Oxford Semiconductor FireWire Audio Controller Supports First Bus-Powered, High Fidelity Speakers from LaCie

Business Wire, Jan 9, 2007

MILPITAS, Calif. -- A FireWire audio controller from Oxford Semiconductor is the enabling technology behind the first ever bus-powered speakers from LaCie. LaCie's new FireWire Speakers boast a unique exterior design by Neil Poulton, while using the Oxford Semiconductor OXFW970 chip to bring high-quality sound to desktops and notebooks via a single FireWire connection. The speakers also feature an audio line input for direct connection of MP3 players.

"With FireWire ports in all MACs and gaining acceptance in more than 50% of Windows laptops, consumer applications that utilize the power of FireWire for audio and video applications are on the rise," said Sundar Vanchinathan, Oxford Semiconductor VP of Business Development.

By harnessing FireWire's characteristically high line power capacity, the LaCie FireWire Speakers produce a minimum 8W output and as a consequence, achieve a deeper, richer sound than possible from limited 2W USB speakers. Being bus powered, the speakers remove the need for separate batteries or AC power adaptors.

Compatible with FireWire, the OXFW970 takes in 24-bit serial audio data, samples it at 96 kHz, and produces digital sound from four I2S outputs. It also provides two audio inputs for instrument and microphone line inputs. In a 100-pin TQFP package, the chip integrates an ARM7 processor, high-speed buffer manager, RAM and flash memory.

By enabling digitized sound to be carried from the PC for distribution to a satellite speaker configuration with a built-in high precision audio DAC, the FireWire audio controller offers immunity from conducted noise, hum and crackle, which can be a feature of the analog audio output of some PCs.

Through its FireWire audio controllers, Oxford Semiconductor has led the development of breakout boxes, external sound cards and multi-channel speaker systems, providing laptop users with quality sound for the very first time. Oxford's 3rd generation audio controller, the OXFW971, with the capability to support 16 inputs and 16 outputs along with SPDIF and MIDI, has been designed into leading suppliers to the music industry and is in production now.

FireWire[R] is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.

About Oxford Semiconductor

Oxford Semiconductor designs and markets high-performance connectivity solutions for the storage, multimedia, communication, computing, and industrial markets. Founded in 1992, Oxford Semiconductor is a privately owned company headquartered in Milpitas, California. Oxford Semiconductor recently acquired TransDimension, a fabless semiconductor company based in Irvine, Calif., adding USB connectivity solutions to its product portfolio.

As the market leader in IEEE1394 (FireWire) and USB interface controllers for direct attached storage applications, Oxford Semiconductor has shipped more than 50 million devices, and today supplies all of the world's major external storage manufacturers.

Oxford Semiconductor also has a strong reputation in high speed serial communication chips, and offers complete solutions for bridging between a wide-range of standard computer interfaces.

Through its FireWire audio controllers, Oxford Semiconductor has led the development of breakout boxes, external sound cards and multi-channel speaker systems, providing laptop users with quality sound for the very first time. More information about Oxford Semiconductor can be found at http://www.oxsemi.com.

About LaCie

LaCie creates external storage solutions and color monitors that help professionals and everyday users easily manage their digital lives. Powerful technology combined with unique designs by the internationally acclaimed Philippe Starck, Neil Poulton, Porsche Design GmbH, Ora-Ito and Karim Rashid make LaCie the world leader in storage innovation. Established in France in 1989, LaCie is now headquartered in North America, Europe and Asia and listed on the Paris Nouveau Marche (code 5431). For more information, visit www.lacie.com.