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A larger buffer implies a longer delay between when information goes in and
when it starts coming back out. With laserdiscs, for example, you must keep the
in/out delay small so as to keep the soundtrack synchronized with the picture on
the screen. An oversized buffer would make every movie’s audio out of step with
its video, an unacceptable situation. It is possible to bypass the FIFO for movies,
but you then lose all of its distortion-reducing benefits.
Madrigal engineers have developed a proprietary buffer management scheme
which reduces reproduced jitter to less than 20 picoseconds while maintaining
the synchronization of sound and picture in movies. It employs a buffer large
enough to absorb the jitter found in transports of reasonable quality, yet small
enough to have impreceptible delay. The rate at which data is released from the
FIFO buffer is controlled by software to track the
long-term
data rate of the in-
coming signal, allowing the buffer to absorb all the short-term variations which
cause sonic degradation. This approach yields a “smart” FIFO buffering scheme
which rejects virtually all incoming jitter without requiring an enormous buffer
and the consequent audible delay. It also avoids the sonic penalties associated
with the usual strategies used when a buffer overflows or empties.
The Intelligent FIFO operates at all sampling rates, improving the quality of every
connected digital source component.
Superior isolation
between sources
One of the advantages of a separate digital audio processor is that you can take
the money which might have otherwise been spent on several built-in D/A con-
verters and put it into one, superior processor which will enhance the perfor-
mance of all the transports with which it is used. Ironically, many outboard pro-
cessors fail to live up to this potential due to interference between their various
digital inputs.
The Nº30.6 provides outstanding isolation between its inputs, realizing the full
potential of the various digital transports with which it is used. In fact, every
source has its own dedicated digital interface receiver. As a result, the selected
input effectively has the Nº30.6 “all to itself” for its conversion to analog.
Fully balanced design
The Nº30.6 is fully balanced in both the analog and digital domains. All digital
filtering and processing is implemented in a balanced configuration, and conver-
sion to analog is accomplished in two opposing polarity 24-bit converters per
channel.
This approach maintains the integrity of the signal, reducing the opportunities for
music-destroying noise and digital artifacts to enter the signal path.
We strongly recommend the use of quality balanced interconnects such as
Madrigal’s CZ Gel-1 for the best performance. The improvements are both mea-
surable and readily audible.