NOS DACs

[Jimbo]

I'm not sure I have a clue what you just said!

Think about what digital audio is and what job the DAC has to do. The analogue waveform is captured digitally (sampled and sliced up) It is then read from a file or CD and reconstructed by the DAC back into analogue. But digital cannot sample the sound infinitely so it misses some of the information (apparently we can't hear this) and then the DAC tries to reconstruct the information and produce an analogue output.

Our hearing can tell the difference which is why I think analogue sounds better. OK even the best analogue systems do not capture everything but even though information is missing our brain/hearing doesn't notice it so much.

[walpurgis]

So what information is missing from the reconstructed analogue waveforms?

[struth]

trouble with this is most vinyl has been recorded digitally, so has to be converted back to analogue somewhere.

[Jimbo]

So what information is missing from the reconstructed analogue waveforms?

Here you go Geoff, you will find your answer in this article but simply the missing information is part of the sound wave.


https://www.electronicproducts.com/D...tal_Sound.aspx

[Yomanze]

trouble with this is most vinyl has been recorded digitally, so has to be converted back to analogue somewhere.

Yup, especially new vinyl, which is clearly digitally mastered, indeed remastered in a lot of cases.

[Clive]

trouble with this is most vinyl has been recorded digitally, so has to be converted back to analogue somewhere.

True for almost all new vinyl and cutters but most vinyl in existance is all analogue.....ie the old music I listen to.

[struth]

after late 70's probably has some digital in there or at least has a fair chance. so probably more has than hasnt. ive a lot of vinyl from both eras. some new ones are better imo than the older ones and vis a vie. overall i prefer the modern stuff these days. older stuff is often played out or badly mastered

[Jimbo]

after late 70's probably has some digital in there or at least has a fair chance. so probably more has than hasnt. ive a lot of vinyl from both eras. some new ones are better imo than the older ones and vis a vie. overall i prefer the modern stuff these days. older stuff is often played out or badly mastered

Quite a bit of my modern vinyl is from a digital source and some sound superb. I do have quite a bit of modern stuff that is record in analogue and it sounds superb. However I do not buy anything that is poorly mastered as I just won't listen to it.

I was listening to an video podcast yesterday and the guy mentioned that as a general rule most analogue before 1980 sounded better via vinyl based system and anything digitally recorded was best played via a digital system. Seems a bit of a broad brush to me as I think mastering and production is the key thing.

[walpurgis]

Here you go Geoff, you will find your answer in this article but simply the missing information is part of the sound wave.


https://www.electronicproducts.com/D...tal_Sound.aspx

Yes. I'm aware of the processes and of what information may not be in the digital signal, but it does not say what might be missing, if anything from the reconstructed analogue signal.

The digital signal is the carrier that describes waves that create the analogue signal. Surely if the analogue waveform(s) is reconstituted smoothly there is no information missing?

As an analogy, audio from AM radio signals is derived in a somewhat similar manner. One half of a recified wave envelope being used.

[Barry]

Yes. I'm aware of the processes and of what information may not be in the digital signal, but it does not say what might be missing, if anything from the reconstructed analogue signal.

The digital signal is the carrier that describes waves that create the analogue signal. Surely if the analogue waveform(s) is reconstituted smoothly there is no information missing?

As an analogy, audio from AM radio signals is derived in a somewhat similar manner. One half of a recified wave envelope being used.

Good analogy, but it ought to be remembered that the AM 'carrier' frequency is much larger than the audio modulation signal frequency. For example Radio 4 on Long Wave is at 1,500 metres, that is a radio frequency of 200kHz; some 20x the highest audio frequency transmitted, whereas Shannon's sampling theory states that the sampling frequency need only be twice the signal frequency.