Link Play A98 User manual

Linkplay Wireless Smart Audio
Module (A98)
User Manual
Revision 0.6
July 31, 2019

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HISTORY
Version Date Description
0.1 05/04/2018 Initial Version Release
0.2 09/13/2018 Hardware Parameter Update
0.3 03/27/2019 Hardware Interface and Mechanical Dimension Update
0.4 05/11/2019 Update Dimension
0.5 06/11/2019 Update Dimension and Package
0.6 07/30/2019 Add I/O Power Domain Information

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INDEX
1. Overview ............................................................................................................................................................. 4
1.1. Parameter ................................................................................................................................................. 5
2. Hardware Description .......................................................................................................................................... 9
2.1. Description of Hardware Interface .......................................................................................................... 9
2.2. Mechanical Dimension .......................................................................................................................... 12
2.3. External Antenna ................................................................................................................................... 14
2.4. Typical Application ................................................................................................................................ 15
2.5. Power on Sequence ................................................................................................................................ 17
2.6 USB OTG Port ....................................................................................................................................... 17
3. Software Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 18
3.1. Feature List ............................................................................................................................................ 18
3.2. APP Support .......................................................................................................................................... 18
3.3. Certifications.......................................................................................................................................... 19
4. Module Environmental and Package ................................................................................................................. 19
4.1. Environmental Ratings .......................................................................................................................... 19
4.2. Electrostatic Discharge Specifications ................................................................................................... 19
4.3. A98 Module Picture ............................................................................................................................... 20
4.4. Sticker Specification .............................................................................................................................. 20

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1. Overview
Linkplay Wireless Smart Audio module–A98, is our 3rd generation smart audio modules developed to be used
in the connected speaker, sound bar and other connected audio devices. It integrates the low power Broadcom
BCM43455 Wi-Fi/BT chip and Amlogic A113X application processor. A113X is an advanced application
processor designed for connected audio applications. It integrates a powerful CPU subsystem, advanced
multi-format audio processing unit, a secured running environment and all major peripherals to form the low power
audio AP.
The main system CPU is a quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU with L1 instruction/data cache for each core and
a large unified L2 cache to improve system performance. Each Cortex-A53 CPU can run up to 1.5GHz (DVFS +
hot plug) and has a wide bus connecting to the memory sub-system. When the system is suspended, the main CPU
can be powered off and the cortex-M3 in the always-on power domain can resume the system from multiple
interrupt sources.
The audio processing engine (APE) is based on ARM® NEONTM general-purpose SIMD architecture which
works seamlessly with main CPU to accelerate the multimedia processing algorithms, enhancing the user
experience. It is able to decode all major high resolution audio formats including MP3, AAC, WMA, RM, FLAC,
Ogg, etc and with the flexibility to support future audio standards.
A113X integrates all standard audio input/output interfaces including multiple TDM, PCM, I2S and SPDIF
digital audio input/output interfaces, and 8 channel far-field PDM digital microphone (DMIC) inputs. Audio input
has power detector to wake up from low activity states and hardware assisted synchronization blocks for multiple
room audio applications. Audio input data can be restricted to trusted memory space to protect always-on audio
privacy.
A98 module supports IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 2.4GHz and 5GHz. It also supports BT4.2 with EDR and BLE.
A98 module also provides USB, I2S, I2C, PDM, SPI, UART etc. interfaces.
The firmware is fully compatible with Apple AirPlay and digital living network alliance (DLNA) streaming
standards. It supports Hi-Fi audio up to 192KHz, 24-bit with most popular audio formats. It supports multi-room
and multi-channel audio streaming with perfect synchronization.
With this module, you can play the music on your speaker wirelessly from iPhone, iPad , iPod touch, Android
devices or PC. More important, it enables the traditional speaker system to become the Internet enabled device
through the wired or wireless connection provided by the module. Thus, you could freely playback any Internet
audio contents such as music, podcast, radio or either the accompany audio in the movie directly from the Internet.
Features
 Amlogic A113X application processor
 128MB DRAM
 128MB NAND FLASH
 Support IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac 1x1 antenna diversity Wi-Fi dual band
 Support BT4.2 with EDR and BLE
Application
 Connected speaker, Sound Bar
 Connected audio devices

