This section provides an overview for digital-to-analog converters as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 23 digital-to-analog converter manufacturers and their company rankings. Here are the top-ranked digital-to-analog converter companies as of November, 2024: 1.Rupert Neve Designs, 2.Microchip Technology Inc., 3.Curtiss-Wright Corporation.
Table of Contents
A digital-to-analog converter is an electronic circuit that transforms digital signals into analog signals, bridging digital devices and the analog world. As digital devices like PCs and smartphones operate on digital signals, a digital-to-analog converter is essential when analog output, such as sound or light, is required. Due to the continuous nature of analog signals, the digital-to-analog converter output is an approximation of the digital input. An AD converter performs the inverse operation, converting analog signals to digital.
Digital-to-analog converters are integral to devices requiring analog signal output, including PCs, smartphones, digital audio devices, and TVs. They also play a critical role in smart speakers with speech synthesis functions, converting digital audio data into analog signals. External digital-to-analog converters, offering high-quality audio output, have become popular for enhancing sound quality from digital sources. Moreover, digital-to-analog converters are used in video equipment for converting digital video data into analog signals for devices with VGA and RCA inputs. Industrial equipment also relies on digital-to-analog converters for precise, continuous control.
The resistor-string method is a common, cost-effective digital-to-analog converter conversion technique, utilizing a series of resistors to create voltage levels proportional to the digital input. This method offers linear and accurate conversions but scales poorly with increased resolution. Alternative methods include capacitor-based, current source, and low-pass filter approaches for varying applications and performance needs.
Despite improvements in digital-to-analog converter conversion accuracy, the discrete nature of its output can introduce noise, affecting the analog signal quality. The performance of connected components, such as speakers, also influences the final analog output quality. Adjustments and component selections should be made with the system's overall balance in mind.
As digital-to-analog converters find applications in increasingly sophisticated systems, their precision becomes critical. Digital-to-analog converter accuracy is affected by offset error, gain error, and integral non-linearity error, with the total error being a combination of these factors. While offset and gain errors can be calibrated, integral non-linearity errors are more complex, necessitating memory for error parameters and careful management to minimize system load.
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Curtiss-Wright Industrial, one division of Curtiss-Wright, originally founded in 1929 with its headquarters in the USA, is an integrated manufacturer of precision-engineered products and systems. The company, which includes the legacy brands of Arens Controls, Penny & Giles, PG Drives Technology, and Williams Controls, primarily serves the aerospace, defense, and naval markets worldwide. Products include power electronics, motor controllers, joystick controls, and industrial sensors. With manufacturing facilities in the USA, the United Kingdom, China, and India, Curtiss-Wright Industrial also provides support services for critical applications and system overhauls.
Pinnacle Systems Inc., located in Batavia, IL has been a manufacturer of safety products for industrial machine guarding applications for many decades. The company’s products include safety light curtains, safety mats, ergonomic palm buttons, safety relays, and safety controls, among others. The company also provides risk assessment services for industries. Another flagship product of the company is safety relay hubs which provide a complete safety solution for machines and are programmable as per the requirement of the customer.
Honeywell International Inc. was founded in 1885 and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Honeywell is a diversified technology and manufacturing company to global customers in many industries such as aerospace, building technologies, performance materials, manufacturing, and safety. Honeywell produces hardware and software solutions for each industry it serves. In building technologies, Honeywell designs access controls, electrical and wiring, fire life safety, and employee training services. In aerospace, Honeywell designs cockpit systems and displays, engines, cabin management and cleaning, and health and usage monitoring.
Yaskawa America, Inc. - Drives & Motion Division, founded in 1967 and located in Waukegan, Illinois, is a manufacturer of AC inverter drives, servo and motion control, and robotic automation systems. They offer a range of products that include industrial AC drives, HVAC drives, machine controllers, gear motors, and articulated robots. Yaskawa's products are used for precise control, automation, and motion capabilities, enhancing efficiency and productivity in diverse manufacturing, industrial, and automation processes. These applications include factory automation, CNC machining, material handling, packaging machinery, and HVAC systems. The company is also ISO 9001:2015 certified.
Microchip Technology Incorporated was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Chandler, Arizona. The company is a developer and manufacturer of control solutions for global markets including the automotive, industrial, communications, human-machine interface, and connectivity industries. The company’s products include microcontrollers, field-programmable gate array products, MOSFET and radio frequency products, and both wired and wireless communications products. The company’s services include wafer foundry and assembly services, test subcontracting manufacturing services, development tools for enabling system designers to program microcontrollers and processors, and timing system products.
