Audio SoC controls BLE, USB peripherals

ROHM has recently announced the availability of a high-resolution audio SoC, BM94803AEKU, designed to act as the ‘brain’ in audio applications such as Bluetooth speakers, USB DACs, and mini/micro component systems by carrying out control and management of peripheral components and input/output I/F as well as enable playback of a wide range of audio sources.

In recent years, a variety of audio devices are required to faithfully reproduce information from different sound sources (media/music files) – not just high-resolution audio. However, in order to support a wide range of audio sources multiple media decoders are required (i.e. CD, USB, Bluetooth) along with additional peripheral components, leading to challenges relating to increased software complexity and development load.

For the audio sector ROHM not only offers general-purpose ICs such as opamps, but audio-related ICs as well, ranging from media decoders and speaker amps to sound processors. This time, ROHM developed an audio SoC that acts as the ‘brain’ of audio devices along with a reference design that improves audio quality for the entire system while minimizing development load.

The BM94803AEKU integrates a processor chip with SDRAM featuring an optimized architecture that leverages software and circuit elements such as ASIC (Application Specific IC), MCU, and various media decoders (developed by the ROHM Group) on a single chip. The media decoder supports a wide range of audio sources, and utilizing over 20 years of expertise allows ROHM to ensure stable playback of damaged CDs and even non-standard USB. In addition, SDRAM is built in that contributes to greater miniaturization.

The high-resolution reference audio design maximizes the performance of audio devices and peripheral applications by configuring ROHM’s amp, CD driver, and other elements around the audio SoC. Furthermore, providing dedicated software enables rapid development of audio devices capable of stable playback of a wide range of audio sources, shortening development time considerably.