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Upsampling and Stereophile

Last summer there were several threads here on Audiogon about digital upsampling and over sampling (a couple long and heated), but the opinion(s) of the audio press were conspicuously absent. In the Dec. 2000 issue of Stereophile, page 3, John Atkinson, has an editorial explaining their position on this in his "As We See It" column, page 3. I encourage everyone interested in the subject to look up the article. I have excerpted the following quotes that I think sums up Stereophile's opinion, and that may pique your interst: (1) "....the audio industry has settled on an 8X-oversampling ratio, the 44.1 kHZ CD data being converted to a 352.8 kHZ datastream before D/A conversion." (2) "no matter how good these upsampling products can sound-- and the dCS, Bel Canto, and MSB products indeed sound excellent-- there is no conceptual difference between them and traditional CD playback systems. I am now convinced that the sonic differences we have heard and reported on are merely due to the different choices in digital filters made by the designers of these products." (3) "In the meantime don't buy a digital product because it has "24/96" emblazoned on its front panel. Buy it because it makes your CDs sound great". Cheers. Craig.
garfish
danvetc
527 posts
 
Hello Craig. I realize I will probably get flamed for saying this, but confusion is getting the best of me. I am reminded of what one of my great professors during Veterinary school said, "I don't know how the automatic transmission works, but I can still drive my truck." (Yogi Berra's got nothin' on him, boy.) So, following that logic, forgive me if I say, "I don't know how my Bel Canto DAC1-toslink-DVD transport works, but I can put a cd in it, and, for a $1600 combo, it sounds very, very good!" Oh, and I understand there is a new upgrade for the DAC1, has to do with the power supply................. Charlie
avguygeorge
2,300 posts
 
Yo,Danvect; 50 % of Audio is 1/2 mental.Heck,I'm out of butane. There are many things in life I don't understand,my auto.trans,being one of them.As I see it,the very best dig.stuff (Forcell, Burmiester,Jadis & the like)don't benifit from upsampling.So it ain't upsampling per say;it's how the circuit/conversion is done. Upsamping ' do ' improve lesser designs ;as in, the ones I can afford.Market ploy or not,it has been a boom for the dig. companies.So we can all whine our stuff is obsolete,but THAT is what keeps us going.-the quest for more/better. I had my Theata 5a upgraded /best $300 improvment /for me. I think it is smart for Stereophile to stay out of our discussions. Why would the chicken go into the fox's den? When we go to sell something,most are proud to say'class a', beyond that, writers are 'trashed' continuously.As Craig says in his quote from JA,if it sounds better;enjoy it(or something like that). Anybody got some butane?
danvetc
527 posts
 
Absolutely! ........I'm still looking for a screwdriver so I can get into this damn thing......now where is the power supply?????
garfish OP
1,840 posts
 
Well said Avguy, and Hi Charlie; My purpose(s) in posting this info. from Stereophile is because , as you say, this is complicated technology to us average bears. And for a year or more, Stereophile has been reviewing and promoting upsampling devices as being some kind of fantastic new technology. I think JA's editorial sets the record straight regarding Stereophile's position on up & oversampling technology, ie they are essentially the same thing. I do not mean to imply that the Stereophile guys are incompetent, in fact I respect JA and the rest of the Stereophile reviewers. I've learned much from the magazine, even though I certainly don't always agree with them. Charlie, in another thread you mentioned listening to "Tres Hombres" on 8 trk tapes, quad or something-- were you referring to the "Tres Hombres" that ZZ Top has done? That's grat music BTW. Happy Turkey Day. Craig.
danvetc
527 posts
 
Craig, you bet it was the Top! Their early stuff was excellent blues rock, missed by many. The quadrophonic, as I remember it, rocked front to back with the bottom end. It was very cool, esp in '75. Charlie
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