Case Studies
Premium Wireless Headphone Platform
A boutique audio brand with proprietary acoustic IP but no embedded electronics capability needed a clean-sheet hardware design after an ODM partnership produced an unshippable product.
The Challenge
A boutique audio brand with a strong reputation in professional studio monitors wanted to enter the consumer wireless headphone market. They had significant acoustic IP but no internal embedded electronics capability.
Their first attempt through a Taiwanese ODM produced a product that failed on three fronts: unacceptable RF coexistence issues between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi streaming modes, battery life that fell 35% short of specification, and a companion app their own team described as unusable. The ODM had identified the RF coexistence issue internally but did not escalate it.
Ankh was engaged after a competitor had already launched in the same product category. Every week of schedule mattered.
Our Approach
ODM Audit & Architecture Decision
Ankh's team audited the ODM's schematics and firmware, producing a written technical assessment within two weeks. The RF coexistence issue traced to an antenna placement creating mutual coupling between the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi antenna chains — a layout problem the ODM had suppressed rather than escalated. The battery issue was a combination of overestimated cell capacity in the supplier's datasheet and an inefficient class-D amplifier operating point. We recommended a clean-sheet hardware design rather than attempting to patch the ODM board.
Audio Electronics & RF Design
The main board was designed around a purpose-built audio SoC with integrated Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6 radio cores. Antenna placement and isolation were modelled using 3D electromagnetic simulation before any board was fabricated — the step the ODM had skipped. The class-D amplifier stage was tuned to the client's target output impedance, and the ADC/DAC chain was designed for 32-bit/96kHz throughput to preserve the DSP chain quality.
Firmware & Embedded UI/UX
Firmware implemented a dual-radio coexistence scheduler that time-multiplexed Bluetooth and Wi-Fi transmit windows, reducing mutual interference by 22dB measured at the antenna ports. A low-latency codec mode achieved sub-5ms audio latency for content monitoring use cases. The companion app was rebuilt from the ground up through a user-test-driven design process that reduced support contact rate by 63% versus the ODM's original version in A/B testing.
Regulatory Certification & DFM
FCC Part 15 and CE RED certification were achieved on first formal submission — a consequence of the upfront EM simulation work. Ankh prepared the full technical construction file for CE and coordinated with the Notified Body for the radio equipment conformity assessment. DFM review with two contract manufacturers resolved eight component placement issues before pilot build.
Results
The product launched at retail 16 months after project kickoff — four months ahead of the client's original timeline with the ODM, despite requiring a complete ground-up redesign. Battery life measured 41 hours in independent lab testing, exceeding the 38-hour specification.
The companion app achieved a 4.7/5 rating on both iOS and Android at launch. The brand reported zero field returns attributable to hardware defects in the first three months of retail sales. FCC and CE certifications were achieved on first submission.