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3

Chapter 1

Advanced Digital and

Analog Audio Concepts

Explained

1.1

Jitter Suppression and Clocking

What is jitter and how does it affect audio quality? In the audio field the term

jitter designates a timing uncertainty of digital clock signals. In an analog

to digital converter (A/D) the analog signal is sampled (measured) at regular

time intervals; in the case of a CD, 44 100 times a second or every 22.675737

µ

s

(microseconds). If these time intervals are not strictly constant then one talks

of a jittery conversion clock. In practice it is of course not possible to generate

exactly

the same time interval between each and every sample. After all, even

digital signals are analog in their properties and thus are influenced by noise,

crosstalk, power supply fluctuations, temperature etc.

Hence a jittery clock introduces errors to the measurements taken by the

A/D, resulting from measurements being taken at the wrong time. One can

easily observe that the level of the error introduced is higher during high audio

frequencies, because high frequency signals have a steeper signal form. A good

designer takes care that the jitter amount in his/her design is minimized as well

as possible.

What type of equipment can be compromised by jitter? There are three

types: The A/D converter as described above, then there is the D/A converter

where the same mechanism as in the A/D converter applies and the third is

the asynchronous sample rate converter (ASRC). The ASRC is not something

usually found in Hi-Fi systems. It is used by sound engineers to change the

sample rate from e.g. 96 kHz to 44.1 kHz, or e.g. for putting a 96 kHz recording

onto a 44.1 kHz CD.

You may now argue that in High-End Hi-Fi there are such things as

over-

samplers“ or

upsamplers“. Yes, those are in essence sampling rate converters,

Содержание INT204

Страница 1: ...INT204 Owner s Manual Weiss Engineering ltd Florastrasse 42 8610 Uster Switzerland Phone 41 44 940 20 06 Fax 41 44 940 22 14 Email weiss weiss ch Web www weiss ch www asiaweiss com...

Страница 2: ...ii...

Страница 3: ...Weiss equipment owners On the following pages I will introduce you to our views on high quality audio processing These include fundamental digital and analog audio concepts and the INT204 USB DSD Int...

Страница 4: ...akes no warranty representation or guarantee regarding the suitability of its products for any particular purpose nor does part of this manual and specifically disclaims any and all liability includin...

Страница 5: ...rates up to 192 kHz are employed In 2001 we have decided to enter the High End Hi Fi market which offers a comparable clientele to that of the mastering studios Both consist of critical and discernin...

Страница 6: ...roducts delivered 2001 Introduction of the MEDEA High End Hi Fi D A Converter the first product in our High End series 2004 Introduction of the JASON CD Transport 2007 Introduction of the CASTOR High...

Страница 7: ...uts 11 2 1 3 Synchronization 11 2 1 4 DSD to PCM conversion 11 2 1 5 Power Supply 12 2 1 6 Front Panel 12 2 1 7 Back Panel 12 2 2 Installation 12 2 2 1 Software installation 12 2 3 Operation 14 2 3 1...

Страница 8: ...2 A Some information on the DSD format properties caveats uses 19 A 1 Quantizing 19 A 2 Filtering 19 A 3 DSD uses 20 A 4 Processing 20 A 5 What is better 20 A 6 The future 20 B Contact 21...

Страница 9: ...ttery clock introduces errors to the measurements taken by the A D resulting from measurements being taken at the wrong time One can easily observe that the level of the error introduced is higher dur...

Страница 10: ...the internal path where internal signals can affect the jitter amount of the sampling clock generator Here all the good old analog design principles have to be applied Such as shielding from electric...

Страница 11: ...ncies above 22 05 kHz In practice such a filter has a limited steepness i e if it suppresses frequencies above 22 05 kHz it also suppresses frequencies between 20 kHz and 22 05 kHz to some extent So i...

Страница 12: ...upsampler or oversampler already built into the chip One particular chip for instance upsamples the signal by a factor of eight i e 44 1 kHz ends up at 352 8 kHz Such a high sampling frequency relaxes...

Страница 13: ...signals on DVD etc All those applications perform some mathematical operations on the digital audio signal This in turn causes the wordlength of the signal to be increased an input signal to an upsam...

Страница 14: ...are discarded If these bits are discarded an error is introduced This error is called a quantization error because the 24 bit result is requantized to 16 bits Unfortunately the quantization error is...

Страница 15: ...what a properly dithered level control is capable to do You have heard the 8 bit version imagine that with today s 24 bit converters no question that a level control with a 24 bit wordlength easily ri...

Страница 16: ...10...

Страница 17: ...carry the same data 2 1 3 Synchronization The synchronization master is always the INT204 device i e the computer is slaved to the INT204 The sampling frequency is set via the USB driver On a Mac sys...

Страница 18: ...mpling frequency indication IR Receiver 2 1 7 Back Panel 1 XLR connector 1 RCA connector 1 BNC connector 1 USB type B connector 1 Power connector 2 2 Installation Carefully unpack the INT204 The follo...

Страница 19: ...13 Figure 2 1 INT204 frontpanel Figure 2 2 INT204 backpanel...

Страница 20: ...er the XLR or RCA or BNC connectors as applicable You may connect more than one D A Converter simultaneously When using the BNC and RCA outputs simultaneously it may fail to work though as the BNC and...

Страница 21: ...power status as well as the input sampling frequency and format In case of 352 8 kHz or 384 0 kHz input sampling frequencies only the power LED is lit 2 3 6 Optional IR Level Control There is an opti...

Страница 22: ...16 Figure 2 3 INT204 remote control...

Страница 23: ...tatus Data bits are set to all 0 on all three outputs 3 3 Synchronization Synchronized via the clock internal to the INT204 i e the computer is slaved to the INT204 Sampling Frequencies 44 1 48 0 88 2...

Страница 24: ...the USB input for the USB input section External power supply for the output section External power supply voltage 6 9 V DC at 0 15 A The USB input is isolated from the digital audio outputs and from...

Страница 25: ...44 1 kHz 16 bit is about 16 6 dB 96 dB below full scale With the DSD signal the noise floor is 1 6 dB below full scale so obviously there have to be taken some measures to get down the noise floor el...

Страница 26: ...cording made in DSD has to be processed e g the loudness has to be adjusted or some equalizing is required then the DSD signal has to be converted to PCM in order to be able to do the processing In th...

Страница 27: ...For any questions suggestions etc feel free to contact us at Weiss Engineering ltd Florastrasse 42 8610 Uster Switzerland Phone 41 44 940 20 06 Fax 41 44 940 22 14 Email weiss weiss ch Web www weiss...

Страница 28: ...22...

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