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Merus Audio launches amplifier chip with 90 percent reduction of energy consumption at "Sound of Denmark" in Silicon ValleyPALO ALTO, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- After several years of intense product development, Merus Audio is now ready to launch a new amplifier chip to the world's leading manufacturers of consumer electronics. The ultra-efficient and compact chip will primarily address the Home Audio segment, but the technology will also extend the battery life of portable devices like cell phones. CEO of Merus Audio, Hans Hasselby-Andersen, will present and demo the amplifier chip MA12070 on October 22 at Sound of Denmark's panel event open to the public. (info below) "The demo will mark the important transition from concept to a product ready for customer sampling," says Hasselby-Andersen, who will use the demo to compare the amplifier chip's performance with competing technologies in what marks the company's first public product presentation. Sound of Denmark is a delegation of Danish audio professionals organized by Innovation Center Denmark in Silicon Valley and Danish Sound, an innovation network representing more than 180 Danish audio companies as well as research communities within the sound domain. From October 21-24, Sound of Denmark brings the best of Danish audio technology and knowledge to Silicon Valley to explore and foster new relationships, business opportunities, and R&D collaborations. This happens through networking events, workshops and site visits to local audio giants such as Sennheiser and Dolby. The Danish audio industry is disproportionate to the size of Denmark with Danish hearing aids making up close to 50 percent of global production. Executive Director of Innovation Center Denmark, Camilla Rygaard-Hjalsted recognizes how this pioneering achievement has spurred related Danish research in the field of acoustics: "Coming out of Denmark right now, we're seeing world-class research-ranging from human perception of speech and sound, through hearing, loudness, music recognition, and hearing loss to computer aided speech," she says. The average yearly growth of the Danish audio sector, from 2005 through the recession to 2012, was at a robust eight percent. Director of Danish Sound, Jan Larsen, sees a huge opportunity in introducing Danish audio knowhow to the global arena: "We have some very successful Danish audio companies with well-known products and an export share above 90 percent, but we also see global potential in new niche products on the audio market that we can help leverage with initiatives like Sound of Denmark," says Larsen. One such niche product is made by Ortofon. The Danish company will showcase a prototype of a new bone conductor that interprets sound by producing vibrations transmitted through the skull to the inner ear where it is perceived as sound. This technology aids those with hearing loss while also benefitting professionals in the security, fire prevention, and law enforcement sectors that need to communicate clearly while keeping the ear unobstructed to surrounding sound. CTO at Ortofon, Leif Johannsen, sees Sound of Denmark as a unique opportunity to meet developers of future audio products: "We believe that the quality of Ortofon bone conductors as compared to traditional bone conductors opens up a new world of applications. We need to create the right networks in order to make this happen and this is where Sound of Denmark plays a crucial role," says Johannsen who looks forward to demoing the bone conductor solution at the showcase event October 22. The bone conductor is one of the audio products Silicon Valley is tuning into at the moment-especially since Google (News - Alert) launched the Google Glass prototype featuring the technology. Sound of Denmark panel Sound of Denmark's panel event in Silicon Valley on October 22 from 6-9pm is free and open to the public with a pre-sign up requirement: Visit https://soundofdenmark.eventbrite.com/ to sign up. The event is organized by Innovation Center Denmark and will feature numerous new product and research presentations from Danish companies and scientists as well as U.S. researchers. The presentations include: Merus Audio: The amplifier chip MA12070 from Merus Audio is based on the company's patented eximo™ technology that reduces power losses at typical listening levels by up to a factor of 10 compared to conventional class-D amplifiers. Amplifier solutions based on the chip are 1/5th the size of many existing solutions on the market giving manufacturers unprecedented freedom in designing modern applications with very tough space constraints. The market for amplifier chips is estimated at $1.4 billion within the next five years, with energy efficient amplifiers expected to experience significant growth. The chip is targeted a wide range of high-volume consumer electronics applications, including soundbars, docking/wireless speakers, surround and stereo systems, TVs, and portable applications. Ortofon: Ortofon is the leading specialist and developer of acclaimed phono cartridges, headshells, tonearms, high-end audio cables, step-up transformers, and accessories for installation of cartridges and tonearms. In tandem with the production of its core products, Ortofon has now branched into the nascent bone conductor industry, developing products aimed at both the hearing aid sector as well as consumer electronics. http://ortofonmicrotech.com/bone-conductors/ Short video presentation: https://www.dropbox.com/s/e7lybosbqgbhozs/Ortofon-60%20second-QuickTime%20H.264.mov About Innovation Center Denmark Innovation Center Denmark facilitates the entry of technology-based Danish companies into Silicon Valley, connects research, capital, and companies, innovates business models and market strategies, and delivers the inspiration that drives innovation. Innovation Center Denmark is a joint effort between The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Science and Technology and a new type of commercial mission located in technological hot spots around the world. http://icdk.um.dk/en/about-us/innovationcentres/siliconvalley/ About Danish Sound The Danish Sound Innovation Network was founded in 2009 and is an Innovation Network in the program administered and funded by the Danish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Higher Education. The Network's main priority is to facilitate cooperation and knowledge dissemination in relation to research and innovation between companies and knowledge institutions from Denmark and abroad and to strengthen research, development and innovation in Danish companies, thereby supporting the efforts to increase knowledge based growth and productivity. Product photos in high resolution can be downloaded here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/pt5x3ffvnerjqp8/QP0yCCN7wj
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