Analog Devices' SHARC(R) Processors Enable Digital Synthesizers to Flawlessly Re-Create Vintage Instrument Sounds.

NORWOOD, Mass. -- CreamWare's family of sound modules perfectly emulates the sound and feel of several popular legendary analog keyboards using Analog Devices floating point processor.

Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI), a global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal processing applications, today announced that its SHARC(R) processors are being used by CreamWare Audio GmbH, a leading developer of modular digital audio solutions, in its Authentic Sound Box (ASB) family of sound modules designed to emulate the sound and feel of several popular vintage keyboards.

"SHARC's floating-point precision means audio algorithms just sound better," said Frank Hund, Chief Technology Officer, CreamWare Audio GmbH. "The considerable digital signal processing power of the platform itself allows for implementing the most sophisticated, top-notch algorithms. Because SHARC processes audio at a true 32 bits and floating point resolutions at 40 bits, our design team never had to compromise -- the highest resolution is maintained during the entire process without affecting the performance. You can hear it in the results."

The B4000 ASB, CreamWare's most recent design, uses the precision of the floating point SHARC 2126x and 2136x to replicate the analog circuitry modeling of the Hammond B3 tonewheel organ, one of the most popular organs ever created and used by thousands of musicians from rock to gospel.

In May, CreamWare will release the Prodyssey ASB, a replica of the famous ARP Odyssey synthesizer, which will use the SHARC processor. CreamWare's prior releases, the MiniMax and Pro-12, also use SHARCs not only to faithfully re-create every nuance of the legends they are based on (MiniMoog & Prophet-5) but to also add new, modern digital features including preset storage, expanded polyphony, MIDI control, and effects.

CreamWare also benefited from SHARC's wealth of I/O and memory and CROSSCORE development tools. SHARC audio processors integrate audio-specific peripherals - Digital Audio Interface (DAI) - designed to simplify hardware design, minimize design risks, and quicken time to market. These peripheral blocks may be connected to each other or to external pins via the software-programmable Signal Routing Unit (SRU), an architectural feature that enables complete and flexible routing among DAI peripherals. CreamWare utilized Analog Devices' emulators and the VisualDSP++ integrated development and debugging environment (IDDE). The VisualDSP++ IDDE lets programmers develop and debug an application.

"The ASB product family achieves a fantastic goal - they precisely model the "analog" sound that musicians love and have become accustomed to," said Jerry McGuire, General Manager, Convergent Platforms and Systems (CPSG), Analog Devices. "SHARC is the processor of choice for a variety of audio markets and has proven to be ideal for CreamWare and other manufacturers developing professional audio applications because it is optimized to process high-resolution audio algorithms."

CreamWare has been using SHARC processors since 1997, and most of the company's SCOPE(TM) line includes the processors. SCOPE is a highly flexible studio system that can be configured, adapted, and used according to specific needs such as recording, mixing, and mastering. It includes SHARC boards, software packages, recording tools such as mixers and effects, and exclusive sound machines such as synthesizers and samplers. Because of its modular structure, audio engineers can implement configurations comprising as many as 42 SHARC and more than 100 I/Os. CreamWare's product can be found at: www.creamware.com.

Floating-Point Leadership

For more than 10 years, SHARC has dominated the floating-point DSP market, delivering exceptional core and memory performance complemented by outstanding I/O throughput. Starting at 319 MFLOPS per dollar, the SHARC family makes floating-point processing economical for more applications. For the highest performance multiprocessing, TigerSHARC Processors deliver performance well above a billion floating-point operations per second. One GByte/sec multiprocessing link ports gluelessly connect multiple TigerSHARC processors and the 24 Mbits of on-chip memory integrated onto each device.

About Analog Devices

Innovation, performance, and excellence are the cultural pillars on which Analog Devices has built one of the longest standing, highest growth companies within the technology sector. Acknowledged industry-wide as the world leader in data conversion and signal conditioning technology, Analog Devices serves over 60,000 customers, representing virtually all types of electronic equipment. Celebrating more than 40 years as a leading global manufacturer of high-performance integrated circuits used in analog and digital signal processing applications, Analog Devices is headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts, with design and manufacturing facilities throughout the world. Analog Devices' common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "ADI" and is included in the S&P 500 Index.

SHARC is a registered trademark of Analog Devices, Inc. SCOPE is a trademark of CreamWare Audio GmbH.