audioXpress Magazine June 2026

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audioXpress Magazine June 2026

audioXpress remains the authority on audio and reproduced sound by connecting manufacturers and distributors with developers, buyers and consultants around the globe! It's readers are the audio product designers, consultants, integrators, DIY enthusiasts, opinion leaders and your best customers. All of them agree that the coverage of trending topics, unique in the audio industry, make audioXpress a must read.

Every month, audioXpress combines the best educational articles on topic such audio electronics, speaker and headphone design, amplifiers (from tube to Class D), acoustics, practical test and measurement, audio engineering praxis, and standards. audioXpress provides inside stories on new audio developments, on R&D Stories, the most complete objective reviews of innovative products and software, and selects some of the best DIY audio projects from worldwide experts.

A Curated Listening Experience
For many, car audio is now the most ideal environment to enjoy the music.
Editorial By J. Martins
When I visit trade shows, particularly those that are not predominantly focused on audio technology as such, I always find interesting examples of successful businesses that have managed to find a market niche, or a product segment where audio technology truly makes a difference. But to understand the reasons why, it's important to look carefully at the opportunity that generated that success, as well as the context, or the environment that surrounds those companies' products. Frequently, product designers are looking at "reversed solutions" that try to find a problem originally created by their own technology or concept. And it is always easy to find marketers amplifying that message as though all their potential customers would approach product acquisition from their own view of the "problem." Understanding the whole layered complexity of the audio supply chain offers a fresh perspective. Automotive speakers are one of the biggest volume categories in the loudspeaker industry, and are the last thing on the mind of a consumer when buying a car. But the automotive industry understood that loudspeakers—and the whole audio system in cars—play an increasing role in helping sell successfully as a category.
---> A Curated Listening Experience.

Supporting Companies

Automotive Audio
Market Update
8 A Year Of Significant Expansion
By J. Martins
Automotive audio trends anticipated by audioXpress
are consistently confirmed as new vehicles
are introduced, offering increasingly premium
audio experiences. As predicted, AI-based audio
enhancement and speech processing are now just
components of a new sophisticated immersive user
experience, increasingly personal and intelligent. The
new frontiers are now in seamless connectivity and
user-adaptive features.

22 From Microphones To HATS Understanding In-Car
Acoustic Measurement Methodologies
By Santiago Rayes
Modern cars are complex acoustic spaces where
entertainment, safety, comfort, and communication
all depend on sound behaving exactly as intended.
This article reviews the full range of tools available for
performing acoustic measurements in the cabin, from
simple microphones to sophisticated head-and-torso
simulators (HATS), and clarifies when and why to use
each method for in-car testing.

32 Simulation And Optimization Of Automotive Acoustics
By René Christensen
Designing great in-car sound is no longer a matter of
trial and error — it demands powerful simulation and
smart optimization. This article shows how advanced
modeling of reflection, absorption, and impedance,
combined with COMSOL’s hybrid approaches and
Treble’s optimization workflows, can turn that
complexity into a practical design tool. If you care
about future-proof automotive audio, this is where
the real work begins.

Features Departments
48 Audio Software Development With Claude: SPLMeter
By Philipp Paul Klose
This article details an experiment on building professional
audio measurement software with Claude Code. Specifically,
a professional sound pressure level (SPL) meter that runs as
a standalone desktop application on macOS, Windows, and
Linux, but also as a VST3 and AU plugin. Released on GitHub.

54 Questions To Mike Engelhardt About QSPICE
More than a year ago, in the March 2025 issue of audioXpress,
we asked Tim McCune, former president of Linear Integrated
Systems (Linear Systems) currently consulting for Qorvo, to
interview Mike Engelhardt, the creator of the QSPICE
simulation suite and discuss how this popular tool can help
solve many issues that audio designers simulating their
circuits might confront. In this follow-up article, we summarize
the answers we received from Mike Engelhardt.

60 Stabilizing Tube Feedback Amplifiers Without Much Math
Part 2 — Common Methods to Stabilize an Amplifier
By Merlin Blencowe
This article delves into the most common methods employed
to stabilize tube amplifier designs. While primarily focusing
on loop gain and phase, this second article on the topic
centers on how to force the loop gain to drop to less than
unity (0dB) before the phase shift reaches ±180°,
which is the condition for stability.

Columns
Sound Control
42 The Frequency Limits Of Human Hearing
By Richard Honeycutt
Hearing limits vary widely between individuals, change
with age and noise exposure, and blur into sensations of
vibration and bodily feeling at the extremes. This article traces
the history, science, and open questions around infra,
audible, and ultrasound.