Reset your expectations of what earphones can do. Waveform was designed from the ground up to serve the unique needs of gamers. But its unique features have created so many new possibilities for how we interact with sound beyond gaming. 

Waveform has everything you’d ever want from a gaming headset: long battery life, ultra low latency, clear microphone, and immersive 3D sound.  But it also has all the conveniences of a portable true wireless setup with an on-the-go charging case. Oh, and did we mention it has high fidelity IEM (in-ear monitor) components that blow away the sound quality of other true wireless earphones? Yes, please.

When dual monitor setups first came out, many scoffed at the idea. But now, more than ever we are engaged with two screens and even two gadgets at the same time. But existing headphones haven’t caught up and current Bluetooth headphones lack the ability to listen to two devices at the same time, until now. 

Multipoint Bluetooth may be able to pair to more than one device but it’s really just switching between two connections and are very much limited to one audio channel at a time. DualStream is our unique feature to stream audio simultaneously from two devices. Let’s jump into some things you can do: 

Nintendo’s voice chat app can be frustrating across the Switch and smartphone. With DualStream you’ll no longer have to play Mario Kart 8 or Super Smash Bros in silence – there’s a whole world of people talking in-game that you may have never been aware of.  

While we originally designed this with gaming and multitasking, the opportunities are truly endless. We’re compatible across a range of your favorite devices, essentially anything with Bluetooth, USB audio, or a 3.5mm headphone jack. Here are some more ideas below but we can’t wait to see what you do with Waveform:

Genki Waveform sets the bar for how fast Bluetooth earphones can be without the bulk of a gaming headset. When it comes to competitive gaming, response time is everything and every little bit can mean the difference between a record speed run or a disastrous reset. 

There is a lot of misunderstanding on how latency is calculated – but in essence, it’s how fast the audio transmission (via Bluetooth codec) is sent from a source device to an earbud and then turned into analogue audio (sound processing) that your ears picks up. This is measured in milliseconds, or 1/1000th of a second which can’t be properly measured with even your typical 60fps camera.  

On the transmission side, we opted for the fastest Qualcomm QCC3056 Bluetooth 5.2 chipset with aptX Adaptive codec. This codec not only transmits better quality audio but transmits it at speeds 4x faster than the current SBC industry standard.

So what is aptX Adaptive and why does Genki Waveform use it? Essentially it’s a codec that combines the best of aptX-LL, aptX, and aptX-HD – adapting quickly to the needs of fast gaming or high-fidelity listening. The other typical codecs you’ll find are SBC (universal, low quality, super slow), and AAC (better sound quality, skewed toward Apple devices, but slow), LDAC (few devices supported, high sound quality, but slow). Genki Waveform supports all of the above except LDAC.

And why is it that every wireless headphone still has varying levels of latency despite using similar implementations of the SBC or AAC codecs? That comes down to sound processing and usually is what drives the price point of particular earphones. Many times you’ll have earphones that compensate for cheaper audio hardware with sound processing to emulate better sound but the end result can be a doubling of the codec latency (big offenders of this are Anker, Bose, and Samsung earbuds).  Also, previous generation Bluetooth SoCs were not consistently powerful enough to ensure syncing between left and right earbuds without an additional latency adding step. What does this mean when it comes to gaming or videos? Well, see for yourself:

In the chart above, we used the default Bluetooth implementation enabled in the latest Nintendo Switch update which supports SBC. With Genki Waveform we’re able to achieve faster transmission using the Smart Case aptX Adaptive transmitter. Some headphones occasionally advertise lower latency “gaming modes’ to improve their latency but in turn they hugely compromise sound and transmission quality – don’t fall for that trap. The reason smartphones are a poor baseline is because each app actually compensates for audio latency resulting in inconsistent and misleading figures – sometimes even showing negative latency (e.g. on YouTube where you hear the person speaking before you see their lips move).

Being heard and hearing people clearly were top priorities for the Genki Waveform. We’ve implemented a three-mic array in each earphone equipped with the latest aptX Voice technology and Qualcomm’s cVc 8.0 (Clear Voice Capture) Echo Cancelling and Noise Suppression Technology.

aptX Voice is the latest voice technology that enables 32kHz sampled rate Voice Calls over Bluetooth. With HD voice you’ll be able to detect hints in people’s voices and even hear faint whispers as if you were right next to them.

You’ll also be able to distinguish two people talking at the same time so you don’t have that awkward pause in group meetings where two people talk over each other, and then pause in silence, and then awkwardly talk over each other again, and again – whether it’s during that intense raid, office huddle, or just another family FaceTime.

