Cirrus Logic Adds 32-Bit Stereo Converters for Pro Audio Designs
Three new devices—an ADC, a DAC, and a codec—pair 115 dB dynamic range with hybrid gain control and 384 kHz sampling for mixing consoles, instruments, and studio gear.
Cirrus Logic has broadened its high-performance audio converter lineup with nine new devices aimed at professional and prosumer equipment, a market the company pegs at roughly $9 billion and growing. Three parts anchor the announcement, each delivering a dynamic range above 115 dB: the CS5312S analog-to-digital converter (ADC), the CS4332S digital-to-analog converter (DAC), and the CS4233S stereo codec. Together with the previously released CS530xx and CS430xx flagship families, the trio rounds out a portfolio designed to let designers scale audio performance across product tiers without rearchitecting the signal chain for each.
A Shared 32-Bit Signal Chain
All three devices are two-channel, 32-bit designs built around differential analog interfaces and an audio serial port (ASP) that handles I2S, left-justified, and TDM formats at sample rates up to 384 kHz. On the capture side, the CS5312S and the ADC path of the CS4233S employ a fifth-order, multibit sigma-delta modulator followed by digital filtering and decimation, holding THD+N below -105 dB within a 25 mW-per-channel power budget. On the playback side, the CS4332S and the codec’s DAC path take a voltage-output approach built on a proprietary analog FIR architecture, which trims out-of-band noise while shrinking the external component count.
Housekeeping details are shared as well. Each part runs from a single 3.3 V rail, accepts 1.8 V to 3.3 V logic levels, includes a crystal oscillator interface, and ships in a 40-pin QFN package. Designers can configure the devices via hardware pins with no host processor required, via I2C at up to 1 MHz, or via SPI at up to 24 MHz. Sample timing alignment across multiple devices simplifies channel-count expansion in larger systems.
Hybrid Gain Control Reaches the DAC
The headline feature carried over from the flagship families is hybrid gain control (HGC), which synchronizes external analog gain with the converter’s internal analog and digital gain stages. According to Cirrus Logic, this arrangement improves input-referred noise as gain increases, a welcome trait for microphone preamps and instrument inputs, where the noise floor matters most at high gain settings. The CS5312S and CS4233S supplement HGC with a virtual passive attenuation device (PAD), clip detection, and signal activity detection.
Mixing consoles benefit from the converters’ hybrid gain control, keeping analog and digital gain stages synchronized. Image used courtesy of Adobe Stock
What distinguishes this generation is HGC on the playback path: the CS4332S extends synchronized gain handling to the DAC and pairs it with a new voltage output driver, giving output stages the same noise-management treatment previously reserved for inputs.
Where the New Converters Fit
All three devices are sampling now, with datasheets, evaluation board user guides, and CDB-PROAUDIO development platform documentation posted on the Cirrus Logic website.
For engineers building mid-tier audio gear, this trio lands in a practical sweet spot: flagship-grade conversion specs, a single supply rail, and control options that work with or without a host processor. Expect these parts to appear in digital mixing consoles, DAW interfaces, effects processors, and musical instruments such as synthesizers, guitar processors, and electronic pianos, as well as in audio/video receivers, active speakers, and installed AV systems. Matching ADC, DAC, and codec options from a single family also makes it easier to standardize a bill of materials across an entire product line—an unglamorous benefit, but one the purchasing department will appreciate as much as the audio path does.
