Revealed at CES 2023, Swedish digital audio pioneers Dirac have partnered with leading multinational chipset maker BES to pre-integrate Dirac Virtuo and Dirac Opteo software into chipsets that will be used by leading headphone manufacturers.
The question now is if they can make the same sort of innovation impact in the wireless cans segment as they already have in the car audio and home theatre markets.
The first headphones brands to utilise the Dirac-empowered BES chipsets are boAt, Monoprice and Sudio.
Product Lead at Dirac Nilo Casimiro says, “Dirac is known for pioneering the industry’s most advanced digital signal processing solutions that are relied upon by many of the world’s blue-chip technology brands across a range of markets.
“However, increasingly key to our growth strategy are partnerships with leading chipset designers like BES to integrate our solutions directly onto their hardware – delivering tremendous value for our shared OEM customers.
“This partnership represents an important step in our mission to deliver superior sound for everyone.”
High-res binaural room impulse response tech to restore speaker crosstalk and correct the stereo soundstage is used for the Dirac Virtuo, resulting in the sound in the headphones seeming to come from a set of speakers sitting in front of you. This creates a more accurate soundstage than you get from regular cans.
Dirac Opteo, meanwhile, raises audio performance to new levels through patented tech that completes sound through data-driven, semi-automatic tuning. It also employs advanced audio processing features, resulting in deeper bass response and richer vocals.
This isn’t the first time Dirac have buddied up with chipset designers, having previously worked alongside ADI and NXP for their home theatre and car audio products, though it is their debut partnership in the headphone sphere.
