Dialog announces audio codec to enhance smartphone sound quality

GERMANY: Dialog Semiconductor plc announced its latest ultra low power audio CODEC, designed to provide full range, high fidelity audio capture and playback to a variety of portable devices and audio accessories.

Dialog's new DA7320 audio CODEC features a programmable Digital Signal Processor (DSP) to offload audio software from the host processor. The use of Dialog's audio algorithms has been market proven by leading smartphone OEMs to help deliver a consistent and enhanced user experience under a wide variety of use cases.

By using a multi-channel architecture that digitally mixes and routes multiple audio streams, combined with programmable N-band parametric equalisation (EQ) and Dynamic Range Compressor (DRC), Dialog's technology ensures louder and cleaner audio delivery on headphone and speaker peripherals. A psychoacoustic bass boost (PBB) can be enabled for improved perceived low frequency response for playback on low cost small form factor speakers.

DA7320 is the first release in a new family of products that will be expanded to include third party branded audio software, such as noise suppression, acoustic echo cancellation and microphone beamforming.

Udo Kratz, senior VP and GM of Dialog's Mobile Systems business group, commented: 'Dialog's new DA7320 delivers natural, immersive audio to wired headphones, headsets, earpieces and extremely small form factor speakers as demanded by the thinner products that consumers increasingly want to use. The device's built-in flexibility and multiple ways to connect audio has already resulted in a reference design win for a broad-based platform coming to market in 2013.'

The new audio CODEC uses a single supply voltage of just 1.6V, has an ultra-low power consumption of 3.85mW and supports common sample rates between 8 to 96kHz in master and slave modes. The DA7320 comes in a 64 pin BGA package with a 0.5mm pitch and has an operating temperature range of -400C to +85oC. The product is sampling now.