On Thu, 2004-03-18 at 19:41, Mark Knecht wrote: > Of course! But that wasn't my point. My point was he should really be > using a 24-bit external DAC. Of course, it's more money... Having 24-bit DAC for just the sake of having 24-bit DAC isn't good reason. I have a high quality external DAC connected to S/PDIF of my M-Audio Delta1010 (which has 24-bit DACs in external box). And I really think that my external S/PDIF connected DAC sounds better, although the data stream is only 16-bits. It has high quality digital interpolation filter (8x / 16 -> 20 bits) and high quality true multibit DAC connected to it. Also the analog reconstruction filter is made of top quality components. Single bit (Sigma-Delta and the like, PWM) DACs tend to have IMD. I have designed two external audio DACs, and I still like the multibit one most. Of course, precision multibit DACs cost significantly more compared to "single bit" ones. With 24-bit DACs you are anyway wasting multiple bits, because you practically can't have ~140 dB S/N ratio for audio bandwidths. You are most likely to get little over 100 dB. So having 16-bit interpolated to 18 or 20 bits is usually enough (unless you have really quiet studio). Conclusion? High quality S/PDIF connected converter can be a good option. Just requires that computer's S/PDIF output is properly implemented. -- Jussi Laako <jussi.laako@xxxxxxxxxx>
