News

Advances in technology almost always debut at the high-end and gradually filter down to mass-market products. Sharp Corporation's 1-bit digital amplification technology is no exception.

First introduced to Stereophile readers by senior contributing editor Michael Fremer in his July 2000 review of the $15,000 SM-SX100 amplifier, the technology will soon be adapted for portable audio players costing less than $300, according to a September 1 report from Tokyo.

The 1-bit technology involves an extremely high digital audio sampling rate, either the 2.8MHz rate of SACD, or its double, 5.6MHz, used to drive a digital amplifier directly, in effect making the amp work as a high-current digital-to-analog converter. The technology generates relatively little heat compared to traditional analog designs, and requires far less energy to generate the same output levels. Fremer was extremely impressed by the naturalness of the sound produced by the SM-SX100. Sharp is developing a successor to that product, the SM-SX200, but has yet to announce marketing plans for it.

The first new 1-bit portables will hit the Japanese market later this month, with a full line of such products slated for the overseas market by April 2003, according to Reuters news service. Among the new portables will be a mini-disc player retailing at about ¥28,000 (US$240) Sharp will also launch a 1-bit home theater system with a DVD player for about ¥80,000 (US$685). The company plans to incorporate the energy-efficient amplification technique into "cell phones and all sorts of media," according to Yasuo Masuda, head of Sharp's audio product planning division.

Last month, at a dealer and media conference in La Jolla, CA, north of San Diego, Sharp debuted several new 1-bit products, including prototype audio amplifiers and home-theater systems offering high-level performance without the size and weight associated with traditional designs.