Primer on dacs

[DonH50]

There's plenty of theory on jitter as well... An overview, though avoiding most theory, is here on WBF in my series of jitter articles.

 

[audiobomber]

There's plenty of theory on jitter as well... An overview, though avoiding most theory, is here on WBF in my series of jitter articles.

Link?

 

[rando]

Link?

Don's Tech Series

This post is simply to consolidate my technical posts into a table of contents, mainly to make it easier for me to find but hopefully it will help others as well. With luck and time, the list will grow. I would also be glad to entertain suggestions for other articles, whilst realizing we have a...

www.whatsbestforum.com

 

[audiobomber]

Thanks rando.
Can someone tell me how to add a forum bookmark?

 

[rando]

Second from the right on any post you want to bookmark. I just took a screenshot of yours to illustrate location.

 

[Gregadd]

There's plenty of theory on jitter as well... An overview, though avoiding most theory, is here on WBF in my series of jitter articles.

Yes and if uou don't like to read view the video I referenced above.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Yes and if uou don't like to read view the video I referenced above.

@Gregadd , could you repost it please. I could not find it. All I found was this video.

it is quite nice as well, but probable not what you were referring to.

 

[Gregadd]

Oops. I will find it. I guess I did not post it.

 

[Gregadd]

Try this one.
You tube
Network music players quality part2: jitter

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Try this one.
You tube
Network music players quality part2: jitter

oh, I see. Hans's channel.

 

[K3RMIT]

One of the more interesting aspects of digital to analog converters is a 10¢ DAC chip in the hands of someone who knows how to implement it will probably sound better than a very expensive DAC chip primarily used to create a price point differentiation. There are a lot of false signals where quality and especially SQ are concerned. At least at a level which interests that other guy.

I'm pretty sure most primers are going to be largely remedial for you. There are certainly enough people here who could suggest a pathway forwards based on your known likes and history. You cut a wide enough swathe to make me believe this venture would be highly readable. If you are doing more than entertaining a fancy.


That hip DAC looks like a great device at a very good price. What are you using for a (mobile) playback software and on what devices?

The input to the dac chip is on par of importance as the chip itself
the implementation of the chip perhaps more important then the chip itself

 

[K3RMIT]

@Gregadd Here ya go:

High Speed Digital Design: A Handbook of Black Magic: Johnson, Howard, Graham, Martin: 9780133957242: Amazon.com: Books

High Speed Digital Design: A Handbook of Black Magic [Johnson, Howard, Graham, Martin] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. High Speed Digital Design: A Handbook of Black Magic

www.amazon.com

Arguably the definitive text on the subject, although probably not what you are looking for.

IMO digital has finally gotten to that point where it really is getting sorted out. Texas Instruments makes some very competent DAC chips and Topping is using them in their very reasonably priced DACs. Just doing so seems to have raised the bar a bit (since I've heard them sound better than DACs costing a lot more and they measure well too); what I'm trying to say is that if/when digital is done right we won't be discussing differences in sound because there won't be any. Since that probably won't really happen (we're on some sort of sigmoid curve) the differences will get more and more slight. Which is good.

I own a topping dac must say very good and not warm
of neutral as some dacs are voiced to sound

 

[K3RMIT]

This is false just FWIW; when I worked at Allied Radio Shack service department back in the 1970s it was always super annoying when they left the ultrasonic motion detector on. Fortunately it had a big switch so you could just turn it off. I could hear it up the stairs before I even entered the space. It ran at 25KHz. I sure can't hear anywhere near that now!

You did not then either lol had to be a resonance thing.

 

[Atmasphere]

You did not then either lol had to be a resonance thing.

Its not correct to say that I could hear it- but I could feel it with ease- it hurt! Back in those days when I came home from work, if my wife was watching it, I could hear the 15KHz sweep frequency of the TV before I even got on the stairs to the front porch of my house.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

One of the more interesting aspects of digital to analog converters is a 10¢ DAC chip in the hands of someone who knows how to implement it will probably sound better than a very expensive DAC chip primarily used to create a price point differentiation. There are a lot of false signals where quality and especially SQ are concerned. At least at a level which interests that other guy.

I'm pretty sure most primers are going to be largely remedial for you. There are certainly enough people here who could suggest a pathway forwards based on your known likes and history. You cut a wide enough swathe to make me believe this venture would be highly readable. If you are doing more than entertaining a fancy.


That hip DAC looks like a great device at a very good price. What are you using for a (mobile) playback software and on what devices?

As a person who soldered a few things in his career, I would say that a dac chip plays a vital role in the final audio quality, but as @K3RMIT is saying, the circuitry, audio path, implementation, materials used when building a product, ins and outs (their quality), they all matter a great deal.

 

[K3RMIT]

Its not correct to say that I could hear it- but I could feel it with ease- it hurt! Back in those days when I came home from work, if my wife was watching it, I could hear the 15KHz sweep frequency of the TV before I even got on the stairs to the front porch of my house.

That freq was annoying lol. im just saying 25k I think is above most all humans but having said that a freq even 15 hurts if directed at you no doubt on that.

 

[rando]

As a person who soldered a few things in his career, I would say that a dac chip plays a vital role in the final audio quality, but as @K3RMIT is saying, the circuitry, audio path, implementation, materials used when building a product, ins and outs (their quality), they all matter a great deal.

A lower angle of attack forcing perspective upon only the DAC chip was relevant to staggered discovery inside a primer. Everything matters fits this trajectory as a way to close every chapter.

 

[Atmasphere]

That freq was annoying lol. im just saying 25k I think is above most all humans but having said that a freq even 15 hurts if directed at you no doubt on that.

Yes. I say it was 25KHz on the alarm because that is what its specification sheet said. At any rate as soon as I got in the door at work I could feel it and it hurt. My manager didn't believe me at first and read the spec to me, so I had him test me by me simply raising my hand when it was turned on with my back turned. I passed 100%. I know very well that 20KHz is supposed to be the limit, but people vary from one to another; 20KHz is an approximation (if you think about it, if I was 'hearing' that and it wasn't some sort of thing with my skull, I was only 1/4 octave higher than the average...). At any rate my hearing is way down even at 10KHz these days.