VIDEO - NXP microspeaker amplifier brings 5x boost

Small speakers (especially mobile device speakers) suffer from the uneveness of amplified sound. The problem is that speakers have different damage thresholds for different frequencies -- by turning up the sound to hear the bass you increase the chances that high-frequency sounds will damage the speaker. Dutch semiconductor manufacturer NXP announced their solution yesterday: an amplifier chip that monitors the power across various frequencies and protects against overdriving. The result is that manufacturers can boost power output to the speakers (meaning louder, richer sound) without worrying about damaging the speakers.

"The improvement is so striking that consumers, handset makers and operators will immediately hear the difference,” said Shawn Scarlett, NXP director of marketing in a press release. The first video below is a short marketing ad, and the second is a more detailed demonstration of the chip's capabilities.