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Asound chip is anintegrated circuit (chip) designed to produceaudio signals throughdigital,analog ormixed-modeelectronics. Sound chips are typicallyfabricated onmetal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS)mixed-signal chips thatprocess audio signals (analog anddigital signals, for both analog anddigital data). They normally contain audio components such asoscillators,envelope controllers,samplers,filters,amplifiers, andenvelope generators.
A number ofsound synthesis methods forelectronically producingsound were devised during the late 20th century. These includeprogrammable sound generators (PSG),wavetable synthesis, andfrequency modulation synthesis (FM synthesis). Such sound chips were widely used inarcade gamesystem boards,video game consoles,home computers anddigital synthesizers.
Since the late-1990s,pulse-code modulation (PCM)sampling has been the standard for many sound chips, as used in theIntel High Definition Audio (IHDA) standard of 2004. The PCM sampling method is used in manymobile phones andsound cards forpersonal computers. This widespread use is part of thedigital sound revolution that started in the 1980s.
There are multiple types of sound chips, which are divided based on their use.
While traditional sound chips focus on general audio synthesis (e.g., in PCs or musical instruments), voice chips represent a specialized category optimized for voice-related applications. Based on market trends, they can be divided into five primary types, each with distinct technical characteristics and use cases.
| Type | Core features |
|---|---|
| One-time programmable (OTP) voice chips |
|
| Flash voice chips |
|
| MP3 voice chips |
|
| Text-to-speech (TTS) voice chips |
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| Voice dialog chips |
|
Sound chips are commonly used in variousdigital electronic devices, particularlypersonal computers (includingsound cards andmotherboards),video game systems (includingarcade system boards andvideo game consoles),electronic musical instruments (includingsynthesizers,digital synthesizers andelectronic keyboards), and digitaltelecommunications (includingdigital telephony,digital television,mobile phones andsmartphones).
