Re: How do I tell which A/D Converter is better
- From: Mannr@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: 27 Jul 2006 21:31:02 -0400
"Mike Rivers" <mrivers@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
Matthias wrote:
If I have 2 A/D Converters, let's say sampling rate 44.1 kHz, 16 Bit
resolution, how can I really TELL which one's the better one ?
Record the same thing throug each one, play back your recordings
through the same D/A converter, and listen for differences. Unless one
of your A/D converters is really bad, I suspect that you won't be able
to hear a significant difference, but if you do, then, you'll be able
to tell which one you like better - and that's what counts.
And, probably in addition to the above (just cam in mind while writing
this), I can 'imagine' that 20 Bt is better than 16 - but how to 'prove'
it (to myself .....) ?
The classic demonstration is to reduce the record level by about 65 dB
below normal, then boost the playback level back to where you can hear
it. While you should never do this in practice, it will give you a
sense of what happens at low levels where you're down close to the
limit of resolutin of the converter.
Is this all done 'by ear' (which would assume, that I have THE ears) or
can I 'measure' this in some magic way ?
Generally, measured numbers look so close that you can't really tell
one from another.
Listening is the best way in the end.
But also, you should do some diagnostics as listed above to make sure things
are working. Here is another one: Record a single sinewave (eg., 1600Hz) onto
a computer file or CD. Play it into the ADC and record. Then do a Fourier
analysis and look for harmonics (distortion) at multiples of the base
frequency. Only the base frequency should be present.
Try this at different input levels, both very low (as above) and near full
scale (just under 0dB). I've noticed fairly large distortion (eg., 1% THD,
harmonics -20dB down) on some ADCs. They're obviously broken. As with
computers, assume something is broken until you can confirm it works!
Richard
.
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