Antlion Audio releases new IEMs and Mic for IEMs with patent pending design | Patent unclear

[AlTech]

Summary

Antlion Audio has released 2 new IEMs: their Kimura Solo and Kimura Duo, (both of which come with the Microphone upgrade cable) as well as the Kimura Microphone upgrade cable for IEMs.

 

Update 1:

At first glance, this may sound like good news (no pun intended) but details on Antlion Audio's product page spells a dark future for the headphone and IEM industry.

 

Antlion Audio admits that they have filed a patent for IEM cables that go around your ear that are flexible and can be adjusted without harming the IEMs, as most IEMs if not virtually all of them can do already, threatening to end all other IEMs doing this and harming the IEM experience for everyone besides Antlion Audio's customers.

 

I have updated this thread whilst waiting for Antlion Audio to clarify what their patent is about. It now appears that the patent relates to the microphone splitter function of the Kimura. I will update the thread if Antlion responds.

 

Quotes

Quote

Ever wanted a ModMic for your IEMs!? If so you're reading the right blog!

 

Emphasis is mine.

Quote

Turn any pair of 2-pin or MMCX IEMs into an in-ear headset!

The Kimura Mic Cables feature our patent pending around-ear design to maximize stability, comfort, and style while minimizing torque placed on your ear.

Our premium quality omni-directional mic delivers a rich and full pickup pattern despite the sleek and slim design. The boom arm is flexible, able to be bent and shaped to perfectly fit your profile.

 

Quote

Don't have a compatible IEM handy? Our Kimura Solo is our entry level in-ear headset.

 

Quote

Take everything to love about the Kimura Solo and add an additional Balanced Armature designed to deliver accurate treble. The result is the V-shaped sound of the Kimura Duo!

 

 

My thoughts

Update 1: Whilst awaiting confirmation of the nature of the patent I have updated my opinions.

 

 Although I am a fan of Modmic, for the sake of the entire IEM industry I hope that their Patent application is denied if the  patent is about the IEM ear hook cable system.

 

If it is regarding the IEM cable splitter which splits the cable into a microphone cable input and the audio cable input, I would be less concerned but I ultimately would still disagree that it is worthy of being patented as 1) I have seen similar things with previous attachable headphone microphones in the past, 2) Assuming nobody has come close to doing this in the past I don't feel it is sufficiently innovative or unique to warrant the patent being accepted and I hope it isn't accepted. 

 

I am not in favour of patents in general but if the patent system must exist in some form then only truly innovative and unique patents should be accepted. Assuming the splitter design is what the patent is about, it is nowhere near unique enough IMHO.

 

The IEM industry as we know it will be significantly worse if it is granted and will be forced to use inferior cable and IEM designs; making the experience worse for every customers besides Antlion Audio's customers.

 

If their patent is denied I may consider buying a Kimura far in the future. If it is accepted then I will have no choice but to boycott Antlion Audio and replace my modmic with something else.

 

Also as an aside, with how long it's been since a new modmic came out, I have to wonder if this is what they've spent their time and money on since 2018? Tbh I would've preferred to see improvements to their modmic lineup in addition to or rather than this.

 

Sources

 https://antlionaudio.com/blogs/news/introducing-the-kimura-in-ear-headset-line

https://antlionaudio.com/collections/kimura/

 

https://basic-tutorials.com/news/antlion-audio-kimura-new-in-ear-series-presented/

 

https://www.toptechnews.de/2023/01/17/antlion-audio-kimura-solo-duo-in-ear-headset-loesung-fuer-kinoreifen-klang/

(This is a German source discussing it).

 

 

[Kilrah]

16 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

Antlion Audio admits that they have filed a patent for IEM cables that go around your ear that are flexible and can be adjusted without harming the IEMs, as most IEMs if not virtually all of them can do already

That's not how patents work, if it already exists you can't patent it.

Would have to be something that you haven't seen yet. 

 

Maybe they found some way that's 10 times better and others won't be able to do without licensing, but what's already out there is out there and can't be affected.

[brwainer]

10 minutes ago, Kilrah said:

That's not how patents work, if it already exists you can't patent it.

Would have to be something that you haven't seen yet. 

 

Maybe they found some way that's 10 times better and others won't be able to do without licensing, but what's already out there is out there and can't be affected.

