W
HY
USE
AN
A/D C
ONVERTER
?
The greatest benefit derived from using a high quality A/D Converter is
improvement of sound quality when used in conjunction with a digital audio
system. Two primary groups of digital applications benefit: the digital re-
corders and Digital Signal Processing Systems (DSPs). DSP based sys-
tems are surround sound processors which perform the surround sound
calculations in a digital format. All analog audio sources are converted to
digital audio, then processed. Following the processing, the digital audio is
converted back to analog audio outputs. Two conversions have occurred,
Analog to Digital (A/D) and Digital to Analog (D/A). Both conversions
are very important to maintaining high quality sound. Popular press has
focused more on the D/A side but in reality, the A/D side is more critical.
Poor quality conversion at this stage results in poor quality digital data and
poor quality surround computations. Even perfect D/A conversion cannot
get back the lost data.
The recording situation is similar, but A/D conversion is even more impor-
tant. The reference clocking for D/A conversion on the playback of any
digital recording is derived from the playback device, not the D/A con-
verter. Each playback device depends on the quality of the original clock
used to produce the recording. Most digital media like CD was conceived
with studio mastering being the only source of software, so much of the
quality and cost of the process was intended to be accomplished in the
studio. Inexpensive consumer level recorders can seriously compromise
the quality of a recording through poor quality A/D conversion. The MSB
A/D converter supplies a stable accurate digital source for recording. The
quality is already locked in, as the conversion timing is complete. The
actual CD recording process is not really affected by the quality of the
recorder, short of gross data loss. With the PAD, the recorder can then be
chosen for convenient editing and operation, not sound quality.
C
OPY
P
ROTECTION
S
CHEMES
Because copy protection information is encoded in the digital outputs of
many devices, they can not be successfully recorded to a digital media.
The best possible legal solution is to convert the digital source into analog of
the highest possible quality, and then convert it back to digital, again with
the highest quality. Connecting the MSB LINK DAC to the digital output
of the source allows even 24 bit / 96K sources to be accurately converted
to analog. The ADD A/D converter is then attached to the analog outputs
of
S
PECIFICATIONS
Resolution
24 bit
Signal to Noise Ratio
Line Level Inputs
120 dB
Phono Input
100 dB
Dynamic Range
115 dB
Total Harmonic Distortion
0.0006%
THD + N
102dB
Channel Separation
110 dB
Interchannel Phase Deviation
0.0001 degrees
Sampling Rate
44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 kHz
Passband ripple
+/- .005 dB
Stopband ripple
>117 dB
Digital Outputs
Coaxial, Optical and Balanced
Analog Inputs
Phono MM, 2.5 mV/ 47 kOhm
8 Line Level, 2V P-P full scale
Weight
18 lb.
Dimensions
17” x 14” x 1.75”
Rack mountable
7
2