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M-Audio’s Sonica Theater and Revolution 7.1 PC Soundcards Now Feature Premier Surround Sound Technology, CS II for the Playback of Multichannel Surround Sound From All Source Material

SANTA ANA, Calif., April 24, 2003 – SRS Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ: SRSL), a leading provider of innovative audio, voice and ASIC technology solutions, today announced that its premier multichannel audio technology, Circle Surround II (CS II), is now featured in M-Audio’s new Sonica Theater and Revolution 7.1 soundcards.  The Sonica Theater is an easy-to-use, external USB 7.1 sound card for desktops or laptops and the Revolution 7.1 is the first high-definition 7.1 surround sound card providing up to eight channels of high-definition surround sound with consumer-oriented features. Using SRS Labs’ Circle Surround II, PC and Mac users with M-Audio soundcards are now able to experience multichannel surround sound from all source material, including mono or stereo content, music CDs, MP3 files, PC games, streaming media content and other matrix encoded or Circle Surround encoded source material. 

“Sonica Theater and Revolution are the first consumer PC soundcards to offer the same high quality Circle Surround II technology found in many home theater receivers around the world,” said Ted Franceschi, general manager and executive vice president of SRS Labs. “We are thrilled to partner with M-Audio to provide laptop and desktop users with the ultimate surround sound experience over a computer.”

SRS Circle Surround II technology instantly transforms CDs or MP3s into incredibly life-like surround sound. It dynamically separates instruments, vocals, and even crowd noises for a multichannel surround experience that rivals studio quality surround remastering. Circle Surround has been adopted by many of the leading electronics companies as a surround decoding option, including Kenwood, Marantz, Theta Digital, Accuphase, Jaton, and Smart Devices. It is the most powerful, flexible, and feature rich surround decoding format available today. 

Both the Sonica Theater and the Revolution 7.1 products also feature SRS Labs’ patented TruSurround XT™ technology.  This enables users who do not have a multi-speaker set up to enjoy a rich, “virtual surround sound” by switching to the TruSurround XT mode, delivering a multichannel experience over standard stereo speakers or even headphones. 

A recent reviewer from Futurelooks.com (http://www.futurelooks.com/) stated, “I found that it did just what it should. Circle Surround, and that’s how I felt! Right in the middle of listening bliss without having my music all messed up …” This entire review can be found at: http://www.futurelooks.com/display.php?i=187&p=1. 

Tim Ryan, president and CEO of M-Audio said, “We are proud to partner with SRS Labs to bring their versatile, next generation surround sound technology to our customers. Using these advanced audio technologies, we are delivering products with powerful audio performance and ease-of-use that appeals to a broad segment of the consumer market.” 

The Sonica Theater and Revolution 7.1 are now shipping and are distributed in major retail stores throughout North America and soon to be released in Japan and Europe.  Estimated street price is $99.99.  High-resolution images of M-Audio products are available at http://www.m-audio.com/company/images.php. More information about both Revolution 7.1 and Sonica Theater can be found at http://www.m-audio.com/products/consumer

 About M-Audio

M-Audio (formerly Midiman) is a leading provider of digital audio and MIDI solutions for today’s electronic musicians and audio professionals, as well as recording enthusiasts and music hobbyists. Highly successful since its founding in 1988, the Company now has independent offices in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France and Japan. M-Audio’s ability to develop advanced technology into affordable products has led the Company to win some of the international audio community’s highest praise and awards—including being named the “industry’s fastest growing company” for the past two years by Music Trades magazine. The Company recently launched its Consumer Audio Division, bringing professional-quality audio to the consumer market. 

About Circle Surround and Circle Surround II

The patented Circle Surround (CS) technology is a highly versatile, multichannel audio encode and decode system capable of supporting a wide range of surround sound creation and playback applications. CS encoders can encode up to 6.1 channels of discrete audio for distribution over existing two-channel carriers such as broadcast television, cable, streaming media over the Internet, CDs and VHS tapes. Over the past year, SRS Labs has cultivated relationships with major broadcasters and content providers, such as ESPN Productions, Paramount and ABC Sports, to telecast their sporting events and television programs in Circle Surround.  

Circle Surround II (CSII) decoding technology is capable of delivering up to 6.1 channel surround sound from mono, stereo, matrix encoded or CS encoded source material. CSII features patented post -processing techniques to enhance the surround sound experience. These enhancements include SRS Dialog Clarity, which improves the intelligibility and clarity of center channel information, such as dialog. In addition, CSII features SRS TruBass, which uses patented psychoacoustic techniques to increase bass performance from any playback system, including those with a subwoofer of any size. 

About SRS Labs Inc.

Celebrating a decade in audio technology innovation, SRS Labs has become a recognized leader in the advancement of audio and voice technology.  The company works with the world’s top manufacturers to provide a richer entertainment experience through patented sound techniques.  SRS technologies can be heard through products ranging from televisions, DVD players, cell phones, car audio systems and computers.  The company also offers hardware and software tools to professionals and consumers for the production and broadcast of content featuring SRS technologies.  SRS Labs’ wholly owned subsidiary, ValenceTech, is located in Hong Kong and provides custom ASICs and standard ICs to leading manufacturers worldwide. Based in Santa Ana, Calif., the company also has licensing representation in Hong Kong, Japan, Europe, and Korea.  For more information about SRS Labs, Inc. please visit www.srslabs.com.  The information on the above-referenced websites is not incorporated by reference into this press release. 

 Source: SRS Labs