Universal Serial Bus technology sounds especially good to the product engineers at Altec Lansing Technologies.

Altec Lansing is the first company to put a USB computer speaker system on the market, a move the company believes will contribute to a revolution in PC-centric digital audio.

Taking the initiative to create proprietary USB device-level driver software provided Altec Lansing with the head-start needed to debut the USB46* computer speaker system. The speakers integrate the Intel 8x930Ax USB peripheral controller and include a pair of compact 6 watt-per-channel satellite units and a 20-watt subwoofer.

While USB allows Plug and Play integration of the speakers with a PC, the new technology also enables digital audio capabilities never available before, says Altec Lansing Senior Vice President of Engineering Tommy Freadman.

Why do digital audio and USB go together?
Freadman observes that simply replacing existing PC audio systems is not the whole story. New applications such as high-fidelity PC audio for multimedia, computer telephony and video conferencing create unprecedented demands on the system. Traditional complex audio mixer controls and compatibility issues associated with sound cards make the management of a PC a challenge for most PC users.

"We have USB host controller silicon and driver software on the system side that allows the streaming of real-time audio data entirely within the digital domain," Freadman says.

"Multimedia sound cards are a bottleneck. In contrast, USB makes the PC an integral and central part of the audio system."

In addition to eliminating sound cards, USB also enhances audio control flexibility through proprietary human interface driver (HID) software that integrates with the Microsoft Windows Driver Model.

Now, instead of complex and frequently intimidating audio mixer controls, users can adjust volume, balance and other audio system attributes from an On Screen Display window with easy to use interactive controls.

"USB integrates the multimedia digital audio system with the PC and allows us to do things that were not possible before," Freadman says.

"With USB the audio system is no longer independent of the PC. USB allows speaker volume settings to be communicated to the PC operating system, or alternatively, for changes in mixer settings to be communicated through the operating system to the device."

In a computer video telephony application, for example, USB allows the PC operating system to be 'aware' of audio settings on the video camera, the speakers, as well as the audio mixer.

"With USB, we can benefit from algorithms running on the PC's central processor. In a telephony application, this means USB can enable 'smart' algorithms for noise cancellation. In addition USB technology supports the high-capacity signal processing capabilities––such as soon to be available multi-channel audio technology––made possible by the introduction of the Pentium® Pro processor with MMX™ technology."

Altec Lansing Technologies, Inc. headquartered in Milford, PA, is the world's largest supplier of speakers to the personal computer OEM marketplace. In addition to offices in Asia and Europe, the company operates an advanced development facility in Israel, where much of its USB-related research and development was conducted.