Cirrus Logic Puts Both HDCD & DTS On a Single Crystal Audio Chip
25 June 1999
Cirrus Logic Puts Both HDCD & DTS On a Single Crystal Audio Chip, Making High-End Audio Formats Affordable for Car & Home Systems
FREMONT, Calif.--June 25, 1999--Technology, Audiophiles no Longer Have to Choose
Between Formats or Pay for Both
Backed by an agreement to license HDCD(R) technology from Pacific Microsonics, Cirrus Logic Inc. today introduced the first chip for automotive sound systems that supports two of the most popular recording and playback technologies in the industry, DTS (Digital Theater Sound) and HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital(R)).
As a single-chip solution for the two standards, the new Crystal audio chip, called the CS4928, overcomes the price penalty that competitive two-chip solutions have entailed. Rather than requiring separate chips for HDCD and DTS, Cirrus Logic's innovative approach provides the flexibility to support both standards on one cost-effective chip. In addition to the CS4928, Cirrus Logic will also offer HDCD support in all of its multi-channel and multi-standard Crystal audio DSPs, the CS492x and CS493xx series.
As two different types of digital audio formats, both DTS and HDCD have gained rapid market acceptance, but with largely separate user bases. DTS, a popular multi-channel coding/decoding standard, is employed in numerous high-end automotive CD players. In parallel, HDCD is a newer process but has rapidly built a huge audience. Since its introduction to recording studios about two-and-half years ago, more than 125 million HDCD-encoded CDs were sold and over 100 HDCD-equipped CD player brands hit the market in its first two years of existence.
Now, these two user bases finally have a place to converge -- within the tiny CS4928 chip. Consumers no longer need to choose between the formats, or pay a steep premium for the privilege of using them together. With the CS4928, they can have the best of both worlds. And that will soon be true in the home as well: since the Crystal audio DSPs use a programmable architecture, the cycle time for developing follow-on solutions is accelerated.
"At Cirrus Logic we've made it our mission to provide the highest quality audio in a timely and cost-effective manner," said Terry Ritchie, vice president of consumer audio products. "The CS4928 chip is a great example. Our new technology enables our OEM partners in the automotive CD aftermarket to build higher-value sound systems with greater functionality today than they could yesterday. And each of their customers may not know that Cirrus Logic is the company behind their music, but they will appreciate the purity of its Crystal audio quality."
"Pacific Microsonics is focused on working with audio IC manufacturers to make HDCD available in a range of audio chips, thus meeting the different design requirements of CD players, DVD players, A/V receivers, mini-component systems, and automotive audio," said Andy Johnson, vice president of marketing for Pacific Microsonics. "We are very pleased to be working with Cirrus Logic because they are a leader in the audio DSP market."
Firmware Approach Is Easier on Manufacturing As Well As Product
Pricing
As opposed to the more expensive and rigid hardware-based approach of competitors, Cirrus Logic's flexible firmware approach is a boon to the makers of A/V receiver/amplifiers. Similar to an ASIC, but without the up front NRE cost, the CS4928 uses a programmable DSP (digital signal processing) architecture that allows Cirrus Logic to cost-effectively customize the chips for different manufacturers simply by programming RAM. In contrast, competitors who hard-wire decoding algorithms into DSP ROM must design, produce, and provide a new chip version to provide HDCD capability. Besides increasing manufacturing costs, this method also builds delay into the product design and development cycle.
Another cost factor for manufacturers is the DAC difference. In operation, as the CS4928 accepts PCM (pulse code modulation) data from the CD-ROM, the Crystal audio DSP automatically detects the digital format of the data, then signals which decoding process the Crystal DAC (digital-to-analog converter) should perform, DTS multi-channel or HDCD. In comparison, competitive devices use hard-coded DSPs that require highly specialized HDCD DACs, which are available from a precious few suppliers at premium prices -- in fact, three times the cost of Cirrus Logic DACs. The higher cost is steep enough in the automotive market, but in the home theater market it multiplies. A six-channel receiver/amplifier, for example, would use three DACs. However, with Cirrus Logic's superior technology OEMs can build the solution with half as many components, saving valuable board real estate and cost.
Pricing and Availability
The CS4928 audio DSP is available in production quantities now. The device is priced at $15 each in quantities of 10,000 or larger.
Cirrus Logic Inc.
Cirrus Logic is a premier supplier of high-performance analog circuits and advanced mixed-signal chip solutions. The company's products, sold under its own name and the Crystal product brand, enable system-level applications in mass storage, audio and precision data conversion. Additional information about Cirrus Logic is available at www.cirrus.com.
Note to editors: Cirrus Logic is a registered trademark of Cirrus Logic Inc. All other product names noted herein may be trademarks of their respective holders.