Digital Drive

"ALL DACs including NOS DACs digitally oversample"

38.42.52.35

Jon L

A

In Reply to: RE: More "analog" sound? posted by creativepart on November 16, 2023 at 09:14:56

"ALL DACs including NOS DACs digitally oversample - the term NOS for a DAC is a non sequitur or a delusion. In the case of NOS it is technically a first order hold oversampling filter. And this digital filter is the worst possible digital interpolation filter to use; it's got horrendous measured and transient timing recovery performance."

Quote from Rob Watts, digital guru behind Chord Electronics:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chord-electronics-dave.766517/page-1660

Follow Ups:

this digital filter is the worst possible digital interpolation filter to use - chuck55 21:43:58 11/16/23 (1)
.

Edits: 11/16/23 11/18/23
- That's pretty old stuff.... - AbeCollins 07:34:35 11/17/23 (0)
  The article you linked to is nearly 20 years old. Lots have improved since then. Is AudioZone the DAC maker still in business?
  "By removing the digital filter altogether; the impulse response is essentially perfect, without pre or post ringing."
  Solving one problem perfectly and not addressing the many others is the easy way out and not a TOTAL solution.
  "But from what I have read, NOS DAC's are supposed to time better."
  Again, only one parameter is addressed.
  From the ~20 year old article you linked to:
  "Perhaps these unsuppressed images [in filter-less DACs] were partially or wholly responsible for the warm, slightly opaque yet relaxed, easy-going nature of these DACs?"
  Sounds about right based on my experience with a couple NOS DACs. But here's my take on it. "These unsuppressed images were partially responsible for the warm, veiled, and dynamically challenged, almost lifeless nature of these DACs" ...... UNLESS one is playing 'simple music' like a female vocalist and piano. Play anything more complex and it all starts to fall apart sounding congested and compressed.
  
  Edits: 11/17/23
RE: "ALL DACs including NOS DACs digitally oversample" - 13th Duke of Wymbourne 19:13:40 11/16/23 (0)
The sample and hold is a filter of sorts but the conversions happen at the input sample rate so I think it fair to use the term NOS.

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