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PCM2912A: Selecting an audio CODEC to driving a single mono speaker

Brendon Lovejoy
Prodigy 25 points
Part Number: PCM2912A
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: PCM2706C, PCM2906C,

Tool/software:

Hi,

I am in the process of designing a carrier board for an Intel SMARC SoM and I am having difficulty selecting a CODEC or other solution for converting HDA signals. We currently only drive a single 1W speaker in mono mode.

With limited HDA CODEC options, we began looking at other solutions, including audio over USB or PCIe. We came across the PCM29xx and PCM27xx products and think that they may be a good fit. Would you please be able to recommend one or more options for our application? Do any of the USB CODECs also feature a built-in amplifier capable of driving a 1W 8ohm speaker?

I would also be interested in learning of other solutions not listed. Thanks!

  • 0
    TI__Mastermind 46425 points

    Hi Brendon,

    None of our USB codecs have an internal amp unfortunately. However it's quite simple to connect the DAC output to the input of one of our amps via AC coupling. There are a lot of options for 1W output, but I've filtered some down here: https://www.ti.com/audio-ic/amplifiers/speaker-amplifiers/products.html#342=0.3%3B2&2982=Analog%20Input&

    I know that TPA2011 is one of the cheapest and simplest amps we have. It can also do 3.2W so it'll support your use case perfectly fine.

    The amps and codecs are supported by different teams (I support the codec side), so if you would like to narrow down an external amp recommendation further, I can pass this ticket to the amp team. Let me know how you want to proceed.

    Thanks,
    Jeff McPherson

  • 0 in reply to Jeff McPherson
    Prodigy 25 points

    Hi Jeff,

    Thanks for the amp recommendations and I will certainly look into them.  However, my main concern is selecting a CODEC/DAC for our application.  Most Intel carrier boards seem to use Realtek or similar CODECs to decode HDA signals.  However, we are trying to look for other (non-HDA) solutions, such as USB or PCIe CODECs.  Would you be able to recommend any for our application, such as those from the PCM27/29 families?

  • +1 in reply to Brendon Lovejoy
    TI__Mastermind 46425 points

    Hi Brendon,

    Sorry I didn't fully answer your question. PCM2906C is a common one and uses a mono ADC and DAC. PCM2706C has a stereo DAC and no ADC if all you are looking for is playback.

    PCM2706C is a good option if all you need is playback. It also has a beneficial feature of a USB -> I2S output conversion if you need to interface audio to other devices.

    PCM2912A is also popular one that uses a stereo DAC and mono ADC if you need the ADC channel.

    As I mentioned, an external amp will be required for any option in order to drive 1W into a speaker, but that should help with selecting a codec.

    Best regards,
    Jeff McPherson

  • 0 in reply to Jeff McPherson
    Prodigy 25 points

    Thanks Jeff!  Since we only need playback, any of those three of these devices would be sufficient.

    Do any of these chips have an expected EOL date, or are they still in steady production?  Also, would you expect any of these chips to have a longer product lifecycle, such as if PCM2912A is newer than PCM2906C?

  • 0 in reply to Brendon Lovejoy
    TI__Mastermind 46425 points

    Hi Brendon,

    They were made around the same time, so there's no real benefit in terms of age. However there are no plans to EoL any of these devices. Given the class compliance with USB, the plan for these devices is they will stay in production as long as USB 2.0 is supported (which is hopefully forever).

    Best regards,
    Jeff McPherson

  • 0 in reply to Jeff McPherson
    Prodigy 25 points

    Perfect!  Thanks again for your help.