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Audio amplifier AMP chip application field and demand trend

AMP (Audio Power Amplifier) is an electronic power amplifier chip. A low-power electronic audio signal from a sound source or a pre-amplifier can be amplified to generate enough current to drive a speaker or headphone speaker for sound playback. Amps are divided into five main categories, Class A, B, AB, and D and G. Among them, Class AB and Class D are relatively mainstream in the market due to their advantages of high power and low distortion.

Audio power amplifier (AMP) chips are mainly used in consumer electronics, automobiles and entertainment. The subordinate terminal devices include smart phones, TV sets, computers, home audio systems, automotive infotainment systems and professional audio systems. The audio power amplifier chips of smart phones and other mobile devices account for the largest proportion, accounting for about 28% of the whole downstream market. In the automotive field, AMP chip is an indispensable part of car audio. In order to use audio, speakers and other necessary functions, a car needs to be configured with at least one AMP chip.

At present, the role of AMP in the automotive field is mainly to amplify the weak electrical signal from the main engine to drive the speaker to emit sound. With the steady progress of automobile electrification, China's new-energy vehicle penetration rate has reached 22% by July 2022, which will benefit the automotive chip industry as a whole. The acquisition part of digital oscilloscope is mainly composed of three chips and a circuit, in which AMP chip will magnify the signal to improve the sensitivity and dynamic range of oscilloscope. Digital oscilloscope is an indispensable testing and measuring instrument in advanced electronic technology and product R&D and scientific research. With the continuous growth of global and domestic investment in electronic technology R&D, the market scale of high-end oscilloscope is expanding rapidly. At present, our country's oscilloscope mainly focuses on low-end products, the price is relatively low, high-end products rely on imports, and the overall scale is small. In 2021, it will be more than 3 billion yuan. With the advancement of domestic localization, the average price and demand of the whole oscilloscope will continue to advance. It is expected that there is still a large development space for Chinese digital oscilloscope.

AM P chip industry participates in many manufacturers, the market pattern is scattered. Currently, the major AMP market participants are stmicroelectronics, Toshiba, Qualcomm, Infineon, Anson Semiconductor and Texas Instruments. Among them, stmicroelectronics is one of the largest semiconductor chip suppliers in Europe, occupies a leading position in the audio power amplifier chip industry, mainly occupies the European and American automobile market, accounting for nearly 70% of the global market share. And Toshiba is also the industry leader in this field, mainly occupying the Japanese car market, accounting for nearly 30%.

The on-board AMP market demand is divided into front and rear AMP market demand. AMP chip is a standard component of in-car infotainment system, and at least one AMP electronic chip is required for every vehicle delivered. In addition, due to the need to reduce costs, the original car audio system effect is poor, and the power is not enough to fully meet the requirements of the horn, when the owner has a higher level of listening needs, it is necessary to install power amplifier. With the increase of global automotive user experience demand combined with the trend of automotive intelligence, the AMP front loading market as a whole shows the current situation of rising volume and price, while the rear loading market has a low penetration rate and large expansion space. Moreover, domestic enterprises occupy geographical and cost advantages, which is expected to benefit from rapid expansion.