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Digital Audio Signals and How They Really Behave In the Real World

post #1 of 27
2/26/13 at 1:59pm
Thread Starter 
A good video demonstrating and explaining the basics of digital audio signals.

https://www.xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml
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post #2 of 27
2/26/13 at 3:09pm

When I saw the title, I thought on no it's 1983 again!

But Monty at xiph does good accurate work.

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post #3 of 27
2/27/13 at 1:10am
Great presentation. I loved the jagged edges / stairsteps demonstration.
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post #4 of 27
2/27/13 at 1:45am

Didn't know about Xiph.Org, they seriously kick arse!

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post #5 of 27
2/27/13 at 5:06am

Other than being the developers of the Vorbis codec, they might be known for this article, that many people here have probably read already.

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post #6 of 27
2/27/13 at 10:57am

Thanks, it's just that I'm a digi-comm dood slowly learning audio stuff through osmosis cool.gif

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post #7 of 27
2/27/13 at 1:39pm

Try that with a non-oversampling (in other words broken) DAC. Muahahahahahahaaaaaaaaa... biggrin.gif

 

This should be a must-watch for everyone on H-F interested in digital audio.


Edited by xnor - 2/27/13 at 1:54pm
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post #8 of 27
2/27/13 at 6:21pm
This is fantastic, though it's making me question my interest in a high end DAC/Amp like the Benchmark DAC2 I have been saving up for.
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post #9 of 27
2/27/13 at 7:54pm

You can always use the money on new headphones or a speaker system!

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post #10 of 27
2/28/13 at 5:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by StudioSound View Post

This is fantastic, though it's making me question my interest in a high end DAC/Amp like the Benchmark DAC2 I have been saving up for.

That would be completely overkill (i.e. an order of magnitude beyond audibility). I have an O2/ODAC and that's already overkill (though much more affordable).
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post #11 of 27
2/28/13 at 9:49am
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Originally Posted by skamp View Post

That would be completely overkill (i.e. an order of magnitude beyond audibility). I have an O2/ODAC and that's already overkill (though much more affordable).
Well there are good reasons to go with a Sabre DAC compared to most other ΣΔ DACs, even if the specs are "below the threshold of audibility" as there are some characteristics that are difficult to measure, that are audible.

http://www.esstech.com/pdf/noise-shaping-sigma-delta.pdf (starting around page 29)

The O2+ODAC is certainly a good solution, but I need more than just a USB input, and if I'm buying an external DAC, I would like to be able to use it for a stereo speaker setup as well, rather than just headphones. The Benchmark DAC2 has a lot of good connectivity, and remote control, which would be very nice to have in my setup. Unfortunately I don't know of anything cheaper that has similar functionality. (you can certainly spend less for equivalent performance)
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post #12 of 27
2/28/13 at 10:13am
You could get a standalone ODAC, and a standalone O2, use a stereo splitter to connect the ODAC's line out to both your speaker amplifier and the O2. Just a thought though, maybe there's an equally performing, but more convenient, solution.
I've seen a mod in the classifieds here of an O2/ODAC combo with an extra RCA line-out.
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post #13 of 27
2/28/13 at 10:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by StudioSound View Post


Well there are good reasons to go with a Sabre DAC compared to most other ΣΔ DACs, even if the specs are "below the threshold of audibility" as there are some characteristics that are difficult to measure, that are audible.

Good marketing reasons, yes. It makes little sense to worry about noise that fluctuates from -112 to -102 dB when you're listening to music on CDs (16 bit). And I'm sure ESS didn't pick a very high performance competitive product for this presentation either.

 

Even if ESS is saying they did blind tests etc. why are they not publishing these findings in journals? How were these blind tests conducted? What were the results other than "someone could hear a difference"? ...

 

Bottom line: more marketing than science in that presentation, imho.


Edited by xnor - 2/28/13 at 10:44am
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post #14 of 27
2/28/13 at 10:32am

I want my inaudible noise shaped nicely!

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post #15 of 27
3/1/13 at 10:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by xnor View Post

Good marketing reasons, yes. It makes little sense to worry about noise that fluctuates from -112 to -102 dB when you're listening to music on CDs (16 bit). And I'm sure ESS didn't pick a very high performance competitive product for this presentation either.

 

Could that effect be responsible for the pops and clicks (amplified by 40 dB) in this file ? The onboard codec from which it was recorded does have some noise modulation issues, but it could also be simple interference. This other file recorded from a sound card does not have such artifacts.

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