greater output with less power.

Small, but Mighty

Knowles' tiny BA drivers occupy less than 1/2 the volume of the smallest dynamic speakers yet provide premium sound. Small enough to fit in the ear tip, BA drivers allow more room in hearables for sensors, additional features, or a larger battery, without sacrificing comfort. Their high efficiency means longer battery life, including in the JLab Epic Lab Edition earbuds.

What Kind of Balanced Armatures Are in the JLab Epic True Wireless Earbuds?

Achieving true premium sound in earphones requires close coordination of driver and earpiece design, especially with multiple-driver and hybrid systems. This is the exact setup in the JLab Epic Lab Edition earbuds.

In this configuration, a Knowles RAN BA driver is combined with an existing dynamic driver, with the BA focusing on the critical high-end portion of the audio spectrum, bringing a new level of clarity and realism.

Coupled with Smart Active Noise Canceling, the Epic Lab Edition earbuds feature Hi-Res Audio via LDAC or AAC advanced codecs for the best sound experience JLab has ever created. Bluetooth LE Audio allows listeners to enjoy low latency and pristine audio quality. These premium earbuds also won't let you down on the long haul - each earbud has a 13-hour battery life with a total of more than 56+ hours of playtime. For perspective, that’s more than 2.5 days!

Knowles’ contribution to the Jlab Epic Lab Edition ups the ante for a premium sound experience for the complete listening curve.

For more information on Knowles balanced armatures, visit Knowles.

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Song Suggestions for Test Listening:

• The Eagles “Hotel California”
• Steely Dan “Cousin Dupree”
• The Weeknd “Blinding Lights”
• Kate Bush “Running Up That Hill”