Cirrus Logic, Intel, and Microsoft Announce Latest Reference Design to Enable “Cool, Quiet, and High Performance” PCs

Published 10 months ago via Business Wire

The new platform offers reduced heat generation, immersive audio, and a scalable design

Cirrus Logic (Nasdaq: CRUS) announced today a collaboration with Intel and Microsoft on a new PC reference design which will feature Cirrus Logic's high-performance audio and power technologies and Intel's forthcoming client processor, codenamed Lunar Lake. In addition to creating a richer, more immersive audio experience for laptops, this collaboration will also reduce heating, extend battery life, and enable smaller, thinner designs.

The reference design features the Cirrus Logic CP9314 high-efficiency power converter, low-power CS42L43 SmartHIFI™ codec, and CS35L56 smart amplifiers. The Cirrus Logic CP9314 high-efficiency power converter, based on switched capacitor technology, helps generate less heat, extend battery life, and enable smaller, thinner industrial designs with reduced fan noise. Additionally, the amplifiers deliver powerful and clear speaker audio, while the codec enables transparent headset audio, reducing power consumption by 50% compared to legacy HD-A Codecs.

For over three decades Cirrus Logic has been enabling professional grade audio performance in battery powered environments such as portable music players, smartphones, headsets, virtual reality, and more. The low-power CS42L43 SmartHIFI™ codec continues that tradition by offering the highest available audio performance with the longest battery life along with smart features specifically designed to reduce the overall size and cost of the audio system and make the life of the PC OEM easier.

“Cirrus Logic is delivering value to the PC market with immersive audio and high-efficiency power conversion solutions,” said Carl Alberty, vice president of Cirrus Logic’s Mixed-Signal Products group. “Until now, our collaborations with Intel and Microsoft have only included our audio components, but now our power conversion products are expanding the offering. We are excited to help our customers build laptops that elevate the laptop experience for consumers with fantastic sound and sleek, quiet, and power efficient designs.”

"Intel is committed to accelerating every aspect of the PC experience," said Ken McKee, general manager of Client Customer Engineering and vice president of the Client Computer Group for Intel. "Companies like Cirrus Logic help us make this vision a reality by enabling innovation at scale. This collaboration enhances the PC experience, delivering more advantages to both the industry as a whole and individual consumers."

Next-Level Audio

Historically, Cirrus Logic has shipped more than five billion amplifiers in five of the top 10 smartphone manufacturers and four of the top 5 PC OEMs. Spanning several decades, Cirrus Logic’s flagship expertise has contributed to a variety of audio applications across the pro audio, PC, and smartphone markets.

The new reference design will expand Cirrus Logic's best-in-class audio experience to more PCs. These performance and fidelity benefits extend to both headset and speaker mode, enabling louder and deeper bass, clearer voice, lower distortion, and more. Cirrus Logic’s proprietary rattle limiter algorithm reduces noise and vibration due to rattling mechanical components, enabling a quieter, higher-fidelity user experience.

The audio design—which helps the industry transition to the new SoundWire® interface and Microsoft’s ACX framework, is scalable across different processors, speakers, and notebook designs, making it easy for OEMs to implement high-performance audio subsystems that easily scale in channel count and features. The design also has built-in security features designed to minimize unauthorized access to sensitive microphone/speaker data, and the enablement of next-generation features like spatial audio, which enables a more realistic and engaging audio experience.

Longer Battery Life

The benefits of Cirrus Logic power and audio technology extend to the device battery, with this new reference design permitting substantially longer battery life. The PC-optimized solution enables designs with lower cost and less waste due to lower power consumption, reduced board space, and fewer components. The end-result is that these long-lasting batteries will be matched by smaller, thinner notebooks.

Cirrus Logic Inc.

Cirrus Logic is a leader in low-power, high-precision mixed-signal processing solutions that create innovative user experiences for the world’s top mobile and consumer applications. With headquarters in Austin, Texas, Cirrus Logic is recognized globally for its award-winning corporate culture. Check us out at www.cirrus.com.

Cirrus Logic, Cirrus and the Cirrus Logic logo are registered trademarks of Cirrus Logic, Inc. SoundWire is a registered trademark of MIPI Alliance, Inc. All other company or product names noted herein may be trademarks of their respective holders.

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