This should be required watching

[DaveR]

Great video that explains and shows facts and myths about digital audio.

https://xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml

[SoundMods]

Great video that explains and shows facts and myths about digital audio.

https://xiph.org/video/vid2.shtml

If only "life" was as simple as sine waves. There is far more going in with music traversing the A/D then D/A conversion -- much more than can be explained with a simplistic viewpoint. If only.

[DaveR]

It's a primer, not an in depth analysis. I suspect there's a lot of information in that video that most people here don't know. Not trying to insult anyone, there' s lot of misconception.

[SoundMods]

It's a primer, not an in depth analysis. I suspect there's a lot of information in that video that most people here don't know. Not trying to insult anyone, there' s lot of misconception.

I don't think anyone that saw your message was insulted. No. Not at all -- why would they? I just didn't want folks with a limited knowledge think that digital recording and playback can be reduced to a simple video explanation.

[Pelliott321]

I thought the presentation was quite good, and if one watched the complete session the presented announces that he simplified the presentation for the uninformed and provided info to where to go to dig deeper.

[TubeDriver]

Do people really think that DACs send out stepped sine waves to components downstream (preamps, amps, speakers)?

[Stuart Polansky]

Do people really think that DACs send out stepped sine waves to components downstream (preamps, amps, speakers)?

Nope. Ones and zeroes.

[Cogito]

Do people really think that DACs send out stepped sine waves to components downstream (preamps, amps, speakers)?

From the digital communication engineering POV digital signal are treated as square waves. This is because digital communications is only interested in snapshot of the signal at certain intervals. What happens to the signal between the intervals is of no consequence.

In reality, digital signals are not smooth sinewaves. They look closer to square waves.

I am sure you meant to say DAC receives digital signals from upstream devices.

[TubeDriver]

No, I meant that the signal coming out of your DAC as seen by your preamp has been filtered/reconstructed and is not stepped.

Do people really think that DACs send out stepped sine waves to components downstream (preamps, amps, speakers)?

From the digital communication engineering POV digital signal are treated as square waves. This is because digital communications is only interested in snapshot of the signal at certain intervals. What happens to the signal between the intervals is of no consequence.

In reality, digital signals are not smooth sinewaves. They look closer to square waves.

I am sure you meant to say DAC receives digital signals from upstream devices.