Posted by fred-bloggs on 09/19/05 20:44

Joel <joelx@usa.net> wrote in
news:u7doi1t2a07rh5b4in1096nl0mlvt10ouk@4ax.com:

> "NRen2k5" <napsterneorenegade@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>>>Absolutely, the sound card and speakers/etc. are always important.
>>>The newer 24 bit sound cards can sound much better than the typical
>>>ones.
>>
>>However, it depends on what you're playing. CDDA is natively 16-bit,
>>so playing MP3's ripped from CD's at anything higher than a 16-bit
>>resolution won't really sound any better. DVD movie soundtracks and PC
>>games will sound better on a 24-bit card, though.
>
> I would stake my reputation on my experience that even with 16 bit
> sources, 24 bit DACs typically sound much clearer in the high
> frequencies than older DACs.
>

Some modern CD DACs use oversampling, that is they output at 88.2,176.4
or 352.8 khz (2x,4x,8x). For this they require higher bit resolution,
hence the 24 bit DACs. They sound better than the old DACs because the
roll off requirement on the analog output filter is much reduced so the
phase distortion on the upper audible frequencies is reduced.
http://cnx.rice.edu/content/m11006/latest/

--
fred

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