Blackfin-based Onkyo Receiver offers 80 GB of Digital Music and Direct iPod Connectivity

CD/HDD compact audio system stores and replays CD, MP3, WMA, and WAV digital audio files

Since its founding in 1946, Onkyo has been a consistent innovator and worldwide leader in high-end audio products. For the new BR-925 system, Analog Devices' Blackfin® processor was the only solution that allowed Onkyo to meet the company's design goal of delivering an attractively priced, feature-rich compact digital audio system with unmatched sound quality.

By giving Onkyo all the microcontroller and DSP functionality needed to accomplish this in a single convergent processor, Blackfin enhances the system's audiophile appeal by facilitating USB connectivity, multiple file format compatibility, and exceedingly high sonic quality.

High-Quality Audio Processing with Plug-and-Play Connectivity
Onkyo's BR-925 CD/HDD receiver system packs in 80 GB of hard disk drive (HDD) storage, exceptional sound quality, and direct iPod? connectivity to offer music lovers an expansive choice of their favorite music at home and beyond. Storing up to 20,000* tracks of high-quality digital music, BR-925 users can rip audio files from CDs or a USB storage device (such as digital audio player or USB memory stick) directly to the system's HDD. The receiver can also record directly from radio sources and transfer audio files from a PC via file transfer protocol (FTP). To access music files, a user simply plugs the device into the receiver's USB port to listen at home or to download and go.

Central to the receiver's affordable high-end performance is the Blackfin processor's single-core architecture, the workhorse behind Onkyo's fully integrated design solution. To optimize the system's sound quality, Blackfin executes powerful audio signal processing algorithms that decode and post-process diverse file types like MP3, Windows Media Audio (WMA), AAC (M4A), and WAV. Equally adept at microcontroller functionality, Blackfin performs system control for the BR-925's network protocol stack, USB protocol stack, and iPod connectivity.

Prior to using the Blackfin convergent processor, Onkyo engineers had to use separate RISC and DSP processors for similar applications, creating additional development steps, greater difficulty and system cost, and longer design times. For the BR-925 design engineers, the convergent single-chip processing solution resulted in an efficiently designed receiver with an overall lower cost of design and bill-of-materials (BOM) that is power-efficient and maximizes memory use.

Optimized Digital Sound Technology
Onkyo uses state-of-the-art technology to ensure a well-articulated digital sound by creating a noise-free analog signal from digital music sources, optimizing the digital-to-analog conversion process for CD and MP3 file playback.

Additionally, for a well-rounded experience at all volume levels, Onkyo implemented the industry-recognized Audyssey Dynamic EQ™ on the Blackfin processor for equalization and loudness correction. Whether loud or quiet, the music playback experience is true. For users choosing the optional Onkyo D-N10BX two-way, bass-reflex speakers, Audyssey Dynamic EQ™ is onboard to equalize the receiver and remove distortion.

Ensuring a wealth of quality listening opportunities, at the touch of the BR-925 remote control users have access to the Gracenote® Media Database to look up artists' names, CD titles, and millions of track lists.

Blackfin: Audio Processing Excellence
The Blackfin convergent processor is a natural choice for intensive audio processing applications, particularly when flexible connectivity and cost are considerations. ADI's developer ecosystem support allows Onkyo to leverage the capabilities of Blackfin as well as ADI's extensive experience in design and development of audio products. Onkyo used ADI's VisualDSP++® integrated development environment to develop and debug the application for Blackfin optimization and increased speed to market.

EBIU connectivity provides the groundwork for necessary consumer-friendly features with peripheral interfaces to FLASH ROM, SDRAM, USB2.0, Host Controller, Ethernet MAC and PHY, while the Blackfin processor's two dual-channel synchronous serial ports (SPORTs) facilitates the transfer of audio data.

*Based on 4-minute songs encoded at 128 kilobits per second using MP3.

Visit the Onkyo site to learn more.

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