It would force compromise on every other aspect of the product.
In the real world = more time (at every stage of the R&D and manufacturing process) + extra material costs (more tooling, more PCBA's, more screws, etc.).
I personally think that this issue will become a very big deal over the next decade or so, but at this point the market isn't applying enough pressure for the big companies to change their GtM processes.
No, but releasing basic board schematics - or even just allowing third-parties to freely redistribute their own custom-made schematics - is. Allowing your supplies to sell board components directly to consumers and third-party repair shops is. Allowing third parties to move used OEM parts across international bounds without fear of having their property seized for being "counterfeit" is.
There is a huge community of independent repair technicians out there who are constantly undermined by the likes of Apple and other major hardware manufacturers. The manufacturers don't even have to "design for repair". They just have to allow repair to be an option in the first place.
Maybe if repair becames a common alternative again, "design for repair" would actually be considered a competitive advantage.
There's a huge runway in front of us for both products and technology.
'Acoustic Holography' has worked for some time, commercial implementations have been few and far between, mostly because what's in the market is already selling boatloads without it.
It'll come eventually, there are a few groups dedicated to it.
A successful anchor in that space will allow companies to go deeper into applications.
The math says, if implemented correctly, WFS is better than sitting in the sweetspot of any speakers. Also, there's no sweet spot with this technology.
That said, like with most IEMs, sleeves should be replaced sometimes (probably once a month or if you get any dirt on them—be careful with handling and don’t let that stuff get into your ear canal), so that should be factored in the price.
Which sleeves you choose makes a big difference—they are more or less the noise isolation part of IEMs, and they make or break your comfort when wearing. I swear by the combination of SE215 + Shure’s original black foam sleeves (or, if those cannot be obtained, Westone’s foam eartips). Passive noise isolation in this setup is better than ANC in AirPods Pro for me subjectively (although according to rtings.com’s measurements they go head to head), and is easy to wear for long periods of time.
(I guess I’m replying to thepostoffice but for the most part this is addressed to dghughes’s upstream post.)
Yeah I totally agree. I get that people find them uncomfortable, but passive IEM's to me are way more comfortable than a heavy over-ear set which puts pressure against the sides of my skull. The noise canceling is also amazing without any electronics. Only trick is getting really good drivers in such a small space but IEM manufactures have been doing this for decades with great results.
It would force compromise on every other aspect of the product.
In the real world = more time (at every stage of the R&D and manufacturing process) + extra material costs (more tooling, more PCBA's, more screws, etc.).
I personally think that this issue will become a very big deal over the next decade or so, but at this point the market isn't applying enough pressure for the big companies to change their GtM processes.