Interesting Articles on Audio Converter (ADC/DAC) Challenges and Cheap DSP/Analyzer

DonH50

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Jun 22, 2010
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amirm

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Apr 2, 2010
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Wow, wow, wow! Best article I have ever read on practical implications of DACs/ADCs. Will save me a ton of time the future, referencing it instead of typing it :). Learned some reading it too! Almost makes me want to design a DAC. NOT! :)

Arduino stuff is really cool. I keep running into clever things people have done with them.
 

DonH50

Member Sponsor & WBF Technical Expert
Jun 22, 2010
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Thanks guys. I thought Ian's article covered a LOT of ground, and the focus on things that matter but are often overlooked or not discussed was excellent.

Designing data converters, well, too many engineers have done it so well that people forget just hw hard it really is. After several decades of it, my new job is in some ways a relief (though having to learn all the digital system stuff is a lot of work, too!)

As for the Arduino stuff, I had not heard of them (but haven't really looked) and the idea is interesting. I posted it mainly as a reminder to myself. I keep toying with the idea of playing around with such things more, maybe when I retire, or least the kids are out of the house. Not sure the wife will let me turn their old bedrooms into science labs, but maybe one of them... :)
 

amirm

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What I really like it was that Ian shows that as engineers, we can be good at something other than technical talk. Check this out for size:

"Linearity of resistors and capacitors is also very important: resistors must be metal-film or thin-film types, not the usual chip resistors which are made of dirt and spit and change resistance according to voltage and the seasons."


:)
 

Tam Lin

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Mar 20, 2011
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The advice appears to be intended for designers of consumer-grade audio products. The basic assumptions include most of the things I would avoid at all cost: SMPS, PLL, VCO, ??, and OpAmps.
 

amirm

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It is that. Why I think it is useful is because so many people assume digital audio is perfect and that all implementations are the same. No amount of a person on a forum saying otherwise seems to count. Having an article like this to be references which is published in a mainstream Electronic Design magazine is useful in that regard.
 

LL21

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ack

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May 6, 2010
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The articles weer way too technical for me, although still appreciate the pointer. Can someone summarize the gist of it?
 

amirm

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The articles weer way too technical for me, although still appreciate the pointer. Can someone summarize the gist of it?
In a nutshell, it talks about the difference between theory and practice. And the challenges of making a real DAC perform. Among them:

1. Clock recovery. The issues around various methods of extracting the arrival rate of digital audio samples (jitter). The pros and cons of different schemes for getting there.

2. How sample rate conversion (SRC) is not an automatic solution in how it can get rid of issue #1

3. How switching power supplies can interfere with the design of a DAC.

4. Issues related to the analog output path of a DAC including choice of OpAmp (amplifier) and circuit layout.

5. What to measure relative to the performance of such a system.
 

fas42

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Jan 8, 2011
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The truth is that technical design is always difficult, irrespective of what the item is, the parts used and the intended consumers are, if more than an OK performance is desired in electronics. It will always be relatively easy to produce an item that measures up to a standard required, simply by ignoring other aspects that ultimately count and throwing all your efforts into achieving a certain goal. But do you want to live with the result?

A good analogy is cars. You could take any old bomb, and invest a lot of time, money and effort into turning the engine into a fire breathing monster. Of course, the fact that the brakes, suspension and body integrity are still mediocre is just by the way, you're glowing with pleasure at the fantastic dyno readings you're getting ...

Frank
 

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