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DAC's : The missing feature: Signal quality

One thing I wish DAC's would provide is some idea of how much jitter and noise a particular input provides. This is something which I think with a little work could be gleaned from the input circuits.

I want something that tells me "woah, that's a really dirty signal coming in, but i"ll do the best I can with it."

One common source of noise is ground loops. Another may be high jitter from a source like Apple TV. This would also help us evaluate the benefits (if any) of various signal cleaners and reclockers.

Best,
E
erik_squires
erik_squires OP
16,006 posts
 
All DAC's attempt to isolate themselves from jitter, ground loop and noise and do so with relatively different levels of success.

I think given the drop in processing power, cost of excellent clocks and DAC chips, maybe this can take over after everyone is done with MQA. :)

Best,
E
tastyfreeze's avatar
tastyfreeze
135 posts
 
Yep,  Source programming and delivery can be a problem with some media.
erik_squires OP
16,006 posts
 
Yep,  Source programming and delivery can be a problem with some media.

Right? Like with streaming. Would be nice to know
teo_audio
2,197 posts
 
Jitter detection and then committing to mathematical transforms of measurement is a relatively complicated affair.

Last time I did that, it required the use of an AP SYS2722 measurement system, in a fit of clock designing...

$20k or thereabouts.


https://www.ap.com/analyzers-accessories/2700-series/
celander's avatar
celander
1,503 posts
 
Erik: “To put this another way, most of us have no way to tell if a digital source is very poor, mediocre, or great. I'd like a little gadget that could tell me.“

Solution:  👂x 2
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