Embedded software module compensates for the negatives of smaller, closely-spaced speakers on a wide range of consumer devices

For Immediate Release

Boston, MA/April 7, 2004 --- Sonic Network Inc., a provider of scalable audio technology to the mobile, consumer electronic and toy industries, announced that it has begun shipment of its 3D Expander, a stereo widening enhancement module. The first licensees of the Sonic 3D Expander include two wireless chipset and one multi-media semiconductor manufacturer. This audio enhancer, aimed at the OEM/ODM market, joins Sonic’s lineup of embeddable audio effects processors including loudness maximization, reverberation, high-frequency enhancement/synthesis, and Chorus. The new 3D Expander is an embeddable software module that can be used to compensate for the negatives of closely-spaced speakers on a wide range of consumer devices including wireless handsets, portable audio players, laptop PCs, games and toys. Coupled with Sonic Booster™, Sonic’s new audio maximizer, manufactures can now offer higher quality audio playback on their devices without incurring the cost of adding additional hardware.  

On small devices that provide digital audio playback of MIDI, MP3 and other audio streams, miniature and closely spaced speakers do not have enough spatial separation to recreate a realistic stereo sound field. Sonic’s 3D Expander compensates for this limitation by simulating an acoustic environment to accentuate the differences between the left and right speakers, in effect virtually separating them to widen the perceived source of the sound. It does so by creating the multiple object reflections that would occur in a 3D environment had the speakers been placed further apart. When used with the Sonic Booster, the widening effect is more pronounced in noisy environments, making the combination of the two modules very applicable to cellular handset and wireless chipset manufactures. 

Although the Sonic 3D Expander is a stereo processor, it can also be utilized with monaural audio to provide a widening of the source material. Similarly, for instruments which are centered in a stereo field such as a bass or voice, the 3D Expander effect creates a widening of the instrument or vocal placement in the stereo field, thus making the sound ‘larger.’ The 3D Expander effect is useful in a wide range of consumer devices such as a cellular handsets, laptop PCs, and DVD players, thus providing a very cost effective way for manufactures to provide product differentiation from their competitor’s products without the addition of any additional hardware. 

As the mobile and portable audio industry grows, consumers continue to demand higher and higher quality audio from their playback devices. To help meet this demand, Sonic offers several other audio enhancer software modules, designed to enhance digital audio playback of MIDI, MP3 and other audio streams. These solutions, all part of Sonic’s Embedded Audio System (EAS) line, are designed from the ground up as low memory and low MIPS algorithms, thus providing the highest quality audio in the smallest possible footprint.

About Sonic Network, Inc.:
Sonic Network, Inc. provides embedded audio technology and content (music and sounds) that enable high quality, engaging audio and multi-media playback. The company licenses its products in a wide variety of markets including Wireless Devices, Semiconductors, PC Soundcards, Games, and Music Synthesizers. Consumers enjoy crystal clear music and multi-media playback on all devices, despite a particular platform's memory, processing or functional constraints. For this reason, Sonic has gained a well-deserved reputation of providing superb next-generation quality audio. 

Sonic Network also maintains an active retail product line of over 200 Sound Library and Music products called "Sonic Implants", sold worldwide via international distributors, retail music stores and the Internet to musicians and composers writing for film, TV, games and wireless audio applications. Sonic Network technology and content is market-proven and currently resides in tens of millions of consumer and professional devices.

   HTML: http://www.sonicnetworkinc.com/press_releases.htm
   ONLINE NEWSROOM: http://www.sonicnetworkinc.com/press.asp
   LOGO: http://www.sonicnetworkinc.com/press/Sonic%20Network%20Logopress.GIF

KEYWORDS: 3D, stereo enhancement, Stereo expander, embedded audio, MIDI ringtones, wavetable, audio synthesis

SOURCE: Sonic Network, Inc.