Edinburgh, UK, 11 August 2003, Wolfson Microelectronics plc today debuted the WM8759, a low-power 24-bit stereo DAC with integrated headphone driver particularly suited for use in the next generation of portable and home music players, and digital televisions. The WM8759 provides superior sound quality with up to 50mW headphone power, supporting 16- to 24-bit word data inputs at up to 192kHz sampling rate.

Operating on split analogue/digital power supplies, the WM8759 allows very low power consumption (as low as 20mW on 2.7V supplies), less than 10uA in standby, but supporting large output power from the headphone driver. The device has been rated at 100dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), 'A' weighted at 48 kHz, with –88dB THD driving a line load and –72dB THD driving 16 Ohm headphones.

The WM8759 includes a hardware control interface for selection of audio data formats, a serial interface port, digital interpolation filters, and multi-bit sigma delta modulators. The device operates on 2.7V to 5.5V supplies and features a low-power standby mode controlled by a dedicated pin.

'Audio performance on headphones has become an increasingly significant issue for the next generation of both portable and home digital entertainment systems,' said David Milne, Wolfson’s CEO and managing director. 'The WM8759 gives designers a greater level of performance options to choose from at affordable prices.'

Availability
The WM8759 is available in a 14-pin SOIC.

About Wolfson Microelectronics
Wolfson Microelectronics plc is a privately held, award winning, fabless semiconductor company based in Edinburgh, UK. Wolfson develops and markets high performance mixed signal semiconductors for multimedia and communications applications worldwide. The company currently has sales offices in the USA, Japan and Taiwan. For further information please contact: sales@wolfsonmicro.com