Audio Amplification Meets Product Development in audioXpress July 2024

audioXpress July 2024 is all about Audio Amplifiers. Jan Didden visits ICEpower. Ward Maas interviews Jan-Willem Winters from Hypex. Oliver Masciarotte reviews the WiiM Amp. Thomas Lund explains why Loudness Normalization is so important. Richard Honeycutt explores the new Orange Valve Tester MKII. Brewster LaMacchia explains all that has evolved in Ten Years and Three Generations of A2B. Ethan Winer details how to build a truly unique Speech Compressor. And so much more...

Monolithic Power Systems (MPS), a global company specializing in high-performance power solutions announced the acquisition of Axign B.V., the Netherlands-based fabless semiconductor startup that specializes in programmable multicore DSP (digital signal processors) and developed the innovative post-filter feedback loop technology for Class-D amplifiers with balanced feedback from the loudspeaker. An exciting development for the small Dutch company and for the audio industry.

The AX5689 is an eight-channel audio amplifier controller IC with digital inputs and CMOS level PWM outputs, enabling high-order digital control loops with post-filter feedback. This article, originally published in audioXpress, December 2023, reviews the Axign and GaN Systems Class-D audio amplifier reference design board, intended to demonstrate the benefits of Axign's digital controllers and its unique approach.

We looked at the popular articles of 2023 in audioXpress.com (including selected articles from audioXpress and Voice Coil magazines), and we created this Top 11 list of news stories and online articles. As the number of visitors and pageviews registered by audioXpress.com continues to break records every year, visitors from all over the world returned more often to read the many stories available. Which of the topics and stories published online in 2023 were the most popular? Here are the results!

audioXpress December 2023 includes a market overview of multiroom audio, Brent Butterworth writes about new ways to measure ANC earbuds, and Stuart Yaniger measured the new Axign and GaN Systems Class-D audio amplifier board. Richard Honeycutt writes about tubes, BJTs, JFETs, MOSFETs, and ICs, and Dimitri Danyuk, discusses JFETs in audio circuits. Douglas Self explains how to optimize variable-frequency tone controls, and Jan Didden shares his eDD direct-drive amplifier project.

GaN power semiconductors pioneer GaN Systems has once again teamed up with Dutch company Axign to unveil an even more powerful, 1000W Class-D GaN audio amplifier board at CES 2023. The new reference design merges best-in-class technologies from GaN Systems and Axign to enable unique audio systems that are smaller, more efficient, and offer better audio quality. The design is ideal for automotive, professional, and prosumer audio applications.

Axign continues to expand on its mission to deliver better audio quality for connected home audio products, where the audio path is digital, making sense to stay in the digital domain all the way to the loudspeakers. At CES 2023, Axign's post-filter feedback loop technology for Class-D amplifiers with balanced feedback from the loudspeaker has expanded with the launch of two new Axign Sound Processors, optimized for the lowest power consumption levels.

Happy 36th Anniversary Voice Coil! The November 2022 issue of Voice Coil once again celebrates the launch of this periodical as an information resource for the loudspeaker industry. Also, this month, Mike Klasco writes about technologies and solutions to enhance low-frequency performance, and James Croft reviews a recent patent awarded to Panasonic for a loudspeaker arrangement for a Near to the Ear Subwoofer in a car seat. For this month's Test Bench, Vance Dickason characterizes the 6CXN36 coaxial 6.5” pro sound driver from B&C Speakers, and Wavecor’s FR4X-6WA01 compact oval full-range driver. Now available in print, digital and online.

In this review of the GaN Systems amplifier evaluation kit, Stuart Yaniger shares his explorations of the features and benefits of GaN (gallium nitride) power semiconductors, and explains why the technology is not only enabling great sounding audio amplifiers but is also bound to completely disrupt the Class-D segment in high power ratings. This article was originally published in audioXpress, April 2022.

GaN Systems announced the launch of its 300W Audio Boost Converter SMPS at the 37th annual Applied Power Electronics Conference (APEC) in Houston, Texas. The 300W reference design, targeted for automotive, marine, motorcycle, and a broad range of 12VDC input applications, features a complete turnkey platform solution that accelerates time-to-market, delivering improved audio quality and smaller, more streamlined audio systems.