Incorporated in 1965, Analog Devices, Inc. designs, manufactures, tests, and markets integrated circuits (ICs), software, and subsystems that leverage analog, mixed-signal, and digital signal processing technologies. The company provides data converter products, power management and reference products for power conversion, driver monitoring, sequencing, and energy management applications in the automotive, communications, industrial, and high-end consumer markets. In addition, the company provides digital signal processing and system products for high-speed numeric calculations. It serves clients in the industrial, automotive, consumer, instrumentation, aerospace, and communications markets.
Cirrus Logic Inc., established in 1984 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, United States, is a designer and manufacturer of high-precision analog and digital signal processing components. The company offers products such as audio amplifiers, haptic drivers, and volume controls. These products find use in audio system manufacturing and are utilized in sensing and power-related applications. A significant number of its components are integrated into smartphones, laptops, and digital wearables. It also offers services such as assisting with implementing combined hardware and software audio solutions, tuning services, and mechanical and acoustic product design.
Keysight Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1939 and headquartered in Santa Rosa, California. Keysight is a global developer and manufacturer of electronic design and test solutions to communications, networking, aerospace, defense, and government, automotive, energy, semiconductor, electronic, and education industries. Keysight’s communications solutions group solutions include electronic design automation software; radio frequency and microwave test solutions, hardware and virtual network test platforms and software applications, as well as optical laser source solutions. Keysight’s electronic industrial solutions group offers various design tools and verification tools. Keysight offers product support, technical support, and training and consulting services. It sells its products through direct sales force, distributors, resellers, and manufacturer's representatives.
Acromag was founded in 1957 and operates out of Wixom, Michigan. Acromag designs critical measurement instrumentation equipment for the petrochemical and aerospace industries as a designer of analog and digital control products for the industrial I/O and defense OEMs markets. Acromag has two primary segments: signal conditioners & network I/O and embedded I/O & processing solutions. For signal conditioners, Acromag produces ethernet I/O modules, temperature transmitters, signal splitters, process limit alarms, signal converters, and more. For embedded I/O, Acromag also produces interface I/O boards, reconfigurable FPGA boards, and more. Acromag manufactures its products in the United States and ships globally.
American Portwell Technology is a global company that specializes in designing and manufacturing a wide range of embedded computing solutions, including single-board computers and industrial motherboards. Established in 1993, it has provided embedded computing solutions to various industries, including automation, gaming, medical, and military. The Company has received several industry recognitions for its quality products and services. Its products are proven by customers around the world for their reliability, scalability, and flexibility. The company's aim on research, development and technology has enabled it to stay ahead in the fast-paced and rapidly evolving embedded computing industry.
MOON’s is headquartered in Shanghai, China. MOON’s is a manufacturer or motion control products. Among these products are stepper drives and motors, brushed and brushless DC motors, servo drives and motors, integrated motors, BLDC drives, lighting drivers and control products, and condition monitoring products. MOON’s has achieved ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 certification.
Asahi Kasei Microdevices Corporation, founded in 1980, is a Japanese manufacturer headquartered in Chiyoda City, Tokyo, specializing in sensing devices and integrated circuit (IC) products. The company’s product offerings include magnetic sensors, current and gas sensors, audio devices, and specialty devices. These products have diverse applications, such as in personal electronics, where AKM provides compact and low-consumption features for sound and magnetic sensing. They offer CO2 sensors and transceiver IC for millimeter-wave radar with high spatial recognition for smart homes. Additionally, AKM provides rotation angle sensors in industrial equipment like robots and motors to achieve accuracy and off-axis alignment simultaneously.
Renesas Electronics Corporation was established in 2002 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Renesas is a global research, design, and manufacturer of semiconductors used in industries spanning automotive, consumer electronics, the internet of things, power & energy, and industrial sectors. Renesas manufactures both analog and digital products. Analog products include amplifiers, audio & video devices, data converters, PLC, and switches & multiplexers. Digital products include microcontrollers, memory components, sensors, wireless connectivity products, and others. Renesas also offers design resources such as kits, development tools, partner programs, and design tools.
Teledyne e2v Semiconductors, founded in Chelmsford, England in 1947 is a manufacturer of semiconductor devices and power radio frequency solutions. The company's product portfolio includes RF Power solutions, Hi-rel semiconductor solutions, image sensors, cmos image sensors, and CCD image sensors. They serve markets such as medical, mining, food processing, vehicle manufacturing, and aerospace avionics. The company has offices in, Grenoble (France), Seville (Spain) and Beijing (China) and provide services including product selection, installation, preventative maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair.
Hoffer Flow Controls, Inc. is a manufacturer of turbine flow meters and process equipment that was established in 1969 in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, USA. The company primarily produces turbine flow meters for liquids, cryogenic fluids, and gasses. It also offers subsea turbine flow meters for deepwater operations, flow electronics such as converters and amplifiers, and flow accessories such as valves and fittings. The company’s products are used mainly by clients in the pharma-biotech, power generation, and oil and gas industries.
