The MAX9856 evaluation kit (EV kit) consists of a MAX9856 evaluation board and software. The MAX9856 EV kit is a fully assembled and tested printed-circuit board (PCB) that evaluates the MAX9856 high-performance, low-power stereo audio CODEC with microphone inputs, DirectDrive® headphone amplifiers, and stereo line outputs. The EV kit is designed to send and receive digital audio data in the Sony/Philips digital interface (S/PDIF) format and can be optionally configured to communicate using generic digital audio or I²S-compatible signals. The EV kit provides RCA jacks for connecting analog input signals, analog output signals, and digital S/PDIF signals. A 3.5mm headphone jack provides easy connection of headphones to the circuit board. Another 3.5mm microphone jack provides easy connection of microphones to the circuit board.
The MAX9856 EV kit includes Windows® 2000/XP/Vista®-compatible software that provides a simple graphical user interface (GUI) for exercising the features of the MAX9856. The EV kit is connected to a PC through a USB cable.