The latest cVc 8.0 technology is essentially a suite of algorithms that work on the transmission and receiving path of voice calls to deliver optimum voice quality. This means whether you’re hanging in the latest brunch spot amongst loud diners or zipping around in a go-kart on the streets of Tokyo, background sounds such as chatter and road noise will be squelched so you can be heard clearly on a call.

We also have built-in echo cancelling technology so you won’t hear yourself say “can you hear me now”. This tech allows for a more natural two-way conversation by reducing acoustic echo. All of this is essential to make sure your family, adoring fans, co-workers or classmates get your message loud and clear.

Waveform is equipped with the latest adaptive noise cancellation meaning you can control how much sound you want in or out. 

Combined with custom-fit eartips sound seals, the internal and external microphones also work in unison to cancel out unwanted noise by countering it with opposing noise for best-in-class noise cancelling. 

We can also use the microphones to passthrough and magnify sounds in a transparency mode. This allows you to talk to people without taking off your earbuds or be more aware of your environment when you’re running/biking/skateboarding through a busy intersection.

When it comes to high fidelity audio there are two things that an audiophile is generally concerned with when they judge a true wireless earphone. First is whether the source of the audio is high quality and that there isn’t much compression in loss in the transmission. The second is whether the components in the earbud are able to accurately reproduce a broad spectrum of sound from their favorite music tracks. 

Bluetooth technology has come a long way but the advances have not been spread out evenly across brands. Common codecs such as SBC and AAC do not meet the needs of audiophiles but now with higher quality streaming formats and aptX Adaptive we’re able to enhance the convenience of the hi-fi lifestyle.

So then what’s the difference inside between IEMs (in-ear monitors) and other earphones? Well for one thing the sound quality is coming from computational algos but a complete dual hybrid balanced driver setup found in expensive wired IEMs so that you can enjoy a full spectrum of sound without fancy software tricks and manipulations. 

Inside you’ll find a dual hybrid driver consisting of a 10mm neodymium driver and an armature driver combined to reproduce deep bass, accurate treble, and a rich soundstage without distortions. This not only means more immersive 3D gaming experiences where you can identify where shots are fired from, but also detailed music notes come alive and you’ll hear details that are easily missed with other headphones.

We aren’t calling this a SmartCase for nothing – in fact, it’s the hub that controls our DualStream tech and we can honestly say it’s the most advanced earbud charging case by far. Inside you’ll find a dedicated Bluetooth receiving audio, and another for transmitting audio, a port that allows you to convert USB audio or 3.5mm headphone jack audio to aptX Adaptive wireless audio, a sound mixer, and wireless charging – all with a full day worth of battery!

It’s a bit of a throwback to our first Genki project here on Kickstarter, but the case itself has a dedicated aptX Bluetooth transmitter inside. This means that you can use this case in place of a Genki Audio if desired and it’s also more versatile than before because it can also connect to not only USB-C but essentially works with any audio port from a 3.5mm headphone jack to an iPhone lightning port with an OTG cable. This opens up a world of possibilities including getting wireless audio on your in-air movie, or even in the metaverse with the Oculus Quest, and even those on the Xbox series of consoles.  

Be your own DJ. So the magic of sound mixing actually comes from the SmartCase thanks to its dedicated Bluetooth chipset and audio mixer inside. You simply pair a Bluetooth source to the SmartCase and it’ll mix that audio in with whatever you have the case plugged into and broadcast it over the high-speed aptX Adaptive codec and into the earbuds.

Not much to say here, we know wireless charging is the norm for premium earbuds so we got you covered. As for battery life, we’re extending these earphones’ battery to up to 30 hours with the charge in the case. Oh and it’s also fast charging cause we’re impatient gamers ourselves.

A Couple Things We Haven’t Touched On…

After reading this whole page you might be thinking how can there be more? Well first off we are designing an app to allow you to further customize and tune your experience. All the features we’ve described above can be achieved without the app, but the iOS and Android app will essentially let you do more and we’re planning to have – noise cancellation level adjustments, codec identifications, connection management across two devices, audio tuning, firmware updates, and more. We hope that this will be a collaborative effort during the campaign and since this doesn’t affect shipment times it will be done in parallel.

For those of you that may be concerned about fit and sound sealing we actually are preparing a total of 9 different tips to cover the range of every type of ear out there. We’ll have 3 sizes of silicone tips for your typical earbuds, 3 sizes of soft memory foam tips for deep bass seals, and 3 wingtip sizes that you can add in case you need a more secure fit in the ear.

What about my favorite voice assistant? We got you covered, we haven’t even dived into the touch controls yet but at the moment tapping 3 times on the left earbud will trigger your phone’s Siri or Google so you can get that latest weather forecast and play your favorite track without lifting a finger.