Wolfson Microelectronics
Parent Cirrus Logic | | |
Subsidiaries | Sonaptic Ltd | |
---|---|---|
Website | cirrus.com wolfsonmicro.com at the Wayback Machine (archived July 3, 2014) (prior to acquisition). |
Wolfson Microelectronics plc was a
Wolfson chips have found applications within the
.History
Wolfson Microelectronics plc was started in 1984 by David Milne and Jim Reid. Within a year, the company had 20 employees and a deal with
In 2006, Milne was declared Entrepreneur of the Year by the CBI, and Wolfson named Company of the Year.[6] In November 2006 David Shrigley became the CEO of Wolfson, his first appointment at this level: he had previously worked for Intel in the Asia-Pacific region, and held directorships elsewhere.[7]
In 2007, Wolfson acquired Sonaptic Ltd,[8][9] consisting of former Sensaura employees, intending to expand the companys audio market and reach.[10] Sonaptic specialized in 3D positional audio for mobile devices, which lead to the acquisition.[9]
In September 2008, Mike Hickey joined Wolfson as Chief Executive Officer Designate and became Chief Executive Officer on 1 January 2009. Mr Hickey joined Wolfson from
Cirrus Logic acquired the Wolfson for 235p per share in April 2014, valuing the company at £291 million.[13][14]
Products
Wolfson products have found applications within the
Wolfson audio products can also be found in most Tegra 2 SoC devices and some devices like the
In April 2010, Wolfson signed a licence agreement with Tensilica to create a low power, high-definition (HD) sound platform.[24]
Wolfson's chipsets were known for delivering high-quality sound that matched or surpassed the offerings of well-established manufacturers like Cirrus Logic. After replacing Wolfson's chip with a chip from Cirrus Logic there was a minor decline in Apple's iPod sound quality when connected with high-end audio gear despite the improved board design.[25][26][27]
Wolfson Microelectronics also produced the Audio Cards for Raspberry Pi Model B Rev 2 named Wolfson Audio Card.[28][29] After Wolfson Microelectronics was purchased by Cirrus Logic the Audio Card for Raspberry PI Model B+ was renamed Cirrus Logic Audio Card.[30]
IEEE/RSE James Clerk Maxwell Medal
With initial funding from Wolfson, an award called the IEEE/RSE James Clerk Maxwell Medal was established in 2006 by the
References
- ^ a b Scotsman 30 April 2014, US firm chips in for takeover of Wolfson Micro, retrieved 2020-08-02; sometimes access via Google necessary.
- ^ "Wolfson Microelectronics is to be taken over by Cirrus Logic". BBC News. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
- ^ "Squeezebox Duet Network Music System". Archived from the original on 26 May 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
- ^ Petrie, Gordon (3 February 1986). "Wolfson's Fujitsu deal first of several ventures". The Glasgow Herald. p. 15. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ "Wolfson Press Release". Wolfsonmicro.com.
- ^ "Chip hooray as Wolfson scoops double honour". Edinburgh Evening News. 1 December 2006. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
- ^ "Meet the new man at Wolfson". electronicsweekly. 28 November 2006. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- ^ "Wolfson invests in IP with Sonaptic acquisition". Growth Business. 24 July 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ^ a b "Sonaptic Acquisition by Wolfson". GrowthPoint. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ^ Sonaptic 3D Positional Audio Technology - Presentation(see page 2)
- ^ "Appointment of Mike Hickey as Chief Executive Officer Designate". Investegate. 8 September 2008. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- ^ "Former VP of Nokia to lead Sales & Product Marketing at Wolfson". Investegate. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- ^ "An audio chip giant is born: Cirrus Logic buys Wolfson Microelectronics in $467M deal". VentureBeat. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ "Cirrus Logic completes Wolfson Microelectronics takeover". BBC News. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ "Photos: Zune guts and more". cnet.com. 6 May 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "Wolfson Microelectronics again supplies the audio codec with headphone amp". Electronic Engineering Times. 5 January 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
- ^ a b "Wolfson sales on track as it plays down iPod blow". scotsman.com. 12 September 2007. Archived from the original on 17 September 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "Chips hot as iPod sales soar". zdnet.co.uk. 26 October 2005. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "Squeezebox Duet Network Music System". Archived from the original on 26 May 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
- ^ "Wolfson set to ring up profits from iPhone sales". scotsman.com. 12 January 2007. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ Arnott, Sarah (28 March 2008). "'Wolfson slumps on loss of Apple contracts". The Independent. London. Retrieved 23 August 2008.
- ^ "Samsung selects Wolfson's WM8994 for latest Bada and Android smartphones". CIE: Components in Electronics. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
- ^ "Wolfson's world-leading audio devices selected for LG mobile phones". eejournal.com. 27 July 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "Wolfson licenses Tensilica HiFi Audio to provide a high quality, power efficient sound platform". electronicspecifier.com. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ Eliot von Buskirk (18 September 2007). "IPOD CLASSIC'S SOUND QUALITY CALLED INTO QUESTION". Wired. Wired Mag.
- ^ Marc Heijligers. "iPod Classic Audio Measurements". Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2007.
- ^ "Expert audio quality test: 5th gen iPod vs. iPod classic". 17 September 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ "Cirrus Logic Audio Card | element14". Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
- ^ "Wolfson Audio Card User Documentation" (PDF). Cdn-reichelt.de. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ "Cirrus Logic Audio Card | element14". Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
- ^ Jason Laday (11 January 2007). "IEEE/Royal Society of Edinburgh And Wolfson Microelectronics Create New Award". The Institute. IEEE. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
- ^ "IEEE/RSE James Clerk Maxwell Medal". IEEE. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
- ^ "IEEE/RSE Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Award". Royal Society of Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 25 January 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2011.