Woo Audio New York Inc., founded in 2004 and headquartered in Elmhurst, New York, is an audio equipment manufacturer specializing in amplifiers, DACs, and audiophile cables. The company’s products include WA7 Fireflies, WA8 Eclipse, and the flagship WA33 elite edition. Its electrostatic headphone amplifiers, such as the ES8 and 3ES, exemplify cutting-edge technology for audiophiles. The company’s amplifier undergoes meticulous hand assembly and point-to-point wiring, followed by rigorous stress tests lasting at least 8 hours, ensuring meticulous scrutiny for quality assurance.
Texas Instruments Incorporated was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Texas Instruments is a producer of high tech equipment for industrial, automotive, personal electronics, communications equipment industries. Texas Instruments designs, manufactures, and sells semiconductors to electronics designers and manufacturers in the United States and internationally. Texas Instruments operates in two segments: analog and embedded processing. The Analog segment offers power products, including battery-management solutions, DC/DC switching regulators, power switches, linear regulators, voltage references, and lighting products. The Embedded Processing segment offers microcontrollers that are used in fields such as electronic equipment and digital signal processors for mathematical computations.
Acme Chip Technology Co. Ltd., founded in 2008 and based in Shenzhen, China, is a distributor of electronic components that is ISO 9001 certified. Its products include sensors, power supplies, and optical inspection equipment sourced from several manufacturers, including Advanced Linear Devices Inc., Central Semiconductor Corp., and Fluke. The company also offers a large stock of electronic components, including obsolete components and old code chips that are always available for immediate shipment.
Teledyne e2v, established in 1947 and headquartered in Chelmsford, England, is a manufacturer of components and subsystems. The company possess various core capabilities, including semiconductor design and processing, covering various components like data converters, microprocessors, imaging devices, and more. It also specializes in high-power Radio Frequency (RF) solutions, including magnetrons, thyratrons, and microwave power modules. It specializes in engineered systems and integration, offering non-contact deactivation and security systems, making the company a qualified provider for applications in medical, science, aerospace, defense, and industrial applications.
Agile Analog is an analog IP manufacturer founded in 2017 in Cambridgeshire, The United Kingdom. The company created Composa™, its own methodology. Its core strength is customization, where each item manufactured aims to satisfy each of its client's needs in an optimized manner. In addition, its IP products offer various functions, from sensing and security to power management and data conversion. The venture's team is composed by analog engineers, semiconductor executives and chip designers with experience in the semiconductor IP industry.
Rupert Neve Designs is a manufacturer of professional audio equipment based in the USA. Established in 2005, the company is renowned for its analog audio gear that embodies excellence in sound engineering. Its product lineup includes a range of audio solutions, including analog mixers, microphone preamplifiers, equalizers, compressors, and more. These offerings are engineered to cater to recording studios, broadcast facilities, live sound setups, and music production environments. The company's products have won sixteen coveted TEC (Technical Excellence and Creativity) Awards since 2006.
Digilent is based in Pullman, Washington State, USA, and is a manufacturer of electrical engineering products that was established in 2000 before being acquired by National Instruments in 2013. The company primarily produces microcontroller boards for robotics or automation, field-programmable gate array (FPGA) boards, and Pmod and Zmod expansion modules for providing I/O options for portfolio microcontroller and FPGA boards. The company’s products are commonly used in the robotics, artificial intelligence, and computer science industries.
Ranking as of November 2024
Derivation MethodRank | Company | Click Share |
---|---|---|
1 | Rupert Neve Designs |
11.1%
|
2 | Microchip Technology Inc. |
11.1%
|
3 | Curtiss-Wright Corporation |
8.6%
|
4 | Pinnacle Systems Inc. |
7.4%
|
5 | Keysight Technologies |
7.4%
|
6 | Cirrus Logic, Inc |
6.2%
|
7 | Yaskawa America, Inc. - Drives & Motion Division |
4.9%
|
8 | Analog Devices, Inc. |
4.9%
|
9 | Woo Audio New York Inc. |
3.7%
|
10 | American Portwell Technology, Inc. |
3.7%
|
Derivation Method
The ranking is calculated based on the click share within the digital-to-analog converter page as of November 2024. Click share is defined as the total number of clicks for all companies during the period divided by the number of clicks for each company.Number of Employees
Newly Established Company
Company with a History
*Including some distributors, etc.
*Including some distributors, etc.
Country | Number of Companies | Share (%) |
---|---|---|
United States of America | 10 | 71.4% |
Japan | 2 | 14.3% |
China | 1 | 7.1% |
United Kingdom | 1 | 7.1% |
7 products are listed.
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