One small step for headphones, one giant leap for audiophiles: why this tiny invention could make your next headphone sound better

Knowles found a way for headphones to use balanced armature drivers
This could allow future headphones to offer significantly improved sound qualities.
Currently no headphones offer this technology, only earbuds – but they will

While headphone makers have been scrambling to pack more and more drivers into their earbuds – the Soundpeats H3 have three and they cost less than the AirPods Pro 3 (which doesn’t have three), while the Status Between 3ANC pictured below sports two balanced armature drivers and a 10mm dynamic driver – it’s a race that has yet to reach the best earbuds.

Hold the phone: it has reaches them now, thanks to Knowles’ new design. The company, best known for its Balanced Armature (BA) driver because Hugh Knowles invented it in 1955 for the hearing aid market, believes it is finally ready to revolutionize the headphone game.

Knowles has unveiled a new hybrid design for the headphones, which allows its small and lightweight BA drivers to sit alongside the much larger dynamic drivers typical of over-ear designs. While the dynamic driver would handle the same frequencies as usual (usually the low-end ones), the BA driver would add some high-end sparkle.

Knowing me, knowing you (ah haaa)

Status Between 3ANC headphones held on a colored background

(Image credit: Future)

Traditionally, most headset manufacturers think that multi-driver systems in headsets are a bad idea. This is a shame, because in headphones each driver can focus on a different frequency range, instead of relying on just one to do as much as possible. And when it’s done well (see the Campfire Audio range for several magnificent examples), it can sound utterly sublime.

For a combination of reasons such as phase avoidance, complications with spatial audio tuning, and ear positioning, most (but not all) headphones have a single driver. That’s because the speakers are further away from your ears than in the buds, where they’re closer to your ear canal, which complicates things.

However, BA loudspeakers are valued for their small size and light weight, so they add much-needed versatility to acoustic architecture.

Knowles’ design for cans features a dynamic driver with two BA drivers, placed in front of the dynamic unit, pointed precisely at your ears.

According to Knowles, this is one of the main attractions: a hybrid design can be used “without significantly changing the industrial design, comfort or overall dimensions of the product.” So they won’t be heavier than your standard cans – on the contrary, they might be lighter.

However, reading between the lines, it appears that precise fit will be even more important on over-ear headphones with this architecture. I imagine that excludes the technology implemented in the ears, which I always found quite loose, and perhaps also in the training headphones, due to the natural shaking of exercises.

Knowles has already implemented BA drivers from JBL, Status (pictured above this text), JLab, Edifier and Baseus, so these companies could well be the first to adopt Knowles on its offering and release it on ears using the technology. But only time will tell – so for now, we wait.