32 bit stereo ADC, wow

[JohnRoberts]

I was never happy with converters vs the analog source but couldn't put my finger on it. Ironically, it was the hifi people (not synonymous with audiophools) who got me to check out R2R DACs.

as often I an unclear about exactly what you are talking about.

R2R ladder DACs are mature technology. Back in the day we performed A/D conversions using high performance DACs to generate an analog signal and then compare the input to that conversion output product. Flash convertors would simultaneously compare the input to all the different amplitude quantums. This quickly becomes impractical as every extra digital bit doubles the number of quantum levels to parse. To do this in a time effective procedure we used SAR (successive approximation registers) where starting with the MSB (most significant bit) we narrow down the range we are comparing with successive steps. Back in the day the Burr-Brown DACs were the defacto industry standard. 16b requires 65k quantum levels. 32b is billions of quantum levels so thats a pretty impressive R2R ladder.

Modern convertors combine a combination of modest bit length flash conversions performed at an extremely high sampling frequency then mathematically converts that result to audio bandwidth samples with more bits of resolution.

I also think there frequently is a kind of blindness with experts of the "if you cannot measure the problem with the tools you've got, it doesn't exist" variety.

Huh? While there is a good argument for errors that fall below the resolution floor (measurement limits) of high performance bench test equipment is probably inconsequential. But the old "prove it to me" with statistically significant double blind testing, still has merit IMO.

As for magical / wishfull thinking - yes, it's everywhere, in hifi audio as well as in pro audio.

and politics

Lot's of highest profile grammy winning recording engineer geniuses (I mean that) who believe some absurd stuff. It's human nature to fill the gaps somehow, and in audio, due to its intangible nature, there are a lot more gaps than in many other fields, I think.

I had an uncomfortable experience trying to deal with one of those famous big name record producers. I won't name names to protect myself as much as him. I was tasked with voicing my big split console EQ based on his suggestions, that were pretty much musician mumbo jumbo. I sat in on one animated conversation between him and Hartley where they traded muso speak about bass guitar amp sound (more balls, yadda yadda).

I was already confident in the sonic quality of the console strip EQ I had, so I punted and extended the frequency range of the low-mid sweep EQ section down one full octave. It worked, he loved the prototype strip I sent him to check out in his own studio, and I escaped with my integrity roughly intact and his blessing.

I don't mean to diminish his accomplishments as a record producer. He has a number of very successful collaborations and is probably still working. Not accidental, but we didn't talk the same language (science).

JR