Cirrus Logic MasterHIFI Audio DAC Brings Recording Studio Audio Quality to Mobile and Pro Audio Devices

With demand growing worldwide for high-fidelity music content and playback through mobile devices, Cirrus Logic has introduced the low power CS43130 MasterHIFI digital-to-analog converter (DAC) with headphone amplifier. The CS43130 DAC features a unique non-oversampling (NOS) emulation mode -- believed by many audiophiles to contribute to the emotion of audio by providing a similar feeling as valve amplifiers or vinyl records -- offering listeners a natural, euphonic sound missing from modern consumer products.

The Cirrus Logic CS43130, as well as the DAC-only CS4399 for professional audio, uses 512 individual DACs per channel in an analog/digital filter array to deliver the highest grade reproduction of high-bandwidth, high-resolution digital audio sources. This preserves the pure audio and helps to filter out the unwanted noise while providing high jitter immunity for ultra high quality music playback. The result is music and audio as close to the original recorded source as possible.

"Smartphone OEMs worldwide are accelerating product development efforts to give consumers a better listening experience that takes advantage of the growing accessibility to high resolution streaming and downloadable music content," said Carl Alberty, vice president of audio products marketing, Cirrus Logic. "Our customers and market leaders recognize the value and legacy of the combined Cirrus Logic and Wolfson Microelectronics audio engineering expertise, and our new high-fidelity products, such as the CS43130 DAC, deliver audio quality so true that it's almost like being in the recording studio with the artist."

With a THD + N of -108dB and dynamic range of 130dB, the CS43130 has been designed from the ground up to focus on both superior hi-fi audio playback and ultra low-power consumption. The Cirrus Logic CS43130 consumes 23mW of power -- four times less than other industry mobile hi-fi DACs -- which helps to maximize battery life. The CS43130 supports up to 32-bit, 384kHz sample rate audio playback, ensuring the best possible listening experience.

Most smartphones and mobile devices today have greatly increased their storage capacity, allowing consumers to move beyond standard compressed audio sources, such as MP3, and adopt higher resolution audio (aka "lossless") formats. These formats, such as FLAC, PONO, LDAC, and others, require more storage space on the device, but can deliver a higher quality audio experience. Premium audio content is also increasingly being offered to consumers via streaming services, such as Spotify, Google Play Music, and Tidal.

CS43130 DAC highlights:
* High resolution audio format support: Direct Stream Digital (DSD), DSD DoP (DSD over PCM), up to DSD128
* Proprietary DSD processor handles switching between DSD and PCM audio streams, while matching the analog audio output level
* NOS emulation mode offers natural CD-player sound missing from modern-day DAC design
* 512 single-bit elements helps to eliminate unwanted noise from the signal for best filter response
* Analog bypass switch provides easy switching between hi-fi and voice call modes and includes a low power state for voice only
* Easy integration due to the switch's ability to accept headphone output from a separate codec
* Fewer external components provide room for more features or reduced size of end product
* Advanced hi-fi filters allow OEMs to tune their own signature sound

The Cirrus Logic CS43130 and CS4399 are available in a 42-ball WLCS or 40-pin QFN package and are currently sampling to customers.

Cirrus Logic's SmartHIFI and MasterHIFI products signify the company's most reputable hi-fidelity audio components, giving OEMs high-performance audio ICs -- smart codecs, DACs, ADCs, and DSPs -- to greatly enhance the user listening experience. MasterHIFI products represent the company's highest performing converters, offering both high performance and low power consumption, and SmartHIFI products additionally incorporate signal processing capabilities to deliver advanced audio features.