First, Philips series
Origin: Netherlands
If you have to evaluate the best MP3 decoding chip on the market at present, then it is undoubtedly Philips chip. The decoding chips of the Philips family have been known in the industry for their \"full functionality, good sound quality and high price\".
Philips decoding chips generally use the BGA packaging process, and the domestic technology in this area is quite limited, in addition, because Philips decoding chips need to work together with another control chip circuit, so the product cost is high. Therefore, the manufacturers using Philips decoding chip are often positioned in the middle and high price, such as MPIO and IRIVER, two Korean MP3 professional manufacturers. One of the most common features of the two brands is the full adoption of Philips decoding chips in the product. As a result, their products have high sound quality and quality, becoming the object of pursuit for MP3 lovers around the world.
1. Philips SAA775X Series (SAA7750\/7751\/7752\/7753)
Philips SAA775x chip is currently on the market MP3 player decoding chipset with the most complete features (support CD direct recording), one of the best decoding chips. The sound quality of the decoding chip is shown as: the bass is deep, the middle is good, and the treble is average.
Because SAA775x contains DSP (Digital Signal Processing, digital signal processing) and 32-bit ARM RISC processor, it can use a single chip with high integration, audio decoding and speech coding. And you can join the SDMI (Secure Digital Music Initiative) protection.
The SAA7750 includes a DSP and a 32-bit ARM RISC processor with a signal-to-noise ratio of 90dB. The chip is compatible with multi-segment and multi-gear EQ intelligent sound effect, supports voice recording in ADPCM format, synchronous display of song title and song information, Line-in direct recording, and also supports USB1.1\/2.0 standard, which supports decoding of multiple music formats. The SAA7751 only has a DSP core and flash memory, does not contain an audio multimedia desencoder, and can only be used on an MP3 CD player that can be upgraded by itself. The SAA7752 is a price-specific solution that includes only a DPS chip and uses external memory to store data, primarily for CD Walkmen. As for SAA7753, it also has only a DSP chip, and it has changed more completely, simply replacing flash memory directly with embedded memory, corresponding to a low-price CD player system, as an additional MP3 function.
The Philips SAA775x features an embedded processor with advanced energy management capabilities that control the processor speed according to the amount of work required to extend battery life, similar to the energy-saving technology commonly used in high-end PDAs and laptops. Therefore, when the SAA775x chip plays 128Kbps MP3 at normal volume, a single AA battery can be powered for up to 24 hours. Of course, this is the theoretical working time of the chip, for MP3 players, due to the constraints of the production process, the specific working time is a different matter.
2. Philips Nexperia PNX010x Series (PNX0101\/0102\/0105)
The PNX010x series of decoding chips is also a large family, including the PNX0101, PNX0102 and PNX0105. The PNX0102 and PNX0102 are designed for flash MP3 Walkman, while the PNX0105 is designed for hard disk multimedia players.
The PNX0101 contains a 4Mbit programmable FLASH and supports only USB1.1. At present, all the USB2.0 interfaces equipped with PNX0101 chip MP3 are achieved by adding another USB2.0 control chip. (Note: Use with Molex to support USB2.0, SD\/MMC extension, etc.) While the PNX0102 has 8Mbit of programmable FLASH embedded, providing its own support for USB2.0. The PNX0105 also supports USB2.0, and also supports interfaces such as GDMA and IDE (ATA\/ATAPI\/PC Card), but it does not have built-in programmable FLASH. Only PNX0101 products are available on the market, and the upcoming MPIO's latest MP3 player FY400 uses PNX0102, while PNX0105 will not be available in bulk until 2005.
TCC730\/TCC731 series of Telechips
Origin: South Korea
1. TCC730\/TCC731 series
In terms of function, performance and sound quality, the Telechips TCC730\/731 is really better than chips such as Sigmatel's STMP3410, with sufficient bass, more balanced performance in each frequency band, and a wider sound field. However, there is still a certain gap compared with the Philips SAA7750\/7751. In addition, the Telechips TCC730 price is a little cheaper than SAA7750, but the external ROM is needed, and the peripheral components are more, so the MP3 products using this chip are rarely available.
The Telechips chip is generally considered to be between the Sigmatel STMP3410 and SAA7750\/7751 series in all aspects. Based on the sound quality of the MP3 using the chip, it will be improved if it is equipped with a more high-end headset. This type of machine will generally be standard with Sennheiser MX300 (or OEM Sennheiser) headphones, which belong to the Sennheiser popular MX series of the most civilian headphones, so it is recommended that friends with higher requirements for sound quality can try Sennheiser MX500, or a more upscale KOSS SP\/KOSS PP, Sennheiser PX100\/PX200. Because the MP3 using the chip has a certain potential in sound quality, and unlike all dealers tell you, all MP3s have improved sound quality after replacing high-end headphones, in fact, some MP3's own chip and design, production process limitations make it no longer have sound quality mining space.