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1.1. Parameter
Type Items Performance
Wi-Fi Certification Wi-Fi Alliance
WLAN Standard IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi compliant
Wi-Fi (2.4G)
Frequency Range 2.400 GHz ~ 2.483 GHz (2.4 GHz ISM Band)
Number of Channels Ch1 ~ Ch13
Modulation 802.11b : DQPSK, DBPSK, CCK
802.11g/n : OFDM /64-QAM,16-QAM, QPSK, BPSK
Output Power
802.11b /11Mbps : 16 dBm ± 1.5 dB @ EVM≤-9dB
802.11g /54Mbps : 15 dBm ± 1.5 dB @ EVM≤-25dB
802.11n /MCS7@HT20 : 14 dBm ± 1.5 dB @
EVM≤-27dB
SISO Receive Sensitivity
(11b,20MHz) @8% PER
- 1Mbps PER @ -96 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 2Mbps PER @ -90 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 5.5Mbps PER @ -88 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 11Mbps PER @ -86 dBm, ± 2 dB
SISO Receive Sensitivity
(11g,20MHz) @10% PER
- 6Mbps PER @ -90 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 9Mbps PER @ -88 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 12Mbps PER @ -87 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 18Mbps PER @ -85 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 24Mbps PER @ -83 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 36Mbps PER @ -80 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 48Mbps PER @ -76 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 54Mbps PER @ -73 dBm, ± 2 dB
Receive Sensitivity
(11n,20MHz) @10% PER
- MCS=0 PER @ -89 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=1 PER @ -85 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=2 PER @ -84 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=3 PER @ -80 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=4 PER @ -77 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=5 PER @ -75 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=6 PER @ -72 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=7 PER @ -70 dBm, ± 2 dB
Maximum Input Level 802.11b : -10 dBm
802.11g/n : -20 dBm
Antenna Reference External: I-PEX, Small antennas with 0~2 dBi peak gain
Wi-Fi (5G)
WLAN Standard IEEE 802.11a/n 2x2, Wi-Fi compliant
Frequency Range 4.900 GHz ~ 5.845 GHz (5.0 GHz ISM Band)
Number of Channels Please see the following table
Modulation 802.11a : OFDM /64-QAM,16-QAM, QPSK, BPSK

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802.11n : OFDM /64-QAM,16-QAM, QPSK, BPSK
802.11ac : OFDM /256-QAM
Output Power
802.11a /64-QAM(R=3/4) : 14 dBm ± 2 dB @
EVM≤-25dB
802.11n /64-QAM(R=5/6) : 13 dBm ± 2 dB @
EVM≤-27dB
802.11ac/256-QAM(R=3/4) : 12 dBm ± 2 dB @
EVM≤-30dB
802.11ac/256-QAM(R=5/6) : 10 dBm ± 2 dB @
EVM≤-32dB
SISO Receive Sensitivity
(11a,20MHz) @10% PER
- 6Mbps PER @ -90 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 9Mbps PER @ -88 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 12Mbps PER @ -87 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 18Mbps PER @ -85 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 24Mbps PER @ -81 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 36Mbps PER @ -78 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 48Mbps PER @ -73 dBm, ± 2 dB
- 54Mbps PER @ -72 dBm, ± 2 dB
SISO Receive Sensitivity
(11n,20MHz) @10% PER
- MCS=0 PER @ -89 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=1 PER @ -87 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=2 PER @ -84 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=3 PER @ -81 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=4 PER @ -77 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=5 PER @ -73 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=6 PER @ -71 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=7 PER @ -70 dBm, ± 2 dB
Receive Sensitivity
(11n,40MHz) @10% PER
- MCS=0 PER @ -87 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=1 PER @ -84 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=2 PER @ -82 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=3 PER @ -78 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=4 PER @ -75 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=5 PER @ -70 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=6 PER @ -69 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=7 PER @ -67 dBm, ± 2 dB
Receive Sensitivity
(11ac,20MHz) @10% PER
- MCS=0 PER @ -88 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=1 PER @ -86 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=2 PER @ -83 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=3 PER @ -80 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=4 PER @ -76dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=5 PER @ -72 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=6 PER @ -70 dBm, ± 2 dB

