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<!-- #thumb --> <p>Several of you have written me asking about multi-bit DACS. *You now understand how a 1-bit system works, relative to a 16, 24 or even a 32 bit setup but what’s a 6-bit DSD? *If there’s only 1-bit in the output and that output gets more of the same or less of the same, what’s about this 6-bit business?</p>
<p>It is true, as I mentioned earlier, that modern “1-bit” sigma delta DACS and ADC’s are actually 6 “bits” and there are few true 1-bits out there. *But here’s the thing: at their output there’s still only 1-bit, running at 2.88MHz (64 times 44.1kHz), and no extra room for 5 more bits. *In fact, if you were to look at the output of a 1-bit DSD converter vs. a 6 bit DSD converter it would look the same.</p>
<p>So everything we learned about how this DSD business works is still accurate. *The only missing piece of information is how accurate the DSD stream is. *How faithful to the original musical signal is it? *That’s determined by the number of bits used to encode and the speed of the 1-bits buzzing by.</p>
<p>These extra “bits” are the number of sigma delta converters used to encode and decode with greater fineness. *In the end, their decisions are all narrowed down to represent the music as perfectly as they can.</p>
<p>Our new <a href="http://www.psaudio.com/shop/nuwave-phono-converter/" target="_blank">A/D Converter</a>, shipping out next week, uses just such a multi-bit DSD converter to great advantage and one of those advantages is we do not need a brick wall filter on its input. *Instead we are able to place a gentle 6dB/octave low pass filter on the input of the converter that STARTS its rolloff at 80kHz.</p>
<p>There’s been great progress in A/D and D/A converters over the years and this latest crop of “1-bit” architecture DACS and converters represents the state of the art well.</p>
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[Source: http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/bit-bits/11751/]
<p>It is true, as I mentioned earlier, that modern “1-bit” sigma delta DACS and ADC’s are actually 6 “bits” and there are few true 1-bits out there. *But here’s the thing: at their output there’s still only 1-bit, running at 2.88MHz (64 times 44.1kHz), and no extra room for 5 more bits. *In fact, if you were to look at the output of a 1-bit DSD converter vs. a 6 bit DSD converter it would look the same.</p>
<p>So everything we learned about how this DSD business works is still accurate. *The only missing piece of information is how accurate the DSD stream is. *How faithful to the original musical signal is it? *That’s determined by the number of bits used to encode and the speed of the 1-bits buzzing by.</p>
<p>These extra “bits” are the number of sigma delta converters used to encode and decode with greater fineness. *In the end, their decisions are all narrowed down to represent the music as perfectly as they can.</p>
<p>Our new <a href="http://www.psaudio.com/shop/nuwave-phono-converter/" target="_blank">A/D Converter</a>, shipping out next week, uses just such a multi-bit DSD converter to great advantage and one of those advantages is we do not need a brick wall filter on its input. *Instead we are able to place a gentle 6dB/octave low pass filter on the input of the converter that STARTS its rolloff at 80kHz.</p>
<p>There’s been great progress in A/D and D/A converters over the years and this latest crop of “1-bit” architecture DACS and converters represents the state of the art well.</p>
<center><a href="http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/bit-bits/11751/emailpopup/" onclick="email_popup(this.href); return false;" title="Forward to a friend and help us engage more readers" rel="nofollow"><img class="WP-EmailIcon" src="http://www.pstracks.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-email/images/email.gif" alt="email A bit more on bits" title="A bit more on bits" /></a>*<a href="http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/bit-bits/11751/emailpopup/" onclick="email_popup(this.href); return false;" title="Forward to a friend and help us engage more readers" rel="nofollow">Forward to a friend and help us engage more readers</a></center><br /><!-- // MAILCHIMP SUBSCRIBE CODE --><center><a href="http://eepurl.com/eSzBY">Get new and fresh stories like this each morning by joining the folks reading Paul's Posts. Click here </a></center>
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[Source: http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/bit-bits/11751/]