Audience's software lets PCs process your voice without special chips

Previously, Audience's sound processing tricks have required a dedicated chip, limiting where you would see it; you're more likely to get clever noise cancelling in your phone than in a PC. That's changing shortly thanks to S1.0, the company's first software-only approach to voice processing. The code primarily gives x86-based PCs better-than-usual noise reduction; people shouldn't hear echoes or typing sounds while you're in the middle of a chat. Audience's technology also brings 360-degree voice boosting, so you can hold conference calls without making everyone huddle around the computer. There aren't any confirmed customers for S1.0 just yet, but the company vows that "major PC OEMs" are testing it as you read this.

Don't worry, phone fans, you're covered as well. Audience is simultaneously unveiling two mobile audio chips, the eS804 and eS854. Both have improved noise cancelling and VoiceQ listening, so you're both more likely to get your message across and less likely to accidentally wake up your phone. If your device has the eS854, you're also getting a new Smart Audio Codec that should handle all varieties of sound processing, not just speech. Manufacturers will have to wait until the first quarter of 2015 to get sample units, which suggests that you'll see (or rather, hear) these eS800 chips in phones around the middle of next year.