Sierra Semiconductor Corp, San Jose has entered the personal computer sound chip market with the launch of three chip sets: the ST8000 is the basic Aria chip set, offering Sound Blaster emulation, Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation audio compression, a joystick port, a Musical Instrument Digital Interface compatible with the Roland MPU-401 port, digital audio recording, and playback; the ST8001 adds the Aria Synthesiser with a 512Kb sound library, and the ST8002 has a 1Mb sound library rather than 512Kb; all three sets are compatible with Microsoft Corp’s Multimedia Level 1 specification; out next month, the sets range in price from about $35 to about $60 when you order 10,000 or more at one time.