2 cccc767 \/TCC766\/TCC760
TCC760 decoding chip, with a powerful 32-bit ARM940T reduced instruction set processor core, the main frequency up to 140MHz (Philips PNX0102 decoding chip uses 60MHz
The ARM7 processor core, the most common Sigmatel 3520 chip is 75MHz, and is equipped with a large capacity of 64Mbit SDRAM memory.
TCC767 and TCC766 are FPBGA package, the number of pins is not the same, the main difference is that 766 built-in audio Codec chip, and 767 needs an external Codec chip to work together, such as this V10 uses the United States TI (Texas Instruments) AIC23B stereo audio Codec chip, The sound quality varies. The biggest difference between the TCC767 and TCC766 and the previous 76x series is the built-in USB2.0 high-speed interface controller, and the use of 1MB NOR Flash (most other series are 512KB NOR Flash).
Three, Sigmatel series
Origin: USA
If you want to say that the current MP3 chip market share, then the Sigmatel family in the United States is certainly the name, but for the quality of Sigmatel chip, it is always different people. In general, the MP3 sound quality performance using Sigmatel decoding chip will be normal, the sound is relatively bright, the midrange performance is general, the low volume sense is insufficient, the treble is blunt, and its music performance is worse than Philips and Telechips chip.
1、Sigmatel 3410
Once upon a time, SigmaTel
3410 chips also occupy half of the MP3 chip market, perhaps until now STMP3410 single chip scheme is still the most mature and common scheme. Its low price and good program portability helped it capture 80% of the decode chip market share in 2003. The sound quality of the chip is general, and it is used in medium and low grade products. Now for SigmaTel
The 3410 chip scheme is mature, but without adding more design to the peripheral circuit, the sound quality will be mediocre. This is why although there are many products using this chip, the sound quality performance is different. The main MP3 players using Sigmatel 3410 solution are Maycom XP168R, DEC M220R series.
2、Sigmatel 3420\/1342
Sigmatel 3420 is more like Sigmatel 3410 upgrade version, and STMP3410 does not support MP3 hardware encoding, processing speed is relatively slow compared to Sigmatel 3410 on the basis of the Sigmatel 3410 to add USB2. 0 support, fixed Sigmatel 3410 for certain motherboards USB2. 0 incompatibility issues, also added MP3 hardware encoding function, in terms of sound quality is also improved over Sigmatel 3410.
The Sigmatel 1342 is an enhanced chip designed for flash drives, which has relatively few functions and is used in very low-end flash drives with MP3 playback functions, and its sound quality is roughly equal to Sigmatel 3410.
3、Sigmatel 3510\/3520
Compared with Sigmatel 3410, Sigmatel 3510 not only supports USB2.0, but also improves integrated energy management, supports battery charging function detection, and strengthens digital\/analog converter and headset music amplifier circuit, has sub-directory management capabilities and other intelligent functions. It can be said that the development of Sigmatel family of chips to Sigmatel 3520 has taken a big step.
Sigmatel 3520 improves the previous Sigmatel 3410\/1342 medium tone performance, treble stiff shortcomings, clear sound quality, signal-to-noise ratio is said to reach 95dB; Added hardware encoding for MP3, FM radio and USB2. Support for 0 and other functions; The Sigmatel 3520 also offers an increase in processing speed over its predecessor, reaching 75MHz (65MHz for the 34xx series). At present, the MP3 of all prices in the market have the shadow of Sigmatel 3520 chip, which also shows the great progress made by Sigmatel 3520 chip. The following is the introduction of the Sigmatel 3520 chip and the unanimous praise of Meizu E2. If there is a distinction between luxury and simplicity, the E2 certainly falls into the latter category. A slightly mediocre appearance can not hide its outstanding quality. As an enhanced version of the ME series (PLUS) E2, adhering to the Sigmatel 3520 chip of the ME series, many people have listened to it and agreed that its performance is good. In terms of overall musical expression, E2's performance is remarkable, especially in the recovery of the middle and high notes and the voice, but it is weak in the separation of the bass. Especially BASS, the drum hit the bass dive is a little less powerful. In short, this is a typical MP3 using Sigmatel 3520 chip, the performance is satisfactory.
