Audio D/A Converter From TI Offers Industry’s Highest Dynamic Range for High- End Audio Equipment

132dB DAC Complies With Next-Generation CD Formats, SACD and DVD-Audio

Texas Instruments announced today a new Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) that offers the industry’s highest dynamic range for high-end audio equipment. The PCM1792 utilizes TI’s proprietary Advanced Segment technology to achieve a maximum dynamic range of 132 decibels (dB) (mono mode), surpassing the standard 120-123dB performance provided by conventional Delta-Sigma DACs. This level of dynamic range enables audio manufacturers to reproduce sound much closer to the original recording source.

Audio equipment manufacturers can now rely on the 132 dB (mono mode) performance of the PCM1792 in a wide range of high-fidelity audio applications such as A/V amplifiers, universal players (which play both DVD-Audio and SACD) and professional mixing consoles. The PCM1792 supports audio sources that comply with next-generation music CD formats, DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD (SACD). TI will also offer the DSD1792, a companion device equipped with a dedicated SACD signal input terminal.

Dynamic range is a parameter that expresses numerically how accurately sounds of small amplitude can be reproduced without distortion. The higher the dynamic range, the higher the quality of the sound. The PCM1792 has a dynamic range that significantly exceeds SACD’s specification, making it possible to more accurately reproduce recorded program material. Prior to this device, there was no integrated circuit DAC available with a dynamic range exceeding 130dB.

TI’s proprietary Advanced Segment DAC architecture is characterized by a constant current, multi-level configuration that enables the DAC to achieve the industry’s highest dynamic range and offer increased tolerance to clock jitter. This architecture also provides an analog Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filter, which the industry recommends as the filtering process to best utilize SACD’s superior performance.

Key Features of the PCM1792 D/A Converter

• Dynamic range

– 132 dB (9.0Vrms, Mono)
– 129 dB (4.5Vrms, Stereo)
– 127 dB (2.0Vrms, Stereo)

• Sampling rate: Up to 192kHz
• THD+N: 0.0004%
• Resolution: 24 bit (PCM)
• Compliance with DSD and PCM formats

Pricing, Availability, and Packaging

Samples of the PCM1792 and the DSD1792 are available today, with volume production scheduled to begin in March 2003. Both products are available in a 28-pin SSOP package. Each product is priced from $13.00 in 1,000 piece quantities (suggested resale price).

About Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments Incorporated provides innovative DSP and analog technologies to meet our customers’ real world signal processing requirements. In addition to Semiconductor, the company’s businesses include Sensors & Controls, and Educational & Productivity Solutions. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing, design or sales operations in more than 25 countries.