Cirrus Logic announced 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.

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.

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.