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Computer Audio Asylum Music servers and other computer based digital audio technologies. |
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In Reply to: It all makes sense - except for the mutilated dead horse that is "poorly implemented DAC interfaces". posted by carcass93 on July 30, 2015 at 08:34:53:
"So far, there has been no evidence whatsoever that complete independence of SQ from particulars of incoming stream is even possible. And, that's with 2 completely different input streams and protocols - USB and Ethernet."
USB and Ethernet are both extremely complex packet oriented interconnects requiring protocol processing, i.e. a computer of sorts inside of the DAC. Being packet oriented, both have periodic processing that takes place at audio frequencies, making it easy for noise to couple into critical analog circuitry. It is not at all surprising that they have similar problems. (Ethernet enjoyed a pure image in audiophile circles until recently, just because it wasn't being used for home audio.)
Most DAC designers have not made a serious effort to provide isolation. Doing so requires multiple circuit boards, multiple power supplies and special signal isolating/reclocking circuitry in between. What makes it so difficult is that one has to work at the physical level of signals on PC traces and ground planes, at the device level (transistors), at the logic level, and at the overall system level. Furthermore, because there is no known way to measure what is going on and correlate it to what audiophiles are hearing, the problem can't really be treated as an engineering problem today.
In the case of the Ethernet and USB chips the problem is further complicated by the existence of proprietary complexity inside the chips that is designed to meet "digital" specifications, without regard to the fact that these chips might be close to critical analog components.
Tony Lauck
"Diversity is the law of nature; no two entities in this universe are uniform." - P.R. Sarkar
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Follow Ups
- RE: It all makes sense - except for the mutilated dead horse that is "poorly implemented DAC interfaces". - Tony Lauck 07/30/1510:36:14 07/30/15 (6)
- Isolation? - fmak 13:09:51 07/30/15 (5)
- RE: Isolation? - Tony Lauck 14:08:14 07/30/15 (4)
- RE: Isolation? - soundchekk 02:09:09 07/31/15 (2)
- RE: Isolation? - Bob_C 10:14:53 07/31/15 (1)
- ANother - fmak 00:00:25 08/1/15 (0)
- DSD - fmak 23:45:45 07/30/15 (0)
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