Release of a processor suitable for high-end AV amplifiers supporting high-resolution audio
Optimization achieved with proprietary parameters while maintaining low distortion and low noise characteristics.

ROHM Co., Ltd. announced that it has developed a sound processor (BD34704KS2/ BD34705KS2) for use in home theaters and the like.

This product, which performs audio volume adjustment and signal path switching for high-end AV amplifiers compatible with high-resolution audio sources, is a series added to ROHM’s sound processors, which have received high acclaim with cumulative shipment performance (last 5 years) of over 120 million units.

"With the recent expansion of high-resolution audio sources, there is an increasing demand for high-end AV amplifiers to accurately express the amount of information contained in the source," said a ROHM official. "ROHM is responding to market demands for high sound quality by introducing new sound quality design technology to address the degradation of information at low volumes, which was previously difficult to resolve, thereby succeeding in expressing the amount of information contained in the source to the maximum extent."

This product maintains existing features such as low distortion (industry-leading 0.0004%) and low noise (improving the S/N ratio from -128dB to the industry-leading -131dB), which are the most important characteristics of audio products. In addition, to achieve the desired sound quality, experiments and listening tests were conducted repeatedly in a listening room installed within the company, and the know-how affecting the sound quality of the IC was consolidated into 28 proprietary parameters.

The company stated that because it achieved high sound quality through a sound design that prioritizes the spatial representation required of AV amplifiers, it received evaluations from various audio manufacturers praising it for having “a large amount of information and excellent spatial representation even at low volumes.”

Shipments of samples (sample price 2,000 yen/unit, excluding tax) began in August 2016, and mass production is scheduled to begin in December 2016 with a production capacity of 300,000 units per month.