consumer technology
27 May 2020 / www.theengineer.co.uk
fall squarely into the latter category. GrapheneQ is the
company’s proprietary composite material, used to make
the 40mm acoustic drivers that actually deliver sound to
the ear. Consisting of more than 95 per cent graphene, it
retains most of the material’s mechanical properties, while
at the same time being easier to shape and less expensive to
produce. Rather than recreating graphene’s single layer of
carbon atoms, GQ consists of flakes of graphene deposited in
thousands of layers bonded together with proprietary crosslinking
agents. It is lightweight and stiff, with a low density,
making it an ideal material for loudspeaker membranes.
“Without a doubt, the most exciting aspect about the
technology is the unique mechanical properties it holds,” Ari
Pinkas, Ora’s co-founder and business lead, told The Engineer.
“It is very uncommon for such a rigid material to be so
lightweight. This rare combination of high stiffness and low
density allows for some pretty cool things in the audio world.
To start with, acoustic transducers are already notoriously
inefficient: less than 10 per cent of the energy that goes into a
loudspeaker gets translated to sound, over 90 per cent simply
turns into unwanted heat.”
Having an ultra-lightweight speaker membrane results in
a considerable power saving, something that’s particularly
desirable for wireless consumer electronics such as
smartphones, portable speakers and Bluetooth headphones.
“The fact that GrapheneQ is so lightweight means that it
takes considerably less energy to move than other materials,”
said Pinkas. “More concretely, Ora has observed up to a 70
per cent extension in the battery life of an audio dedicated
device when doing physical A/B comparison measurements
clever
cans
The GQ headphones’
acoustic
drivers are made
from GrapheneQ,
a proprietary
composite material
consisting of more
than 95 per cent
graphene
replacing a loudspeaker’s original membrane with a
GrapheneQ cone.”
While battery life is easily quantifiable in the lab,
audio fidelity is more subjective. Over the years, speaker
manufacturers have used everything from paper and plastic
to wood, ceramics and Kevlar in pursuit of the perfect
diaphragm material. Audiophiles will tell you that each has
its own unique audio signature, interpreting the bass, mids
and highs of music in various different ways.
According to Ora, the frequency response of its GQ drivers
is unmatched, delivering tonal balance right across the sound
spectrum. Lows gets a restrained two decibel boost, with the
mids tilted slightly towards the low end to provide warmth
and tone. At around the 6 kHz point, the sound signature
dips slightly, smoothing out highs for a softer top end, before
sweeping up again to provide added clarity and detail in the
very high frequency range above 10 kHz.
But what does all this mean for the user? Ora sent me
a review pair of GQ headphones so that I could judge the
technology for myself, and the sound quality is undeniably
impressive. Aphex Twin’s Xtal was punchy and clear, with
the bassline benefiting from the subtle low-end boost but
the synths and vocal sample sounding crisper than ever. Van
Morrison’s Sweet Thing had a richness and depth that I hadn’t
experienced with any previous set of headphones. Every
instrument – from double bass to flute – was generously
afforded space alongside Morrison’s soaring vocals.
The headphones have touchpad controls on the right
earcup that were easy to use, and the lambskin leather pads
were comfortable to wear for my hour-long commute. They
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