Cirrus Logic Announces Industry's Highest-Quality ISA Audio Solution.FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 10, 1997-- New ISA-based Codec Offers Compatibility Advantage When Combined With SoundFusion PCI Audio Accelerator Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ:CRUS) today raised the threshold for PC sound quality with the launch of its CS4235 ISA-based audio solution, the newest member in the company's CrystalClear(TM) family of advanced audio products for personal computers. The new mixed-signal codec delivers a dynamic range of 96 dB FS A (referenced to full scale, A weighted: the way Microsoft specifies dynamic range in its PC 98 (1) The third PC 9x specification, which defines five categories (Consumer, Office, Mobile, Entertainment and Workstation). It eliminates the ISA bus and pushes the minimum requirements to a 200MHz CPU with 32MB of RAM and 256K of L2 cache. PC 98 machines must support OnNow, and the BIOS must support booting from a CD-ROM and be Y2K compliant. Systems cannot ship with ISA cards installed, but may have an ISA bus for legacy devices. See PC 9x. criteria) on analog audio pass-through. The outstanding performance of this device far exceeds the 80 dB FS A required by Microsoft's PC 98 standards, enabling a level of performance that rivals the audio quality found in consumer devices such as CD players. "Our new CS4235 significantly raises the bar on PC audio quality," said Art Swift, vice president of marketing for Cirrus Logic's PC Products Division. "We currently have many of the largest computer makers interested in adopting this technology, which represents an important bridge to consumer electronics and a key technology advantage for PCs in 1998. Unlike competitive ISA and PCI solutions, the CS4235 offers no compromise audio quality and ISA hardware compatibility to ensure that legacy applications will work." In addition to its 96 dB dynamic range on audio pass-through (the playing of audio data from the original source such as a CD disc), the CS4235 provides playback (the playing of audio data from a stored source such as a hard drive) of stored PC audio at 86 dB FS A, exceeding the performance of all other integrated PC audio systems on the market today. The device's very low distortion levels (86 dB FS A vs. PC 98's 60 dB FS A requirement) ensure that PC audio playback is as true to original sound as possible. This new level of quality and performance allows users to connect their PCs to home stereo and theater systems without any degradation in sound quality. Moreover, this higher quality PC audio is ideally suited for DVD-based systems that will need to meet stringent consumer audio standards such as those set forth by Dolby Labs. When combined with the company's SoundFusion(TM) CS4610 PCI audio accelerator, the CS4235 provides a high-performance PCI audio system with complete hardware legacy support for Sound Blaster High-End Sound Blaster This Audigy 4 Pro Sound Blaster card cables to a remote-controlled external hub that supports all major surround sound standards, up to seven speakers and a subwoofer. It provides a wealth of analog and digital inputs and outputs for connecting audio and video equipment and even has ports for MIDI synthesizers and musical instruments., Sound Blaster Pro and Microsoft Windows Sound System A sound card from Microsoft for Windows PCs. The card was not widely used, but certain characteristics of the card are built into Sound Blaster and other sound cards for compatibility with the Windows 3.1 drivers that were created at that time. applications. This advanced PCI system offers multimedia functions including 3D positional sound See 3D positional sound., wavetable A group of sampled sound waves used in MIDI. See wavetable synthesis The technique used by MIDI for creating musical sounds by storing digitized samples of the actual instruments. It provides more realistic sound than the earlier FM synthesis method, which generates the sound waves entirely via electronic circuits. The more notes sampled in the wavetables, the better the resulting sound recreation. See MIDI, FM synthesis and sound card. and MIDI. synthesis and Dolby Digital (AC-3) under the Microsoft DirectSound 5.0, DirectSound3D and DirectShow APIs. This feature set takes direct aim at consumer PC applications, such as advanced 3D gaming and DVD playback, now being designed into systems for 1998. Full-Featured PC Audio Solution Leveraging its years of expertise in mixed-signal design to develop the CS4235, Cirrus Logic now provides the highest PC audio quality in an integrated solution. Developed by working directly with customers using the industry-leading CS423XB family, the CS4235 ensures a simple upgrade path to higher performance. In addition, an interface on the CS4235 allows OEMs to connect to the company's CS9236 wavetable synthesizer, providing a small, cost-effective audio system with hardware wavetable synthesis. The chip subsystem features comprehensive input mixing facilities for a variety of stereo and mono sound sources. To provide the PC user with a rich 3D audio experience, the CS4235 features the CrystalClear 3D stereo enhancement. This new technology, developed by Cirrus Logic, broadens the stereo field and brings a more realistic gaming and multimedia experience to the user. The CS4235 integrates plug-and-play, MPU401 MPU401 - MIDI Processing Unit 401 MIDI interface, joystick port, FM synthesizer and hardware volume control. In addition, the CS4235 is supported by a complete suite of drivers for the major operating systems including, Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows 3.1 and OS/2. Numerous local translations of these drivers are available to address worldwide market needs. Pricing, Packaging and Availability The CS4235 ISA audio system is currently sampling with production quantities set for December 1997. The device is available in a 100-pin TQFP package with pricing set at $7.00 each in quantities of 10,000. CrystalClear PC Audio Family The CrystalClear PC audio family of products provides the quality and performance needed for fully immersive, true-to-life, CD-quality sound on mainstream multimedia PCs. Cirrus Logic's CrystalClear PC audio family includes: -- SoundFusion CS4610, CS4611, CS4297 Technology -- SoundFusion offers a set of core audio features including multiple API support, advanced wavetable synthesis and 3D positional audio on a highly integrated chip. OEMs wishing to offer the most advanced Dolby Digital (AC-3) audio support can combine the SoundFusion CS4610 audio accelerator and CS4297 AC 97 audio codec to implement the highest-quality, full-featured, AC 97 solution. -- CS4238B, CS4237B, CS4236B audio codecs -- Provides a single-chip multimedia audio system controller and codec that is compatible with ISA Plug-and-Play, SoundBlaster and SoundBlaster Pro. In addition, these devices support QSound or SRS 3D sound enhancement technology. -- CS4215, CS4216, CS4217 and CS4218 serial codecs -- Industry-standard codecs for workstations and Apple Macintosh computers. -- CS9236 -- The world's most integrated wavetable music synthesizer. Cirrus Logic Cirrus Logic is a premier supplier of system-level integrated circuits that demand high-performance mixed-signal processing. The company applies its system expertise to enable high-volume applications in data storage, networking, and multimedia for both computing and consumer electronics markets as well as ultra-high-precision data acquisition applications for industrial automation and instrumentation markets. -0- Cirrus Logic news releases may be obtained by fax by dialing 800/359-6414, or by dialing 510/249-4200 from outside the United States, or via the Internet on the world wide web at http://www.cirrus.com/ . -0- Note to Editors: Cirrus Logic is a registered trademark and CrystalClear and SoundFusion are trademarks of Cirrus Logic Inc. All other product names noted herein may be trademarks of their respective holders. CONTACT: Cirrus Logic, Inc. David Crowell, 512/912-3587 (Reader Contact) dcrowell@crystal.cirrus.com or Tsantes & Associates Christian Bateman, 408/369-1500 chris@tsantes.com |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion