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<!-- #thumb --> <p>In my post <a title="Climbing the ladder" href="http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/climbing-ladder/11647/">Climbing the ladder</a>*I pointed out that something fundamental changed between the introduction of digital audio and today with respect to DAC architecture. *DACs of old (we’re only talking 25 years or so) used a fixed architecture to handle the PCM signal. *That architecture relied on a string of 16 precision resistors to set the voltage steps for audio.</p>
<p>As the pressure to have greater dynamic range and signal to noise performance pushed the industry to 20 bits, then 24 and even 32, it quickly became evident that use of the traditional DAC architecture would no longer do. *We needed something different and we got it. *The Pulse Density model (known under a number of different names) Delta Sigma, 1-bit, multi-bit, DSD, SACD, is an entirely different model than the classic ladder DAC. *It gives us the higher bit depth and increased dynamic range we’re looking for. *But that’s not the whole story.</p>
<p>In the late 1990
[Source: http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/cherished-audiophile-beliefs/11668/]
<p>As the pressure to have greater dynamic range and signal to noise performance pushed the industry to 20 bits, then 24 and even 32, it quickly became evident that use of the traditional DAC architecture would no longer do. *We needed something different and we got it. *The Pulse Density model (known under a number of different names) Delta Sigma, 1-bit, multi-bit, DSD, SACD, is an entirely different model than the classic ladder DAC. *It gives us the higher bit depth and increased dynamic range we’re looking for. *But that’s not the whole story.</p>
<p>In the late 1990
[Source: http://www.pstracks.com/pauls-posts/cherished-audiophile-beliefs/11668/]