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- MCS=7 PER @ -69 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=8 PER @ -65 dBm, ± 2 dB
Receive Sensitivity
(11ac,40MHz) @10% PER
- MCS=0 PER @ -86 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=1 PER @ -82 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=2 PER @ -80 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=3 PER @ -77 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=4 PER @ -74 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=5 PER @ -69 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=6 PER @ -67 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=7 PER @ -65 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=8 PER @ -63 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=9 PER @ -62 dBm, ± 2 dB
Receive Sensitivity
(11ac,80MHz) @10% PER
- MCS=0 PER @ -82 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=1 PER @ -79 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=2 PER @ -77 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=3 PER @ -73 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=4 PER @ -70 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=5 PER @ -68 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=6 PER @ -64 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=7 PER @ -62 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=8 PER @ -59 dBm, ± 2 dB
- MCS=9 PER @ -58 dBm, ± 2 dB
Maximum Input Level 802.11a/n : -30 dBm
Antenna Reference External: I-PEX, Small antennas with 0~2 dBi peak gain
Bluetooth
Certification BQB
Bluetooth Standard Bluetooth V4.2 of 1, 2 and 3 Mbps
Antenna Reference External: I-PEX, Small antennas with 0~2 dBi peak gain
Frequency Band 2402 MHz ~ 2480 MHz
Number of Channels 79 channels
Modulation FHSS, GFSK, DPSK, DQPSK
Output Power
(Output power can be
configured by HCD
firmware)
10 dBm (Max.)
Sensitivity @ BER=0.1%
for GFSK (1Mbps) -86 dBm, typical
Sensitivity @ BER=0.01%
for π/4-DQPSK (2Mbps) -86 dBm, typical
Sensitivity @ BER=0.01%
for 8DPSK (3Mbps) -80 dBm, typical
Maximum Input Level GFSK (1Mbps): -20dBm
π/4-DQPSK (2Mbps) : -20dBm

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8DPSK (3Mbps) : -20dBm
Hardware
Working Voltage 3.5-5.5V
Working Current 200 ~ 240mA (STA mode)
Standby Current 5mA
Operating Ambient
Temperature 0℃ ~ 40℃
Storage Temperature -5℃ ~ 45℃
Wi-Fi Working Distance 2.4G 80 meters/5G 150meters
IO Extension USB, I2S, I2C, PWM, SPI, UART
Dimension NGFF golden finger 67PIN
Table1-1 Linkplay A98 module parameters
5GHz(20MHz) Channel table
Band (GHz) Operating Channel Numbers Channel Center Frequencies(MHz)
5.15GHz~5.25GHz
36 5180
40 5200
44 5220
48 5240
5.25GHz~5.35GHz
52 5260
56 5280
60 5300
64 5320
5.5GHz~5.7GHz
100 5500
104 5520
108 5540
112 5560
116 5580
120 5600
124 5620
128 5640
132 5660
136 5680
140 5700
5.725GHz~5.845GHz
149 5745
153 5765
157 5785
161 5805
165 5825

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2. Hardware Description
2.1. Description of Hardware Interface
A98 provides the option to connect with customer board through its 67-pins NGFF golden finger. The detail is as
follows.

