LEA Professional Introduces New High Power Connected Amplifiers at ISE 2020

LEA Professional, the emerging heavyweight in amplifier and systems design launched four new IoT-enabled high-power connected amplifiers that set a new standard in performance, connectivity and ease of deployment. The new LEA Connect Series amplifiers are available in four-channel configurations ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 watts and in Network Connect and Dante Connect iterations.

With the new Symphony Desktop, Apogee launched its most affordable Symphony series interface ever. Unveiled at NAMM 2020, the new USB-C compact audio interface combines the flagship sound quality that the Symphony interface range is known for, with vintage mic preamp emulation, Apogee hardware DSP with premium plugins, and an immersive touch screen interface. A powerful, compact recording and music production solution.

Swedish sound pioneer Dirac and NXP Semiconductors announced a collaboration to combine one of the world’s most powerful audio chipsets with a market-leading digital audio platform. By equipping the NXP i.MX 8M family of chipsets with Dirac’s digital audio platform, OEMs can enable their devices with maximized, immersive, and adaptive sound across their complete range of products. The strategic partnership announcement was made at CES 2020.

Swedish digital audio processing pioneer Dirac announced the debut of a new digital audio solution for smartphones and other mobile devices. What can be described for now as a powerful audio enhancer implemented on a mobile app, applies headphone specific profiles, intended to “set a new standard in sound across all headphones.” For now, Dirac is tying the promotion of this new processing solution with feedback received directly from acclaimed DJs and music producers, which praise the solution as “the best way to experience the richness and energy of studio sound through any headphones.”

ON Semiconductor will showcase a wide range of innovative technologies for smart home, connected buildings and personal connected devices at CES 2020. Powering portable voice-controlled applications will be the latest LC823455 ultra-low-power audio processor, supporting high-resolution audio processing. This highly integrated SoC, featuring an Arm Cortex−M3 Dual Core CPU and proprietary 32−bit DSP Core (LPDSP32) wit support for high−resolution 32−bit/192kHz audio.

ESS Technology announced today it’s 7th-generation of audio processors for soundbars and wireless speakers. The Crescendo VII is a highly integrated solution for consumer audio products that provides a multicore platform for system control and signal processing with a range of inputs and interfaces. Combining audio processing and signal routing with DTS Virtual:X certification, the Crescendo VII enables compact, power-efficient, and cost-effective designs for soundbars, wireless speakers, and active subwoofers.

Lattice Semiconductor announced its new low power FPGA platform, Lattice Nexus. The platform is architected to deliver power-efficient performance that will benefit developers of a wide range of applications, including voice processing and edge computing for connected devices. Built with innovations at every level of design, from solutions, to architecture, to circuit, the new Lattice Nexus FPGAs deliver higher system performance at significantly reduced power consumption.

Anytime we need to login to the local Wi-Fi or pair with another Bluetooth device, we think, "There must be a better way to do this!" That's precisely one of the exciting possibilities for data-over-sound technology. This article explains what else we can do with it, and how it works. It also explores how data-over-sound can be realized in embedded scenarios, and how Chirp’s new technology, using the Arm Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M7 processors, can be implemented in connected products. This article was originally published in audioXpress, November 2019.

This Voice Coil’s Spotlight, written by Vance Dickason with commentary from Floyd Toole, Wolfgang Klippel, Andrew Jones, and James Croft, focuses on Zero Phase in Studio Monitors. As Dickason explains, "the implication of using FIR filters to zero out the phase of a loudspeaker to improve its subjective performance seems inherently flawed given all the research done over years that concluded that the human ear is not very sensitive to phase or group delay." This article was originally published in Voice Coil, October 2019.

audioXpress December 2019 dives into the latest wireless audio and DSP platforms and solutions in a dedicated Market Update, followed by a review of the latest Audio Precision APx555 B Series audio analyzer. David Logvin shares his experience with the xCORE VocalFusion development platform by XMOS, while Michael Steffes re-confirms a theory that cascaded amplifier + ADC harmonic distortion combine as voltage swings. Christopher Paul explores alternative approaches to the design of a linear current regulator for audio tube amplifiers, Menno van der Veen details an 18 W single-ended valve amplifier using Trans technology, and Richard Honeycutt investigates whether or not swapping out comparable tubes makes any audible difference in a guitar amplifier’s sound. Download your own copy now!