TI boosts portable audio performance

BANGALORE, INDIA: Texas Instruments Inc. has introduced a highly advanced, filter-free, stereo Class-D amplifier that provides a 1.7-W per channel output drive capability across an 8-Ohm load and improves overall volume versus traditional Class-D products.

The new amplifier incorporates programmable dynamic range compression (DRC) that automatically adjusts the audio to the desired loudness range while protecting the speaker and preventing clipping and distortion. The chip’s flexibility and intuitive support tools ease design and speed time to market for manufacturers of wireless handsets, personal navigation devices, notebook PCs and portable DVD players.

To address the need for louder volume from the speaker, the feature-rich TPA2016D2 incorporates DRC to automatically boost soft volumes. Conversely, DRC enables designers to compress the dynamic range of the audio to match the dynamic range of the speaker in order to reduce disturbingly loud volumes that cause clipping and distortion. The DRC functionality also protects the speaker from damage at high power levels to avoid field failures. In addition, the DRC capability in the TPA2016D2 frees up to 20 percent of MIPS in the digital signal processor (DSP) for other functions.

The DRC can be programmed via digital I2C control and provides designers with the flexibility to specify the design parameters that optimize their system’s audio performance. For instance, users can select gains from -28dB to +30dB as well as program attack/hold/release times, compression ratios and noise threshold values.

Evaluation modules (EVMs) with software, including user-friendly graphic user interface (GUI), illustrate the complete flexibility of DRC. The GUI includes a dynamically changing graphical plot that visually depicts the input-output relationship for easy comprehension and rapid evaluation to speed time to market.  

The TPA2016D2 amplifier is optimized to work with other products from TI’s broad portfolio including audio converters (TLV320AIC3104, TLV320AIC33 and TLV320AIC34), digital-to-analog converters (TLV320DAC32, PCM1774) and headphone amplifiers (TPA4411, TPA6130A2). The TPA2016D2 can be used in conjunction with TI’s DSP and OMAPTM processors, or the company’s highly integrated LoCosto or OMAP-Vox solutions for wireless handsets.