Expertise
Acoustic engineering
- Expert analysis of personal audio and electroacoustic systems.
- Performance testing of headphones and earphones, using both mannequin and bespoke testing environments.
- Characterisation of electroacoustic components, including loudspeakers, microphones, and materials.
- Multiphysics finite element modelling of electroacoustic systems at component and system levels.
- Development of high-performance active noise cancelling headphones and earphones.
Audio signal processing
- Research and development of low-latency audio processing algorithms for ANC and supervisory control.
- Development of proprietary CAE tools for ANC headphone engineering and production test calibration.
- Research and development of advanced data analytics for ANC headphone failure-mode analysis.
Electronic engineering
- Schematic-level design of innovative mixed-signal electronics for enabling ANC and other smart audio features.
- Application-level electronic design of digital wired and wireless active noise cancelling headphones.
- Production test system engineering, including proprietary audio analysers and computing infrastructure.
- Validation and failure analysis of internally and externally developed electronics.
About us
Markets served
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Consumer electronics
We transform conventional stereo headphones into smart headphones and hearables.
Our patented solutions provide the flexibility to dynamically configure the electroacoustics of a headphone, delivering performance improvements and advanced features that are responsive to both use-case and ambient sound conditions.
Our solutions are smart and capable, offering market-leading audio and active noise cancelling performance combined with innovative audio features for control and oversight. They are practical, easily integrated and can be reliably mass-produced.
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Commercial aviation
Passengers on long haul flights have come to expect a personal entertainment experience in the air that matches that enjoyed on the ground. Drawing upon our extensive experience in consumer electronics, we are able to deliver just that.
Our solutions for the aircraft cabin bring innovation in media delivery, smart noise cancelling, open-ear talk-through and digital surround sound.
To simplify customers’ access to our solutions and to ensure their compatibility, we exercise strategic partnerships in this market with Panasonic Avionics Corporation, the leading supplier of inflight entertainment equipment, and Long Prosper Enterprise, the world’s largest manufacturer of airline headphones.
Leadership team
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Mark Weldon
Chairman of the Board
Mark was appointed SoundChip’s Chairman in 2012. He holds a Juris Doctor degree and a diploma (Hons) in International Law from Columbia University, along with an MCom (Hons) in Economics and Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and Arts from the University of Auckland.
Unit May 2012, Mark was CEO of the New Zealand stock exchange, which ran trading, clearing, settling and other securities market technology systems along with the New Zealand national energy market infrastructure.
Mark, who is based in Queenstown, New Zealand, has a keen interest in technology and now spends much of his time supporting successful technology start-ups.
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Mark Donaldson
Chief Executive Officer
Mark is a founding member of SoundChip’s management team and board of directors. He holds a Masters degree (with Distinction) in Mechanical Engineering and an Honours degree (First Class) in Signal Processing, both from the University of Auckland. In 2007, Mark was named Ernst and Young Technology Entrepreneur of the Year in New Zealand.
Mark has a passionate interest in the field of smart audio and believes that active noise cancellation is a key enabler of a more enriching and natural personal audio experience. Having accumulated more than 20 years experience in the development and commercialisation of active noise cancelling headphones – and having authored no fewer than 14 granted patents in this domain – Mark’s expertise is often called upon by partners seeking expert solutions to grow their business in this increasingly important segment of the market.
Mark operates from SoundChip’s headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland but spends a significant amount of his time working from the company’s offices in the UK and HK, as well as meeting with customers abroad.
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Paul Darlington
Chief Technology Officer
Paul is a founding member of SoundChip’s management team and board of directors. He holds BSc, MSc and PhD degrees from the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research and the University of Southampton, respectively.
Paul has worked in audio and noise cancellation for personal communication systems since the 1980s, acting as a consultant to RAE Farnborough (latterly DERA, QINETIQ), TI and Nokia along the way. He has authored more than 20 patents in acoustics, electroacoustics, electronics, transducer engineering and active noise cancellation, and is an expert in system-level audio and the individual technologies which constitute the audio chain.
Paul is located in Manchester, England, and operates out of the Company’s Daresbury engineering facility.
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Ben Skelton
Chief Operating Officer
Ben is a founding member of SoundChip’s management team and board of directors. He holds a PhD in Communications and Information Theory from the University of Canterbury along with a First Class Honours degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
Since leaving university, Ben has led product development teams at several international firms in Europe, Asia and the South Pacific. He has considerable practical and management-level experience in audio product engineering, manufacturing, software, and test system development, covering both consumer and automotive markets.
Ben is based with his family in Hong Kong, China, and operates from the Company’s Hong Kong office.