And related to “if it already exists you can’t patent it”, you absolutely can go to the patent office and try to get a patent. There will be a public comments period where anyone who thinks it isn’t new can step forward. This happened recently with a patent for a “hexagon shaped box for dice” that was contested by other makers as not original, and also not sufficiently inventive to even be patentable. And even if you do manage to get a patent, when you go to enforce it you still can have it challenged, although it costs significantly more money to do so after it has been granted.

[AlTech]

15 minutes ago, Kilrah said:

That's not how patents work, if it already exists you can't patent it.

Would have to be something that you haven't seen yet. 

So I've had another look over it snd everything that's been shown (with regards to the IEM portion) has been seen before except one thing: the splitter that splits off the mic from the IEM.

[Kilrah]

3 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

So I've had another look over it snd everything that's been shown (with regards to the IEM portion) has been seen before except one thing: the splitter that splits off the mic from the IEM.

There you go, so the "iem with built-in articulated mic" combo is probably what they're after.

 

 

Edited January 17, 2023 by LogicalDrm
Review completed

[AAJoe]

Hey everyone,

You know me, I try to be pretty transparent about things! Let's dive into your questions:

 

1) The patent is regarding the behind-ear split, including its shape, location, etc. Is it a big enough deal to warrant a patent? Well, it's still pending and has been for a while, but we were unable to find anything that did what we do. Pretty much all of these splits occur at the IEM or where the junction between IEM and cable meet. If the patent is rejected, that's ok. We're not staking our futures on it!

How do we feel about patents in general? As a company, mixed. We understand why people don't like them (and there are plenty, such as ones related to insulin where at least I am firmly against). However, our patent on the ModMic clasp system has already protected us multiple times from problems. Without it, we may have been in trouble as a variety of knock-offs have appeared and the patent has forced them to use inferior methods to ours. To me (not a company stance, just me) this kind of patent is fine because nobody's going to be severely harmed by it and it helps a small company like us compete. Anyway, this is more of that, the goal is to give us a little wiggle room so we don't get instantly crushed. Amongst the various ModMic knock-offs we've fended off include offerings from Audio Technica (Who even use ModMic to describe their product, wtf), Drop, and even one of our distributors (whom we no longer work with, of course). There's about a dozen out there of various sizes and to my knowledge all avoid our patent (and one we had to settle out of court, which as far as I know is no longer made anyway).

 

Anyway, we're probably a smaller company than you think, so these kinds of protections (if we can get them) are important to our survival.

 

2)  What have we been DOING all this time!? What have we been spending money on!?

 

Haha, ok so the Kimura was originally planned for 2020. I think we all know where this is going. 2020 was absolute insanity for the audio market, especially microphones. All of our effort went towards securing enough units of the existing ModMics to meet demand. Throughout 2020 we had rolling stock shortages on products as we raced to produce enough ModMics while parts shortages and factory shut-downs plagued us at every turn. As a result, Kimura got delayed into 2021.

 

In 2021 we had smoothed out the supply/demand problem and Kimura was well on its way, but slowdowns in production still dogged us, 2021 slipped into 2022. When it DID finally get done we discovered a huge manufacturing defect that wasn't included in the QC test plan. Every single unit went back to be redone. That's why it didn't make the 2022 launch window we had aimed for, but better late than never. It was frankly a nightmare I don't want to ever have to relive (especially since I was that poor canary in the coal mine that found the problem.)

 

SO WHAT ABOUT A NEW MODMIC! Parallel to this a new ModMic Wireless is in the works, as well as more stuff. I can't talk too much about the features yet, but this is more than just a tiny face lift. We've got some big changes in mind and we hope to pull it off. However, I can say it will have USB-C and a dedicated on/off button. That much is certain. Beyond that we've got a solid list of improvements we're working on and we hope to see it available this year or early next... barring another world-changing series of events or surprise "send them all back to the factory" situations!

 

We DO want to be releasing more products, more often, and will be focusing on that in the coming years. But, it is in our DNA to "Do one thing right instead of one thing right and nine things wrong" as some companies do. We hope we got the Kimura right, but if not, as long as there's interest in the product concept we'll keep at it until we get there. As for what's next other than "more ModMic" and "more Kimura" ... it's a secret! But we do have some interesting concepts that I've seen sketches of. Pretty crazy stuff mostly, I hope we'll see at least one of these crazy ideas in 2024-2025.