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Figure 2-1 A98 Interface Pins
Pin Description:
Pin No. Pin Name Type Description Power Domain
1, 3, 5,
16, 23,
25, 27,
28, 34,
46, 50,
53, 54,
58, 63,
64, 74,
75
GND Supply Digital ground GND
2，4，6 VDD_5V Power Power supply input > 800mA 3.5 - 5.5V
7 GPIOZ_7 I/O General purpose input output 3.3V
17 I2C1_SCL I/O I2C bus1 clock 3.3V
19 I2C1_SDA I/O I2C bus1 data 3.3V
21 GPIOZ_3 I/O General purpose input output 3.3V
29 GPIOZ_6 I/O General purpose input output 3.3V
31 PWM_B O Pulse Width Modulation B 3.3V
33 PWM_D O Pulse Width Modulation C 3.3V
35 PWMAO_C O Pulse Width Modulation AO_C 3.3V

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37 PWMAO_D O Pulse Width Modulation AO_D 3.3V
39 UART0_RXD I UART0 receive 3.3V
41 UART0_TXD O UART0 transmit 3.3V
43 GPIOAO_7 I/O General purpose input output 3.3V
45 GPIOAO_6 I/O General purpose input output 3.3V
47 PWMAO_A O Pulse Width Modulation AO_A 3.3V
49 I2C0_SDA I/O I2C0 bus data 3.3V
51 I2C0_SCL I/O I2C0 bus clock 3.3V
55 GPIOA_19 I/O General purpose input output 3.3V
57 ADC_CH0 I/IPU ADC input 1.8V
59 MCLK_C O Master clock C 3.3V
61 GPIOAO_13 I/O General purpose input output 3.3V
65 GPIOA_20 I/O General purpose input output 3.3V
67 USB_DM I/O USB data minus 3.3V
69 USB_DP I/O USB data plus 3.3V
71 USB_VBUS I USB voltage detection 5V
73 USB_ID I USB ID 1.8V
18 GPIOZ_5 I/O General purpose input output 3.3V
20 GPIOZ_1 I/O General purpose input output 3.3V
22 GPIOZ_0 I/O General purpose input output 3.3V
24 PWM_C I/O Pulse Width Modulation C 3.3V
26 GPIOZ_2 I/O General purpose input output 3.3V
30 UART1_RXD I UART1 receive 3.3V
32 UART1_TXD O UART1 transmit 3.3V
36 PDM_DIN3 I PDM input data 3 signal 3.3V
38 PDM_DIN1 I PDM input data 1 signal 3.3V
40 PDM_DIN2 I PDM input data 2 signal 3.3V
42 PDM_DCLK O PDM output clock 3.3V
44 PDM_DIN0 I PDM input data 0 signal 3.3V
48 TDMB_DIO1 I/O TDM B input and output data1 3.3V
52 TDMB_SCLK I/O TDM B bit clock 3.3V
56 TDMB_DIO0 I/O TDM B input and output data0 3.3V
60 TDMB_FS I/O TDM B L/R clock 3.3V
62 TDMC_DIO1 I/O TDM C input and output data1 3.3V
66 TDMC_DIO0 I/O TDM C input and output data0 3.3V
68 TDMC_FS I/O TDM C L/R clock 3.3V
70 TDMC_SCLK I/O TDM C bit clock 3.3V
72 MCLK_B O Master clock B 3.3V
Table 2-1 A98 Module Pin Description
Notes:
1. I：Input

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2. O：Output
3. P：Power
4. IPU：Internal Pull Up
5. IPD：Internal Pull Down
2.2. Mechanical Dimension
Linkplay A98 module has the dimension of 62.8mm x 42mm. The detailed layout will be given shortly below.
Unit: mm
PLUG PCB dimensions:
NGFF connector dimensions:
Top View Dimension

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TOP Components Height Limit

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Bottom Components Height Limit
Figure 2-2 A98 Physical Dimension
2.3. External Antenna
A98 uses the external antenna for the best Wi-Fi performance. To use external antenna, please choose the antenna
type that meets the requirement of IEEE 802 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi standard running at 2.4GHz/5GHz frequency. The
detailed parameters are shown in the table below.
Item Parameter
Frequency range 2.4 ~ 2.5GHz/4.9 ~ 5.8GHz
Impedance 50 Ohm
VSWR 2 (Max.)
Reflection loss -10dB (Max.)
Connector I-PEX or populate directly
Table 2-5 External Antenna Parameters for A98

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2.4. Typical Application
A98’s typical reference design:
DAC
2/4/6-MIC Far-Field

