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Topic: Does M-Audio manufacture their own audio processors? (Read 4857 times) previous topic - next topic
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Does M-Audio manufacture their own audio processors?

I've been looking into getting a mainstream-quality soundcard that would allow me to do hobby-level mixing of raw pre-recorded tracks.  I was surprised to discover in the specification/reviews that most companies actually use use the A/D, D/A chips from dedicated DSP companies like Cirrus Logic or C-Media.  I was also surprised that I was able to find out more technical info on cards from companies like Asus/Auzentech etc. rather than M-Audio.

I was wondering how much of the boards (say of Audiophile 2496) are made in house rather than assembled from other companies?  I couldn't find info on the actual processors used in these boards, even though I read many forum posts saying that for m-audio was the preferred choice for music production.

Thanks in advance

Does M-Audio manufacture their own audio processors?

Reply #1 –
Quote from: kittkatt0 on
I've been looking into getting a mainstream-quality soundcard that would allow me to do hobby-level mixing of raw pre-recorded tracks.  I was surprised to discover in the specification/reviews that most companies actually use use the A/D, D/A chips from dedicated DSP companies like Cirrus Logic or C-Media.


A/D and D/A converters are standard commodity parts.  They're essentially interchangeable, so making your own makes about as much sense as making your own resistors and capacitors


Quote from: kittkatt0 on
I was wondering how much of the boards (say of Audiophile 2496) are made in house rather than assembled from other companies?  I couldn't find info on the actual processors used in these boards, even though I read many forum posts saying that for m-audio was the preferred choice for music production.


Generally sound cards don't have processors.  They're basically a PCI (or PCI-E) bridge connected to A/D and D/A converters as well sp/dif, toslink, etc transmitters for digital out.  All of these things are commodity parts.

Does M-Audio manufacture their own audio processors?

Reply #2 –
A major chip fabrication factory runs about $100,000,000 to $1,000,000,000 just to set up and start operating, if I recall the last time I read anything about such. How many audio equipment companies are going to invest umpteen years of revenue to manufacture their own chips? I rather doubt that any of them make the capacitors, resistors, and other small parts that go on the boards either. All that is irrelevant in regards to designing and producing the soundcards, which probably are their own efforts.

Does M-Audio manufacture their own audio processors?

Reply #3 –
Quote from: kittkatt0 on
I was wondering how much of the boards (say of Audiophile 2496) are made in house rather than assembled from other companies?  I couldn't find info on the actual processors used in these boards, even though I read many forum posts saying that for m-audio was the preferred choice for music production.

The most important components of the Audiophile 2496 are:
  • VIA VT1712 (Envy 24): PCI Multi-Channel Audio Controller
  • AKM AK4528: High Performance 24Bit 96kHz Audio CODEC

You can easily find the data sheets online.

I've also found a list of some soundcard chipsets/DACs on head-fi.
 

Does M-Audio manufacture their own audio processors?

Reply #4 –
Quote from: AndyH-ha on
A major chip fabrication factory runs about $100,000,000 to $1,000,000,000 just to set up and start operating, if I recall the last time I read anything about such. How many audio equipment companies are going to invest umpteen years of revenue to manufacture their own chips?


A billion would be way on the low end.  Global Foundry's new plant in upstate New York is projected at $4.2 billion.

However there are intermediate levels of commitment on the ladder of developing your own products.  You can design your own chip at any level from vague arm waving of what function you want to a complete layout, farming the rest of the process out to others, then have it made at someone else's fab.  Or you can buy the major blocks of the design (A/D and D/A, memory,  maybe an ARM or DSP processor) and add custom circuits to the chip to fill out your own requirements.

Whether it is worth it to do any of this as opposed to buying chips that are already on the market depends whether it gives you some cost advantage (maybe makes the circuit board cheaper) or functional advantage (maybe you're going for ultra low power, or has to run in harsh environment.)

Does M-Audio manufacture their own audio processors?

Reply #5 –
Quote from: AndyH-ha on
A major chip fabrication factory runs about $100,000,000 to $1,000,000,000 just to set up and start operating, if I recall the last time I read anything about such.


If you want to fabricate a chip, you don't build a fab.  You go to a foundry and pay them to fab it for you.  That said, the cost of doing so is likely too great for small volume products like professional sound cards, so these will tend to use commodity parts if at all possible.

Does M-Audio manufacture their own audio processors?

Reply #6 –
Quote
I've been looking into getting a mainstream-quality soundcard that would allow me to do hobby-level mixing of raw pre-recorded tracks.
Mixing pre-recorded digital tracks does not require a soundcard at all!  (Except for monitoring.)  Mixing is  done digitally by your CPU.

If you are recording "live", you need a good low-noise interface with proper low-impedance balanced mic inputs.    If you are digitizing analog recordings, any good soundcard (and many cheap soundcards) is probably better than the analog recording.

I wouldn't worry about the D/A & A/D chips.  I'd look at the performance & specs.  Higher-quality products might have better build-quality, better components, and to better testing to assure conformance to the specs. 

Where I work (a non-audio company) we program-in a custom calibration curve for every single unit, which calibrates-out some of the error/variation in the D/A & A/D chips.  We can squeeze-out performance that's better then the chip-specs.  And, if the device doesn't meet our specs, it doesn't get out the door.  (I doubt there are any audio devices built this way, but its an example of what can be done.)

Does M-Audio manufacture their own audio processors?

Reply #7 –
Quote from: kittkatt0 on
I've been looking into getting a mainstream-quality soundcard that would allow me to do hobby-level mixing of raw pre-recorded tracks.  I was surprised to discover in the specification/reviews that most companies actually use use the A/D, D/A chips from dedicated DSP companies like Cirrus Logic or C-Media.  I was also surprised that I was able to find out more technical info on cards from companies like Asus/Auzentech etc. rather than M-Audio.

I was wondering how much of the boards (say of Audiophile 2496) are made in house rather than assembled from other companies?


It is my understanding that M-Audio like just about everybody else relies on contract manfuacturing.  Their chips are off-the shelf parts and generally clearly labelled as such.

Their DSPs are mostly VIA.

Their codecs, ADCs and DACs tend towards AKM.

I beleive that AKM and perhaps VIA are what is known as "fabless chip houses" which means that their chip designs are fabircated by contract houses.

So your AP 2496 was likely assembled by a contract house out of chips that were produced by contract houses. Behind several curtains we find the designers who may have been contract houses.

For example, the iPod was designed by a contract house that was eventually bought out by Nvidia.

Quote
I couldn't find info on the actual processors used in these boards, even though I read many forum posts saying that for m-audio was the preferred choice for music production.


M-Audio sells some good hardware and have defiantely separated me from some cash over the years leaving me with a smile on my face. But, their competition do good work too. Computer audio interfaces is a very competitive niche business.