[sdiy] CoolAudio?

[brianw]

Fabless designs can only be made in fabs that are compatible. When THAT Corp shuts down their old fab, the chip designs basically cannot be made anywhere.

THAT Corp was already offering their fab to others who might need its specific capabilities. In other words, THAT Corp was not using their fab for only THAT parts. The combined business was still not enough to pay the bills for keeping the fab running indefinitely.

It's highly unlikely that there's still any other fab plants with the same or compatible technology as THAT's, because it was already a "dead" technology when THAT Corp started with it.

A fabless ARM processor design can probably be completed at just about any modern fab. I don't know the details about SSI and their designs, but I'm assuming they're not designed around rare and discontinued fab technology, so SSI can still shop around for a modern fab that can handle their designs.

As Mike mentioned, the chips from THAT Corp would have to be redesigned - with a lot of testing to hope that the new design is compatible - before they could be manufactured at a fab other than the one THAT Corp is shutting down due to lack of financial viability.

Brian


On Sep 4, 2026, at 2:23 PM, Mattias Rickardsson wrote:
> Perhaps fabless actors like SSI can still turn around the money even if THAT's own fab is not viable for only THAT parts?
> And perhaps even Alfa, if they mostly use their fab for other products?
> 
> /mr
> 
> Den fre 4 sep. 2026 22:44Mike Bryant <mbryant at futurehorizons.com> skrev:
> If THAT and CoolAudio (and Toshiba, TI and Rohm of course) can't make performance analogue audio parts pay, is there much long term hope for the other THAT parts, and for Alfa, SSI and any others I can't remember ?
> 
> From: Mattias Rickardsson
> Sent: 04 September 2026 20:07
> To: Mike Bryant
> Cc: Sawtooth Glitch; Quincas Moreira; SDIY List
>  
> Fwiw, Alfa at least makes their AS2180 VCA which seems to be a drop-in replacement for THAT 2180/2181 in the surface-mount form factor.
> https://www.alfatriode.lv/eng/sc/AS2180.php
> 
> Can't remember seeing any reports on how they compare, are there any?
> 
> /mr
> 
> Den fre 4 sep. 2026 20:53Mike Bryant skrev:
>> As far as I can work out, the Alfa process is 2 micron BiFETs on 3" wafers.   So probably not suitable for the devices THAT are obsoleting, but they may be able to produce something compatible.  However their fab is kept going by space work, and the audio chips are a sideline.
>> 
>> From: Quincas Moreira
>> Sent: 04 September 2026 19:07
>> To: Sawtooth Glitch
>> Cc: SDIY List <synth-diy at synth-diy.org>
>>  
>> Probably best to try Alpha from Latvia 🇱🇻 
>> 
>> Quincas Moreira
>> 
>> On Fri 4 Sep 2026 at 11:30 a.m. Sawtooth Glitch wrote:
>>> Cabintechglobal.com has stock for several Coolaudio products.
>>> 
>>> From: H.Sergio Alves
>>> Sent: Friday, September 4, 2026 7:07 AM
>>> To: Neil Johnson
>>> Cc: SDIY List <synth-diy at synth-diy.org>
>>> 
>>> Cool audio is part of music tribe and they populate most of Behringer crap.. doubt they will shut up shop but most likely won’t be selling to small timers like us
>>> 
>>> On Fri, 4 Sep 2026 at 15:05, Neil Johnson via Synth-diy <synth-diy at synth-diy.org> wrote:
>>>> Has anyone checked the CoolAudio website recently?
>>>> 
>>>> Have they shut up shop as well?
>>>> 
>>>> Neil
>>>