At Crystal Semiconductor’s operations in South Austin, it’s not unusual to hear rock music reverberating from the offices. The company has made a name for itself by designing the processors used in high-end amplifiers as well as mixing boards and guitar pedals–the high-tech tools of the working musician.
Because of its products, Crystal attracts many workers who are also musicians.
Crystal has found success at the intersection of music and technology. That segment of the high-tech industry is thriving as big-name performers, garage-band dreamers and composers who create on computers are using technology to make music.
The chips Crystal designs are called digital signal processors. It’s a hot part of the semiconductor business as more applications call for multimedia processing. The DSPs translate sound into digital signals that can be manipulated. They are used in portable devices such as telephones as well as music-related components.
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Dave Bresemann, director of marketing for consumer and professional audio at Crystal, said the company wants to keep making and selling chips for high-end uses such as studio mixing boards while moving into a home theater market fueled by sales of digital video disc technology.
“Our product line is pretty unique, and we’re leading the industry on performance. At the same time, we’re shipping millions of devices to consumer areas as well,” Bresemann said.
Crystal and other digital signal processor makers have lowered the cost of the chips by using mass-production manufacturing techniques. That in turn helps get the cost of high-quality receivers and audio components below $300, far below what digital equipment used to cost.
That helps musicians deliver more sound for less money.
Joseph Deeb, a sales associate at Heart of Texas Music in Austin, said wireless systems for guitar players and singers have increased in popularity as prices have dropped. Those systems start at about $200 and can reach $3,000 for touring-quality sound systems.
Jeff McIlwain, who composes music under the name L’Usine, has created a mini-studio that he says makes creating music easier.
“I search for things that bring something unique to the sound,” said McIlwain. “I think the technology just makes it easier to do what you’re hearing in your head.”