The method of capturing an audio scene includes acquiring sounds having first and second directivities to obtain first and second acquisition signals, respectively, the first directivity being higher than the second directivity, the steps of acquiring being performed simultaneously, and both acquisition signals together representing the audio scene; separately storing the first and second acquisition signals or mixing individual channels in the acquisition signals to obtain first and second mixed signal, respectively, and separately storing the first and second mixed signals, or transmitting the first and second mixed signals or the first and second acquisition signals to a loudspeaker setup and rendering the first mixed signal or the first acquisition signal using a loudspeaker arrangement having a first directivity and simultaneously rendering the second mixed signal or the second acquisition signal using a loudspeaker arrangement having a second directivity, the second loudspeaker directivity being lower than the first one.

The method of capturing an audio scene includes acquiring sounds having first and second directivities to obtain first and second acquisition signals, respectively, the first directivity being higher than the second directivity, the steps of acquiring being performed simultaneously, and both acquisition signals together representing the audio scene; separately storing the first and second acquisition signals or mixing individual channels in the acquisition signals to obtain first and second mixed signal, respectively, and separately storing the first and second mixed signals, or transmitting the first and second mixed signals or the first and second acquisition signals to a loudspeaker setup and rendering the first mixed signal or the first acquisition signal using a loudspeaker arrangement having a first directivity and simultaneously rendering the second mixed signal or the second acquisition signal using a loudspeaker arrangement having a second directivity, the second loudspeaker directivity being lower than the first one.

An acoustic device including a motor disposed in a housing having a non-porous elastomeric membrane disposed across an acoustic path defined by a sound port of the housing is disclosed. The motor may be embodied as MEMS transducer configured to generate an electrical signal responsive to an acoustic signal, or as some other electromechanical device. The membrane has a compliance that is 1 to 100 times a compliance of the acoustic device without the membrane, wherein the membrane prevents ingress of contaminants (e.g., solids, liquids or light) via the sound port while permitting propagation of the acoustic signal along the acoustic path without significant loss.

A microphone unit in which a microphone body is built in a housing is provided. The microphone body detects a sound entering the housing via a sound hole of the housing. An optical detector that detects light entering the housing via the sound hole is disposed in the housing. Therefore, a detection can be made that the sound hole is blocked by monitoring a detection level of the optical detector, based on a change in the detection level of the optical detector.

Some preferred embodiments include a microphone system for receiving sound waves, the microphone including a back plate, a radiation plate, first and second electrodes, first and second insulator layers, a power source and a microphone controller. The radiation plate is clamped to the back plate so that there is a hermetically sealed regular convex polygon-, ellipse-, or regular convex elliptic polygon-shaped gap between the radiation plate and the back plate. The first electrode is fixedly attached to a side of the back plate proximate to the gap. The second electrode is fixedly attached to a side of the radiation plate. The insulator layers are attached to the back plate and/or the radiation plate, on respective gap sides thereof, so that the insulator layers are between the electrodes. The microphone controller is configured to use the power source to drive the microphone at a selected operating point comprising normalized static mechanical force, bias voltage, and relative bias voltage level. Relevant dimensions of the gap, and a thickness of the radiation plate, are determined using the selected operating point so that a sensitivity of the microphone at the selected operating point is an optimum sensitivity for the selected operating point.

A microphone can include a cover having a series of slits and a nest. The nest can be configured to receive a first diaphragm, a second diaphragm, and a PCB in a stacked arrangement, such that the PCB is positioned between the first diaphragm and the second diaphragm. Also the first diaphragm can define a first plane, the second diaphragm can define a second plane, and the PCB can define a third plane and the first plane, the second plane, and the third plane can extend parallel to one another. The cover can also include slits having a first length and a second length, and the first length can be greater than the second length. The slits can extend both radially and axially.

A micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) electrostatic speaker that comprises an array of cells, wherein each cell comprises an upper stator, a membrane, a lower stator and supporting elements configured to support the upper stator, the membrane and the lower stator; wherein a distance between the upper stator and the lower stator of each cell is of microscopic scale.

An electret condenser microphone with a low noise figure and a method for producing the same are disclosed. An electret variable condenser is first installed into a housing, and then an ASIC amplifier and a printed circuit board are installed into the housing. The ASIC amplifier is electrically connected to the electret variable condenser. It reduces the noise figure effectively and ensures the normal transmission of the effective sound. In particular, it ensures the stability and reliability of the ASIC amplifier during use. The process is simple, the production efficiency is high, and the processing cost is low.

An acoustic sensor including a fixed conductive plate and an elastic conductive plate placed in parallel, an electric circuit connected to the fixed conductive plate and to the elastic conductive plate and providing a signal indicating temporal capacitance between the fixed conductive plate and to the elastic conductive plate, a controller including an input terminal connected to the electric circuit and an output terminal providing gain-control output signal, and a variable-gain amplifier including a first input terminal connected to the at least one fixed conductive plate, a second input terminal connected to the elastic conductive plate, a gain-control input terminal connected to the controller output, and an output terminal providing the sensed acoustic signal.

An acoustic sensor including a fixed conductive plate and an elastic conductive plate placed in parallel, an electric circuit connected to the fixed conductive plate and to the elastic conductive plate and providing a signal indicating temporal capacitance between the fixed conductive plate and to the elastic conductive plate, a controller including an input terminal connected to the electric circuit and an output terminal providing gain-control output signal, and a variable-gain amplifier including a first input terminal connected to the at least one fixed conductive plate, a second input terminal connected to the elastic conductive plate, a gain-control input terminal connected to the controller output, and an output terminal providing the sensed acoustic signal.