Oki Electric Industry To Ship ML2611 Stereo Audio Chip

Tokyo-based Oki Electric Industry has announced sample shipments of its next-generation audio chip, the ML2611.
This large-scale integrated circuit (LSI) includes a stereo-playback capable digital audio converter (DAC), 3-D surround functionality and speaker amp all incorporated in a single chip. The LSI offers 16-bit audio DAC in only 3.0mm by 3.2mm. It is said to employ an authentic acoustic sound that is used in a variety of portable equipment. Mass shipments of the new IC will begin this June.
With many forms of portable equipment, such as mobile phones and portable navigation devices, being equipped with music playback and TV functions, the need for a small chip that addresses limitations to playback of low frequency sounds has been a limiting factor. The ML2611 LSI was designed to address such issues of sound quality in portable equipment.
The new LSI incorporates a stereo D-A converter, a stereo speaker amp, a stereo headphone amp and the audio enhancement technology WOW from SRS Labs, which has already been adopted in a variety of MP3 players. SRS WOW is an audio enhancement technology that improves the sound quality of compressed audio. The Oki ML2611 is also designed for low power consumption, critical for portable devices.
(DS/SP)