DAC Output Voltage and Basic Design

[Blur]

I found this link very useful in understanding the basic topologies of 3 DAC styles. You get advantages and disadvantages of each and a general picture of why each may be used.

https://www.eetimes.com/2-vrms-a-funny-old-standard/

 

[restorer-john]

I found this link very useful in understanding the basic topologies of 3 DAC styles. You get advantages and disadvantages of each and a general picture of why each may be used.

https://www.eetimes.com/2-vrms-a-funny-old-standard/

Unfortunately, it's just more unsubstantiated rubbish in relation to CD. I love it how people try to retrospectively change history on the internet. It's a joke. Trouble is, this crap loiters around on the internet for decades.

The standard for compact disc was originally set at 1.4V by the 31 manufacturers in the working group including Philips and Sony, but apart from some very early review samples and test machines, it was raised to 2.0V as an industry standard on the day of official world-wide release, March 1st 1983. Sony had already debuted their machine with a 2.0V (nominal) output in October 1982 in Japan.

Here's a service bulletin. Note the date.

By April 1983, the service manual for the above machine was updated to 2.1V RMS (@0dB). This is Hitachi's very first CD player...

 

[Blur]

You learn something new every day I tell ya.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I do believe historically the +4 dbu standard wasn't a maximum, but a nominal input. You expected pro gear to have 20 db of headroom over that nominal input. So pro gear would normally have max outs of 24 dbu or about 12.23 volts rms.

Consumer gear was more all over the place.