AnalogSteph
Major Contributor
I thought I'd do some poking around regarding what the oldest converter chips are that are still very much active today (if not necessarily in the same iteration and the same process). Here's what I found:
DACs:
And we haven't even gotten to the 2002/3 wave of DACs yet!
ADCs:
Codecs:
DACs:
- AD1856 (1988ish) - the uses for a classic 16-bit R-2R multibit DAC may be limited these days unless perhaps you're an NOS DAC enthusiast, but you can still buy one 35ish years in (limited grade selection and SOIC only, but still)
- AD1851 (1990ish) - another 16-bit R-2R job that's still active if you need one
- PCM1728 (1998-06) - the 24/96 DAC, a stripped-down PCM1716, is still alive and well
- PCM1737/PCM1739 (1999-11) - these early 24/192 DACs are still around as well
- AD1852 (2000) - this upper-midrange 24/192 DAC is marked NRND (not recommended for new designs) so probably won't be around much longer, but still
- PCM1748, PCM1742 (2000-12) - the PCM1728 relative with a lesser filter and its 24/192 cousin are still around as well.
- PCM1738 (2001-01) - this early high-performance 24/192 DAC is still active
- CS4392 (2001-05) - another classic 24/192 job you can still buy
And we haven't even gotten to the 2002/3 wave of DACs yet!
ADCs:
- AD1877 (1994?) - I have no idea who even used this consumer 16-bit delta-sigma ADC back in the day, perhaps this is why it's still active (I guess AD's definition of "active" = "we still have a bunch sitting on the shelf"); can anyone confirm that this really came out in 1994, it seems 1-2 years late?
- PCM1801 (1999) - another modest consumer 16-bit single speed ADC that's still around
- PCM1802 (2001-11) - a not quite as modest 24/96 job
- PCM1804 (2001-11) - an early midrange 24/192 ADC that used to be fairly popular (e.g. EMUs pre-M)
- AD1871 (2002) - another 24/96 part, NRND now
- CS5361 (2002) - a classic midrange 24/192 ADC
- CS5351 (2002) - a consumer ADC, now marked NRND
- CS5381 (2002-12) - a classic high-end ADC
- PCM4202 (2003) - another classic high-end ADC
Codecs:
- PCM2904/PCM2906 (2002-06) - these classic 16-bit USB codecs are still kicking
- CS4272 (2003-03) - an absolute classic that is found in tons of audio interfaces to this day with no end in sight (more or less a CS5361 + CS4392 combo)
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