Audeara, Audio Pixels lead today's moves in ASX hearing tech stocks

Hearing tech is one of the emerging new trends on the ASX.

Experts believe that there are good opportunities in the segment, as people become more aware of the issues of poor hearing health and the social implications.

And it’s not just for medical purposes.

For example, new-listed Audeara (ASX:AUA) and perennial curiosity Audio Pixels (ASX:AKP) develop headphones and speakers technology targeted for the entertainment market.

Shares in both of these companies have risen today, after releasing separate announcements.

Audeara’s sales jumped

The company reported a 28 per cent increase in its total sales for the first four months of 2021.

Its wholesale revenue made up the bulk of the gain, up by 37 per cent, while retail sales slumped by 22 per cent in the same period.

The increase in wholesale revenue is a direct result of Audeara’s strategy to grow the wholesale business into audiology clinics, which has seen a 54 per cent increase as a percentage of total revenue.

The company makes headphones designed to complement hearing aids, helping people with entertainment experiences.

It began in 2015, after Dr James Fielding and his co-founders saw how difficult and long it could take to get a hearing test.

But the company has since pivoted from being a medical device stock to a consumer technology business.

Its first commercialised product is the Audeara A–01 headphone, with accompanying BT–01 Bluetooth transceiver.

It offers noise-cancelling technology that is used in mainstream applications, such as listening to music and streaming movies.

The company plans to expand its product offering by adapting its technology for use in other devices, which it hopes would enable it to penetrate the broader hearing market, such as in education and gaming.

Audeara made its debut on the ASX two weeks ago, floating its shares at 20c, and is changing hands at 16c today.

Audeara share price chart:

Audio Pixels to start MEMS speaker chip production in Q4

Audio Pixels conducted its annual general meeting (AGM) today.

There were a few highlights from the meeting, which include the announcement that it would begin its speaker chip production in Q4 for 2021, after a delay from vendors due to COVID-19.

The Audio Pixels speaker is a MEMS (micro-electromechanical structures) chip which is roughly 1mm thick, and replaces conventional speaker drivers.

The technology aims to reduce the process between the digital source to sound, which effectively limits distortion, consumes significantly less power and creates a better acoustic sound.

The company says a number of iterations had to be done to get the process correct and stable, during which a large number of MEMS chips were sacrificed.

During today’s AGM, Audio Pixels also said that it has used the Covid period to enhance and develop its artificial intelligence technology.

The company is yet to make a profit, but its share price has risen by more than 23 per cent over the past 12 months.