Texas Instruments has announced what it says is the industry's first stereo Class-D amplifier with dynamic range compression and speaker protection, aimed at boosting audio performance in portable devices. The TPA2016D2 is a highly advanced, filter-free, stereo Class-D amplifier that provides 1.7 W per channel output drive capability with an 8-ohm load and is said to provide better overall volume than traditional Class-D products.
To increase the volume from the speaker, the TPA2016D2 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. In addition, the DRC capability makes up to 20% of the processing power of the digital signal processor available for other functions.
The DRC can be configured via an I2C link and lets designers specify the design parameters that optimise their system's audio performance. For instance, the gain can be configured over a range of –28 dB to +30 dB, and the attack, hold and release times, compression ratios, and noise threshold values can also be adjusted.
Evaluation modules with software, including a user-friendly graphic user interface, are available. The user interface includes a dynamic graphic plot that displays the input-output relationship for fast evaluation.
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