Lab X Technologies Announces Mako™ SHARC Based DSP Module (March 9, 2005)

Rochester, NY (March 9, 2005) – Lab X Technologies, a member of the Analog Devices DSP Collaborative, announces their Mako™ DSP Module at NSCA Expo 2005. "Analog Devices SHARC DSPs are the performance leader in audio market," says Lab X President and Design Engineer Lee Minich, "which is why our new flexible and powerful Mako module features the ADSP-2126x processor. "

The Mako™ is based on an Analog Devices SHARC™ ADSP-21262 (licensed manufactures may purchase ADSP-21266 with ROM home theater decoders). The Mako We've packaged a 200 MHz DSP, SRAM for bulk delay, Flash for stand alone booting options and persistance, and even a 8 channel digital receiver to meet audio needs ranging from A/V Home Theater Receivers to pro audio signal processing.

Lab X Technologies Announces ESX™ EtherSound I/O Module (March 9, 2005)

Rochester, NY (March 9, 2005) – Lab X Technologies, an Authorized EtherSound Implementor, announces their ESX™ Network I/O Module at NSCA Expo 2005. "EtherSound is fast becoming the hot new connectivity protocol," says Lab X President and Design Engineer Lee Minich, "because of its ultra low latency, flexible network topology (both star and daisy chain alone or in combination), and ease of setup. That’s why Lab X has invested our engineering resources in developing a mechanically and electrically compatible CobraNet CM1/CM2 replacement that offers significantly more functionality." Lee Minich will be available to demonstrate and discuss the ESX Network I/O Module on the EtherSound booth at NSCA Expo, number 1954.

The ESX™ is based on a Xilinx Spartan™ 3 FPGA. In addition to its EtherSound duties, the Spartan 3 can have an embedded microcontroller. The chip can be programmed via firmware to perform EQ, mixing and other audio processing. It provides scalable input/output schemes of up to 64 channels. Its extensive GPIO capabilities can be used for user interface and control of external circuits. An Asynchronous Serial I/O port receives serial control data over Ethernet.

As an Authorized Implementor, Lab X is qualified not only sell the ESX™ Network I/O Module, but to provide engineering support to manufacturers who are seeking to develop new products or to migrate existing products to EtherSound.

EtherSound is an elegant, simple and open digital audio network standard with extremely low latency that is fully compliant with the IEEE’s 802.3 Ethernet specification. Jimmy Kawalek, Business Development Manager for EtherSound, comments: "Lab X has demonstrated their expertise in professional audio network applications with this new EtherSound module. They have developed a simple and elegant solution for many manufacturers to rapidly migrate to the EtherSound platform. The flexible paths to adopt EtherSound technology keep growing, with our Implementors on the leading edge of manufacturer support."

The new module is mechanically compatible with CobraNet™ CM1 & CM2 modules and therefore offers an easy upgrade path to EtherSound network technology
The ESX™ uses an advanced FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that provides increased input/output channels, GPIO (General Purpose Input Output) control functions and signal processing capabilities
This "soft core" architecture allows each implementation to be tailored for a particular product, and lowers parts costs by enabling the ESX module to perform product-specific functions