A woman standing outdoors near a modern building, wearing black wireless earbuds and a dark jacket, looking thoughtfully into the distance in soft natural light.

Hearing The Difference: Why Hi-Res Audio Needs The Right Speaker

28th January 2026

Hi-Res audio has become a familiar feature in true wireless earbuds. Support for advanced Bluetooth codecs promises higher fidelity, more detail, and a more immersive listening experience. Yet many listeners still struggle to hear a meaningful difference.

The reason is not the codec alone. It is the entire audio system—and especially the speaker—that determines whether Hi-Res audio becomes audible or remains a specification on a datasheet.

Turning Hi-Res into a Listening Experience

With the QCY Melobuds N70 earbuds, powered by USound MEMS speakers, Hi-Res audio can be experienced directly.

Using the QCY App on an Android smartphone, listeners can enable Hi-Res audio and switch it on and off while listening to the same music. This simple comparison reveals how much of the audio signal reaches the ear. When Hi-Res audio is enabled, many users report:

These differences are subtle but consistent—and they point to the role of speaker technology.

Why the Speaker Matters

High-resolution codecs such as LDAC are designed to transmit more audio information. But transmission alone does not guarantee audible improvement.

In compact true wireless designs, the loudspeaker is often the limiting factor. Traditional micro-speakers are based on the electrodynamic voice-coil principle. They rely on a heavy coil to generate a magnetic field that interacts with the permanent magnet, thereby creating the mechanical force for the movement. This process can mask fine details and limit the benefit of Hi-Res audio.

USound MEMS speakers, by contrast, are manufactured using semiconductor processes. This enables:

When paired with Hi-Res audio, these characteristics help ensure that additional signal information is reproduced.

A System-Level Approach to Better Sound

In the QCY Melobuds N70, USound MEMS speakers are used as part of a two-way driver architecture, where:

This division allows each technology to operate where it performs best. The result is a balanced sound profile that benefits directly from Hi-Res audio support—without increasing size or complexity.

From Features to Audible Value

The ability to toggle Hi-Res audio on and off makes one thing clear: sound quality improvements are only meaningful when the hardware can support them. USound MEMS speakers are designed to bridge that gap—turning advanced audio features into audible improvements that listeners can experience immediately.

As true wireless audio continues to evolve, this system-level approach will play an increasingly important role in how brands differentiate through sound quality.