TI reduces car audio system cost by up to 50 percent with highly-efficient Class-D audio amplifiers

New devices extend family and provide increased system flexibility

DALLAS .- Continuing to drive innovation to meet the specific needs of its automotive customers, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) today extended its market-leading TAS54xx family of highly-efficient Class-D audio amplifiers with two new devices. The new amplifiers offer greater integration and channel flexibility, saving OEMs up to 50 percent system cost when designing automotive head unit and external amplifier applications. The latest devices offer customers the same great electromagnetic compliance (EMC) and audio performance of the TAS54xx family while providing more system-level flexibility. The amplifiers will be on display at Convergence 2008 at booth #600. (See www.ti.com/tas5412-pr.)

The TAS5412 with single-ended inputs and TAS5422 with differential inputs provide OEMs with improved system design flexibility when combined with TI’s existing four-channel amplifier devices, the TAS5414A and TAS5424A. Now car audio system architects can optimize designs that require two or six channels by more efficiently matching the number of speakers while maintaining high levels of integration. In addition, the new TAS5412 and TAS5422 are designed to operate in car audio systems without a microcontroller, offering system-level cost savings.

The TAS5412 and TAS5422 provide superior EMC performance, a key requirement that determines whether electrical components will negatively interfere with other electronic systems within the vehicle. Both amplifiers use the same patent-pending technology from the field-proven TAS54x4A, which surpasses CISPR-25 Level 5 and many OEM-specific requirements, to ensure that high-power audio systems do not compromise vehicle operation.

In addition, the TAS5412 and TAS5422 support higher voltage and current capabilities, enabling a higher maximum output power for applications where feature densities and system configurations require reduction in heat from the audio power amplifier. The amplifiers also incorporate patented PWM designs that provide excellent power supply rejection in the harsh electrical environment common in automotive applications.

Availability, pricing and certification

The TAS5412 and TAS5422 are sampling now with volume production scheduled for the first quarter of 2009. The TAS5412 is $5.30 and the TAS5422 is $5.80 in 1000-piece quantities. For more information, please see www.ti.com/tas5412 or www.ti.com/tas5422. Both amplifiers are scheduled for AEC-Q100 qualification.

Extending TI’s automotive portfolio

The latest audio amplifiers extend TI’s products for the automotive market, which are designed and manufactured in ISO/TS16949 certified facilities. With more than 30 years of experience providing customer’s with solutions to challenging automotive designs, TI enables manufacturers to achieve the quality, reliability and cost goals needed to succeed in today’s marketplace. For additional information on TI’s automotive products, please see www.ti.com/auto.