The Signal Chain: How do noise and distortion propagate through my system?

[BR52]

Thank you, Don a great hard work to bring light in the interaction of some building blocks. Often we see endless discussions about the behavior of specific systems and how they are then generalized.
Again thank you

 

[Steve H]

Thank you for a great article. I hope you can spend some time with speaker noise and distortion in the future.

 

[BR52]

Hi Don, really sad to see a so low resonance of your thread. I guess the problem is you did not give a simple answer. Most people think in simple solutions and not in more complex possibilities. Hopefully I'm wrong.

 

[DonH56]

Hi Don, really sad to see a so low resonance of your thread. I guess the problem is you did not give a simple answer. Most people think in simple solutions and not in more complex possibilities. Hopefully I'm wrong.

Yes, it's a complex subject, and I am sure I did not do enough to simplify the concepts and start with simpler examples. I had some time off and just getting the Python program running and working through the first few examples consumed way more time than I expected. Someday I may try to go back and tighten things up but for now it is what it is... For now Life and Work is ramping up (new parts coming in to test at work, older son getting married in a few weeks, so we're pretty swamped).

That said, a lot of the threads I and others (e.g. Amir) wrote get buried in the overall wash of threads on ASR, especially now that we've grown so much. A lot of basic questions could be answered, or at least understood, by wading through the various tutorials but reading and assimilating them takes time. They keep getting views, though at a low level after initial publication, so hopefully are still relevant. I rarely use a dictionary but have one on hand for the occasion that I need it and would miss it if I did not.

No worries - Don

 

[BR52]

This was no critics about your article, I enjoyed it very much. It was more related to a lot of long surface scratching threads I can see.
I'm sure there is a more important live outside HIFI, enjoy it as much as possible.
Best Bernd

 

[Sokel]

Well documented articles like this is the main reason I read ASR.
Thanks for the time and effort!

 

[sq225917]

And the result is - buy good low noise and distortion sources with plenty of output level and match the gain of your devices to limit further reamplification after the source.

 

[nerdstrike]

That was a nice read!

 

[Bombadil]

Don, thank you for this. I didn't see in your "signature" what components you are using in your personal system. If you could suggest a few sets of components for a 2 channel system that would work well i'm sure a lot of us would be very grateful. You would NOT need to include speakers but rather just use a generic 90db speaker to make things as simple as possible.
As an example, would this be an appropriate starting point for an excellent two channel streaming setup:

digital streaming source:Benchmark DAC3B:Benchmark LA4:AHB2 (stereo or mono depending on power needs)?

For the purpose of this discussion we'd have to keep room correction, bass management and speakers out of the mix.

 

[DonH56]

Don, thank you for this. I didn't see in your "signature" what components you are using in your personal system. If you could suggest a few sets of components for a 2 channel system that would work well i'm sure a lot of us would be very grateful. You would NOT need to include speakers but rather just use a generic 90db speaker to make things as simple as possible.
As an example, would this be an appropriate starting point for an excellent two channel streaming setup:

digital streaming source:Benchmark DAC3B:Benchmark LA4:AHB2 (stereo or mono depending on power needs)?

For the purpose of this discussion we'd have to keep room correction, bass management and speakers out of the mix.

My equipment list is in second link in my signature, the one starting with "My system:". I don't have a high-performance DAC or streamer. My schedule rarely permits time for serious listening; maybe in another 147 years when I retire.

I am not the one to ask for advice, not really up on current components and don't want to wade into that fray again, and I would prefer to keep this thread focused on the technical content and not specific equipment. Better to start a separate thread for that, please.

Of course, if someone wants to give me a Benchmark or three, I'd be glad to try them out.