Audio ICs

High-definition sound processor

BA3880S
The BA3880S is a sound processor IC that performs phase and harmonic compensation on audio signals to accurately
reproduce the “rise” section of audio signals that determines the characteristics of the sound, and thus reproduce the
original recording as naturally as possible.

Applications
Component stereo systems, radio cassette players, car
stereo systems, televisions, VCRs, and active speakers.

Features
1) Corrects distortion in the rising section of audio sig- 3) DC control provided for selection of either processor
nals that results from miss-matched speakers and mode or bypass mode.
amplifiers, and reproduces the original sound faith- 4) Bass boost fixed internally to 4dB.
fully.
2) To allow application with all types of speakers and
sources, the clarity can be adjusted using DC control.

Absolute maximum ratings (Ta = 25C)

Recommended operating conditions

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Audio ICs BA3880S

Block diagram

420
 Audio ICs BA3880S

Electrical characteristics(unless otherwise noted, Ta = 25C, VCC = 9V, fIN = 1kHz, VIN = 200mVrms,
Rg = 600Ω, RL = 100kΩ and VCTL = 4.5V)

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Audio ICs BA3880S

Measurement circuit

422
 Audio ICs BA3880S

Circuit operation
The BA3880S high-definition sound processor system the rise section of the signal be expressed accurately
IC treats the amplifier and speakers as a total audio sys- with respect to the original sound.
tem, and performs signal processing at the amplifier in- However, there is inevitable mismatching between the
put stage to accurately reproduce the rise sections of au- speakers and amplifiers in current audio systems. Solid-
dio signals that determine the characteristics of sound, state power amplifiers use negative feedback techniques
and ensure that the replayed audio is as close to the origi- and operate off a fixed voltage supply, but as speakers
nal sound and as natural sounding as possible. are a current element, mismatching in the system inevit-
ably occurs. In addition, the speaker impedance charac-
Problems relating to playback of sound on audio sys- teristics are strongly influenced by the electrical reac-
tems. tance of the voice coil, and the mechanical reactance of
With naturally-generated sound, high-frequency har- the cone assembly. As a result of this, distortion is gener-
monic components generally occur first, followed by the ated in the rising sections of audio signals, causing
fundamental frequency components. This also applies to phase shift in the reproduced sound. In addition, imped-
the attack section of the sound that characterizes many ance increases in the treble region which reduces the
musical instruments. It is the amplitude component that speaker amplitude and reduces the harmonic compo-
gives form to the frequency component and envelope at nent, and as a result there is a tendency to masking of
the rising point of sound, and this expresses the charac- large mid-frequency signal components that follow, and
teristics of the sound. Therefore, when replaying audio this makes it difficult to reproduce the rising sections of
on audio playback systems, it is extremely important that the sound.

Operating principle
To solve the problems described above, the BA3880S
performs the audio signal processing described below.

Phase shift compensation

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 Audio ICs BA3880S

The input signal is separated into three regions: bass (20 Bass boost
Hz to 150 Hz), middle (150 Hz to 2.4kHz) and treble To maintain good balance with the dynamically changing
(2.4kHz to 20kHz). These regions are then joined again treble component, the bass component is boosted. The
with the middle and treble regions phase shifted
180
bass boost is fixed at 4dB (typ.) internally, and cannot be
and
360
respectively with respect to the bass signal. adjusted.
This phase shift adjusts the delay time characteristic for
each band and minimizes the distortion of the rising sec- Mode switch
tion of the audio signal. The DC voltage on the CTL pin can be used to switch the
IC between processing mode and bypass mode. When
Amplitude compensation (harmonic compensation) processing mode is selected, the audio signal is en-
To maintain appropriate auditory balance for the treble hanced using the compensation circuits described above
region that is made up of harmonic components, a high- before being output. When bypass mode is selected, the
speed detector and high-performance VCA circuit are signal bypasses all of the compensation circuits, and
used for amplitude control of the treble component. The only passes through a buffer amplifier before output.
amount of compensation is determined from a calcula-
tion performed based on the DC level input to the CTL
pin, and the DC level detected from the input signal. The
internal control signal obtained from this calculation com-
pensates the amplitude of the treble component input to
the VCA. This amplitude compensation recovers the har-
monic component, and improves the reproduction clarity
(definition level) of instruments and vocals.

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 Audio ICs BA3880S

External components
The frequency characteristic in processing mode with
maximum definition level is given below.

As indicated in the diagram, capacitors C1 and C2 deter-

mine the treble component cutoff frequency. By varying
the values of these components, the frequency charac-
teristic can be changed as indicated by the dotted line in
the diagram. This varies the balance of the harmonic
component, and is an important factor in determining the
tone quality.

Control table

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Audio ICs BA3880S

Application example

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 Audio ICs BA3880S

Operation notes
(1) Control pin (CTL) are used, the application circuit should function correctly.
The level of the DC voltage applied to the control pin However, we recommend that you confirm the character-
should be in the range 0V to VCC. Appropriate switching istics of the circuit in actual use, and take note of the cau-
may not be possible in the region of the threshold volt- tionary items described above. If you change the circuit
age. Allow sufficient margin when setting this voltage. constants, check both the static and transient character-
(2) Recommended operating range istics of the circuit, and allow sufficient margin to accom-
Provided the IC is operated within the operating tempera- modate variations in both the IC and the external compo-
ture range and within the recommended operating condi- nents.
tions, the general circuit functions are guaranteed to op- (4) License
erate correctly, and there will not be significant changes This IC is manufactured under license from BBE Sound
in the electrical characteristics. Inc. (U.S.A.). A license agreement with BBE Sound Inc.
(3) Application example is required to use this component.
Provided the circuit constants in the application example

Electrical characteristics curves

External dimensions (Units: mm)

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Appendix

Notes
No technical content pages of this document may be reproduced in any form or transmitted by any
means without prior permission of ROHM CO.,LTD.
The contents described herein are subject to change without notice. The specifications for the
product described in this document are for reference only. Upon actual use, therefore, please request
that specifications to be separately delivered.
Application circuit diagrams and circuit constants contained herein are shown as examples of standard
use and operation. Please pay careful attention to the peripheral conditions when designing circuits
and deciding upon circuit constants in the set.
Any data, including, but not limited to application circuit diagrams information, described herein
are intended only as illustrations of such devices and not as the specifications for such devices. ROHM
CO.,LTD. disclaims any warranty that any use of such devices shall be free from infringement of any
third party's intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights, and further, assumes no liability of
whatsoever nature in the event of any such infringement, or arising from or connected with or related
to the use of such devices.
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otherwise dispose of the same, no express or implied right or license to practice or commercially
exploit any intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights owned or controlled by
ROHM CO., LTD. is granted to any such buyer.
Products listed in this document use silicon as a basic material.
Products listed in this document are no antiradiation design.

The products listed in this document are designed to be used with ordinary electronic equipment or devices
(such as audio visual equipment, office-automation equipment, communications devices, electrical
appliances and electronic toys).
Should you intend to use these products with equipment or devices which require an extremely high level of
reliability and the malfunction of with would directly endanger human life (such as medical instruments,
transportation equipment, aerospace machinery, nuclear-reactor controllers, fuel controllers and other
safety devices), please be sure to consult with our sales representative in advance.

About Export Control Order in Japan

Products described herein are the objects of controlled goods in Annex 1 (Item 16) of Export Trade Control
Order in Japan.
In case of export from Japan, please confirm if it applies to "objective" criteria or an "informed" (by MITI clause)
on the basis of "catch all controls for Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Appendix1-Rev1.0
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