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Digital to Analog with 100% accuracy

Xulonn

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Yes, because modern AD/DA technology can translate a digital signal to analogue with levels of distortion and noise way below the capabilities of human hearing to discern. But is it perfect? No. Nor can it ever be.

Is it that damned parallel to asymptotes again? (How about that - two of the three "math love stories" in my lead-in line!)

Perhaps we can add a 4th Math Sad Love story to the list?

Math Love Stories.jpg


4. Of "bits" of music that can never merge perfectly...
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Fluffy

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Quantum mechanically speaking, you can't know anything with 100% accuracy. You can, however, specify tolerance (or error bars) and try to come the closest you physically can to accurate within tolerance. For audio, the only tolerance that's relevant is that of your ears, and they are far from 100% accurate.
 
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Willem

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So the practical conclusion is that many affordable DACs are better than the limits of human heraring acuity. In short, they are sonically perfect. If you want the best measuring gear such as the RME ADI-2 and a few others it gets a bit more expensive (but the difference will be inaudible).
 
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OP
J

Jsingh4

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Ok guys I get it. I don't need any more comments thank you all.
 

Ron Texas

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Music is an analogue phenomenon. Therefore, converting it to ones and zeroes is an inherently evil and immoral act....

...not.
 

bluefuzz

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4 quarters are analogous to 1 dollar .

Hmm, that's not how I would use the word 'analogous'. Four quarters 'add up to' a dollar, yes. But they are not 'analogous' to a dollar in my understanding of the term.

Analog has no "sample rate" just like a circle has no finite amount of points comprising its circumference.

Exactly. An ideal 'platonic' circle has no finite number of points or irregularity. But any actual physical representation of a circle will have some imprecision or inaccuracy. There are no infinitely thin pencils with which to draw the circle, or infinitely large pieces of paper on which to draw it. Thus to talk of a 'perfect' or 100% accurate analogue signal is, I would still maintain, meaningless. The only 100% accurate map of the world – whether digital or analogue – is the world itself.
 

cjm2077

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Analog to digital capturing, storage in a medium of your choice, and conversion back to analog can be done with accuracy far beyond the ability to capture analog signals to an analog storage medium, extract that signal from the storage medium and amplify it line levels equivalent to the output of a DAC. The ADC/Storage/DAC chain is also more accurate than the power amplifiers and speakers it gets fed to. Usually by orders of magnitude. So any inaccuracies in the process are irrelevant. As long as the products are properly designed and operated within their proper bounds.
 

BDWoody

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pozz

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The only 100% accurate map of the world – whether digital or analogue – is the world itself.
Nice Baudrillard/Borges reference.
 
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ex audiophile

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Yes. And no ... ;-)

Yes, because modern AD/DA technology can translate a digital signal to analogue with levels of distortion and noise way below the capabilities of human hearing to discern. But is it perfect? No. Nor can it ever be.

However, an analogue 'signal' is by definition not perfect either. It's analogue – meaning 'like something else' – an imperfect representation. So the question is essentially meaningless.
typical elf response, they will answer with yes and no. ;)
 

mansr

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Willem

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All necessary research was already included in the CD Red Book specification. That is all you need, and these people were far smarter than you.
 

erikveach

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FFS, not the stairsteps again. And it only gets worse from there.
When "step" size becomes small enough, at the limit as it reaches the smallest possible physical dimension for example, the step becomes essentially a point of negligible size. This is the basis of calculus.
 

NTK

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mansr

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When "step" size becomes small enough, at the limit as it reaches the smallest possible physical dimension for example, the step becomes essentially a point of negligible size. This is the basis of calculus.
That was your first mistake.
 
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