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Power and OTG

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2.5. Power on Sequence
2.6 USB OTG Port
Please follow the design rule below to populate the USB host interface:
Item Parameter
Signal Group USB
Topology Differential Pair Point-to-Point
Reference Plane Ground Referenced
Characteristic Trace Impedance (Zo) 90 Ω ±10%
Trace Width 4 mils
Serpentine Spacing (center to center) 8.5 mils

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Minimum Isolation Spacing to Clock Signals 50 mils
Minimum Isolation Spacing to Low-Speed Signals 20 mils
Minimum Isolation Spacing to other USB Pair 20 mils
Total Length (with package length) < 8000 mils
Maximum Recommended Via Count 2 (per side)
DM to DP Length Matching (with package length) Match total length to within ±10 mils
Table 2-2 A98 USB Design Rule
3. Software Introduction
3.1. Feature List
 “Easy Setup” to setup your network, with the help of one button of your device, you can connect the device to
your home router quickly.
 Music stream protocol
Support Spotify Connect, Airplay, DLNA and QPlay protocol
 Amazon Alexa
 Music content
Support iHeartRadio, Napster/Rhapsody, Tidal, Deezer, vTune, Qobuz, Audible, Radio.de, NPR，Ximalaya，
Qingting FM, QQ FM, Douban FM inside, with the help of App, you can search, stream, playback and preset
the musics of the above music services.
 Multiroom
Support multiroom.
Support Airplay, Spotify, Bluetooth, Aux-in multiroom playback.
 Music format
HTTP/HTTPS/RTSP/MMS/TS protocol
HLS/ASX/M3U playlist format
MP3/AAC/FLAC/ALAC/WMA/APE/OGG codec
 BT
Support 4.2：A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HID profiles
Support BLE
Support EDR
 Preset
With the help of App, you can store the music account token and playlist in the A98. Then the end user can
play the playlist by the button/voice or timer even without the App.
3.2. APP Support
 iOS App
≥ iOS6.1，suggest iOS10 and above

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 Android APP
≥ Android 4.3.3
 Quick Customization
With the help of the Linkplay compile server, you can change the brand and some strings, change the logo and
some pictures to get a customization App.
3.3. Certifications
Linkplay can help you to finish follow certifications:
 Wi-Fi Logo
 BQB
 Amazon Alexa
 MFi
 Spotify Connect
 DLNA
 Qplay
4. Module Environmental and Package
4.1. Environmental Ratings
The environmental ratings are shown as following table.
Characteristic Value Units Conditions/CommentsA
Storage Temperature -5 ~ 45 ℃
Relative humidity Less than 60 % Storage
Less than 80 % Operation
4.2. Electrostatic Discharge Specifications
Extreme caution must be exercised to prevent electrostatic discharge (ESD) damage. Proper use of wrist and heel
grounding straps to discharge static electricity is required when handling these devices. Always store unused
material in its antistatic packaging.
ESD Specifications
Type Symbol Condition ESD Rating Unit
ESD Handling ESD_HAND_HBM
Human Body Model Contact
Discharge per
JEDEC EID/JESD22-A114
1000 V
Machine Model
(MM) ESD_HAND_MM Machine Model Contact 30 V

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CDM ESD_HAND_CDM
Charged Device Model Contact
Discharge per
JEDEC EIA/JESD22-C101
300 V
4.3. A98 Module Picture
Notes:
Linkplay: Linkplay logo
A98: module number
V01: MP version of A98 module
4.4. Sticker Specification
Notes:
Line 1. Model Name：AP6355SD
Line 2. Lot Code (Tracking No.)：Coding by 98P Manufacture order, 8 characters in total.
Line 3. Date Code：YYWW, 4 characters in total base on week of testing
Line 4. Wi-Fi MAC, CODE SYMBOLOGY：data matrix, Configuration by Manufacture order.
Line 5. Wi-Fi MAC, 12 characters, Configuration by Manufacture order.
Sticker size：10mm*9mm（High temperature sticker）
1) Delivery