Digital Audio Compilers are getting user-friendly nowadays. No more programming. Creating an audio application only consists of dragging and dropping blocks, interconnecting them, for defining digital audio signal flows. Let’s read the descriptions of three of them:
- ANALOG DEVICES – SigmaStudio
- FREESCALE – Symphony Studio
- DSP CONCEPTS – Audio Weaver
ANALOG DEVICES – SigmaStudio Graphical Development Tool
The SigmaStudio™ graphical development tool is the programming, development, and tuning software for the SigmaDSP® audio processors. Familiar audio processing blocks can be wired together as in a schematic, and the compiler generates DSP-ready code and a control surface for setting and tuning parameters. This tool allows engineers with no DSP code writing experience to easily implement a DSP into their design and yet is still powerful enough to satisfy the demands of experienced DSP designers. SigmaStudio links with both Analog Devices evaluation boards and production designs to provide full in-circuit real-time IC control.
SigmaStudio includes an extensive library of algorithms to perform audio processing such as filtering, mixing, and dynamics processing, as well as basic low-level DSP functions and control blocks. Advanced record-side processing algorithms such as Enhanced Stereo Capture and wind noise detection are included in the standard libraries. Plug-in algorithms from Analog Devices and 3rd party partners can be added to SigmaStudio’s drag-and-drop library. The full set of signal processing libraries and features are included with the downloadable version.
This is $259.35 EVAL-ADAU1701MINIZ available from Digi-Key.
More details on http://www.analog.com/static/imported-files/eval_boards/EVAL-ADAU1701MINIZ.pdf
FREESCALE – Symphony Studio Development Tools plus SoundBite Development Kit
The Symphony™ Studio software tools support the entire Symphony audio DSP family, along with all Freescale DSP56300-based DSPs. By using the extensible development platform Eclipse, which is an open source industry standard, Symphony Studio provides DSP users a fresh way to develop, debug and simulate through an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). The IDE allows code creation and editing as well as project management, debugging and code compilation all in one software suite.
The two servers included in The Symphony Studio package are the cycleaware simulation server and the hardware server. The hardware server permits the use of legacy parallel port adapters and new USB-based JTAG adapters. Additionally, several third-party tool vendors offer remote servers that allow Symphony Studio hardware debugging with their JTAG adapters. Symphony Studio is fully backward compatible with existing application code, as the Suite56 assembler and linker tools are reused in the platform. Since the toolset reuses many components from the Suite56 platform, the learning curve is minimized. The IDE and C code options allow quicker code generation and easy program management.
Symphony Studio software is available for download at no charge from Freescale.
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Some time ago, Freescale introduced the Symphony SoundBite Development Kit ($150.00), designed for cost-sensitive applications and college laboratories, providing a very low-cost entry point into high-end DSP solutions. Unfortunately, the board status is now “not recommended for new designs” on Freescale website, which sounds logic as all single-core DSP563xx chips have got their status updated to “not recommended for new designs” also.
The Symphony SoundBite is capable of simultaneously processing 8 independent channels of line-level audio via 4 pairs of3.5mm stereo jacks. One input/output pair of jacks is shared with the AKM S/PDIF receiver and transmitter, enabling optical digital audio input and output. The analog processing is handled by four AKM 24-bit stereo codecs at sampling rates up to 192 kHz. Multiple banks of DIP switches and multi-colored LEDs connected to the DSP’s GPIO pins allow for user interaction with the DSP application. The Symphony SoundBite Development Kit includes the Symphony SoundBite evaluation board, a mini USB cable and a CD-ROM with all the software and documentation needed to get started. An external power supply is recommended for optimum audio performance. The Symphony SoundBite evaluation board includes the Symphony DSPB56371 processor on a small form-factor PCB, 256KB serial (I2C) EEPROM memory, mini USB interface and a DIP switches for user inputs.
More details on http://www.freescale.com/webapp/sps/site/prod_summary.jsp?code=SYMP_SOUNDBITE
DSP CONCEPTS – Audio Weaver
Audio Weaver from DSP Concepts is an innovative MATLAB-based environment for developing optimized embedded audio software. It codifies years of audio product development experience and enables algorithm and product developers to more quickly and efficiently develop products and technology. Audio Weaver is suitable for the entire lifecycle of an algorithm, from basic research, to optimization and productization, integration into end products, and ongoing legacy support. Audio Weaver supports SHARC and Blackfin processors from Analog Devices as well as native execution on the PC. Audio Weaver differs from other algorithm design tools in that is it focused specifically on audio and geared toward the needs of product developers rather than researchers. Audio Weaver automates many of the mundane tasks associated with developing embedded products and allows the designer to focus on adding sophisticated functionality or reducing time-to-market. A trial version can be downloaded.
Audio Weaver supports several different hardware targets. These targets allow to evaluate, prototype, and design the audio processing routines in advance of the production hardware. Audio Weaver Developer compiles the source code to the targets and this can serve as starting point for the firmware to be loaded into the final product.
Those two boards are powered by Analog Devices DSP chips. There is a new generation coming, hosting ARM processors. DSP Concepts recently made a presentation with a board equipped with the NXP LPC4330 microcontroller featuring the ARM Cortex-M4 core, the ARM Cortex-M0 core as I/O coprocessor, and the new SGPIO (configurable serializers) able to emulate multiple I2S lanes.
Mode details on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxbBJ24ahsY
Other Digital Audio Compilers :
OXFORD DIGITAL – TinyCore TinyTools
T.I. – PurePath Studio