4、Sigmatel 3550\/3560
Sigmatel 3550\/3560 is a chip dedicated to hard disk MP3 players with a processing speed of 75MHz. Functionally they are based on Sigmatel 35x0. In order to increase the cache of the hard disk as a shock absorber, the SDRAM interface is also added. Sigmatel 3510\/3520 and 3550\/3560 in addition to some differences in packaging, the main difference is that 3550\/3560 can also support lithium battery and USB direct charging, Therefore, 80% of those who see the use of lithium batteries and support USB2.0 may be Sigmatel 3550 and 3560 chips.
The difference between Sigmatel 34XX and Sigmatel 35XX series is mainly improved in the following two aspects: USB1.1 to USB2.0; Battery life growth, such as the innovative TX-FM, with a 7 battery can play for 15 hours.
5、Sigmatel 3502
It is said that the chip is aimed at the high-end market, the chip and peripheral circuit design has been greatly improved, known as the third generation of decoding chip, DSP digital signal processor main frequency rate increased to 75MHz, signal-to-noise ratio as high as 95db, output power reached 11mW, the total harmonic distortion rate is also less than 0.05%. At the end of the year, MSI launched its own civilian-oriented product, the MS-5511 enhanced version.
Msi MS-5511 enhanced version is the use of the United States Sigmatel company's cutting-edge technology product Sigmatel 3502 decoding chip. With MSI's first-class manufacturing process, the internal circuit design, welding process, circuit board materials and other unique technologies show the rigorous design and exquisite technology of well-known domestic IT factories. After listening, in the performance of music, the Sigmatel 3502 chip used by MS-5511 makes people feel that the Sigmatel 3520 chip is not much of a breakthrough, but for a price of 399 MP3, it is indeed a good choice. In addition to the many features that have been advertised, I think the 24-hour instant service enjoyed by MSI's full range of MP3 products is probably the most attractive. This is very rare in the low-end market.
3. SKYLARK chip
Origin: South Korea
South Korean ECT company's SKYLARK chip, the current domestic button machine is used, but does not support WMA at present, the price is similar to STMP3410, the function is more complete. The main features of Skylark are low power consumption and clear and pleasant sound quality. Recording to generate MP3 format files, optionally compressed bit rate; Coding direct recording function, and can adjust the compressed bit rate according to needs; Built-in FM radio, Chinese, Japanese, European 3 standard options, you can receive the program recorded in the player; Chinese, English, Korean, Japanese and other languages; Synchronous display of song title, ID3 and lyrics (support synchronous display of Chinese song title and lyrics); Independent file deletion function, easy to use; A-B point multiple hearing function; Internal memory capacity query, you can query the capacity of the internal memory.
Four, ATMEL chip
Origin: USA
ATMEL is the leading company in DSP and MCU industry. The AT89C51ND1X series chip is a hybrid DSP MCU solution for embedded multimedia applications specially developed for mp3 industry. With this chip MP3 integrated USB, MMC embedded very small system software, fully functional with USB function only 15K bytes of firmware code. This MP3 decoder and hardware interface controller is very low power consumption.
Five, Action force ATJ2085
Place of Origin: Zhuhai
Action's ATJ208564 PIN package is highly integrated. Support format MP3, WMA, WMV, ASF playback, support FM, chip price is cheaper. Now many mainland manufacturers have chosen this action force ATJ208564PIN, its disadvantage is that the sound quality is general, barely audible, FM performance also needs to be improved. MP3 players with small color screens that can play MTV videos are widely available on the market. These machines generally have a not too large (1 inch to 1.2 inches) 65K color OLED color screen, and they use the chip is basically the Torch Power 2085 chip produced in Zhuhai, China. Compared to other chips on the market, the cost of Action 2085 is close to Sigmatel 3502, but the latter does not support color screens. Another potential threat is Telechips, which obviously cost a lot more, let alone Philips. In addition, there are fewer domestic developers to do this program, so at present in this field, Action 2085 can be said to have no rivals. Although people are mostly dissatisfied with the sound quality of Action 2085, the rich features such as MTV videos, JPEG pictures, and TXT text make it easy for many consumers to accept the MP3 player using Action 2085 chip.
6. Samsung SA58450X01 ARM\/SA58450X03 ARM
Origin: South Korea
SA58450X01 ARM chip, high operating efficiency up to 200M Hertz, it is jointly developed by iriver and other companies and Samsung, and is fully manufactured by Samsung, the two companies have intellectual property rights. The iRiver T20 uses the SA58450X02 ARM chip. SA58450X03 performance is not clear.