Monolithic Power Systems Acquires Axign

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.

audioXpress visited Grimm Audio in The Netherlands to learn more about the people behind this unique company, its products, and philosophy. There's nothing better to learn about product development than to visit an audio company and learn from its history and business journey. As a relatively young company, Grimm Audio has consistently put its mark on both the pro audio and hi-fi scene and Jan Didden shares what he learned about their unique in-house development philosophy. This article was originally published in audioXpress, July 2023.

This article expands the conversation around feedback theory for electronic circuits and audio amplifiers. Do we "really" need wideband open loop in audio amplifiers? The subject came up at the 154th Audio Engineering Society (AES) convention in Helsinki, Finland. Looking at the frequency domain, not necessarily, Jan Didden argued. In this article he looks at the question in the Time Domain. Narrow Bandwidth, High Open Loop Gain Amplifier versus a Wide Bandwidth, Low Open Loop Gain Amplifier in the Time Domain.

Although feedback theory for electronic circuits has been established for over a century, it is still a subject for discussion. This short essay is an attempt to shed some light on one of those recurring controversies. The subject came up at the 154th Audio Engineering Society (AES) convention in Helsinki, Finland. Audio amplifiers are basically integrators or, if you will, low-pass filters. That means that at some frequency, their open-loop gain starts to fall off. With that, the loop gain available for feedback also starts to fall off, leading to a diminishing of the curative effects of feedback: distortion starts to rise, gain accuracy starts to drop, output impedance starts to go up, etcetera.

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.

GaN Systems, the leading GaN power semiconductor specialist and audio technology innovator Axign, debuted a new groundbreaking GaN-based 500W Class-D audio amplifier. This reference design merges best-in-class technologies, including GaN Systems’ GaN power transistors and Axign’s Class-D controller, enabling companies to create unique audio systems that are smaller, sleeker, more efficient, more powerful, and provide better audio quality than previous generations.

Imagine a new class of speaker diaphragm position sensors that enable audio engineers to reduce distortion and extend bass response from studio monitors, soundbars, smart speakers, and even smartphone microspeakers. With the precision of laser displacement instrumentation, this sensor is located between a stationary component of the speaker and an appropriate moving part to provide an error correction reference signal back to the amplifier. Well, that sensor has already been developed. ​This article was originally published in The Audio Voice weekly email newsletter.