Chapter 7

Digital Audio Signal

Objective

 The basic of Digital Audio

 Parameter in Digital signal

 A Different between Analog Vs Digital

 Digital Audio Equipment

Digital?

Translate or
•Alphabet (A-Z) Encode to •On/Off
•Base10 No. (0-9) •Base2 No. (0/1)
•Analog Signal (Voltage)
 •Volt/No Volt
•Information form
Digital

Analog
 Analog and Digital
Analog and Digital can be convert.
 Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)
 Digital to Analog Converter (DAC)

ADC

0101100010010010
0101101010101101
0110101010100100

DAC
Analog Digital
Basic of Digital Audio
 Sampling Rate
 The Nyquist Theorem

 Quantization

 Signal to Error Ratio

 Dither

 Digital Recording / Reproduction Process

 Digital Transmission
 Sampling

Analog - Continuous change audio waveform

Digital -Take a periodic of a changing audio waveform
 Sampling Rate
The number of measurement (samples) that are
taken of analog signal in one second. (Hz)
Sampling Rate
 The Nyquist Theorem
SR ≥ 2 × Highest Frequency
(SR = Sampling Rate Frequency)
Frequencies
Added
Playback
Original Frequencies
Above the
Nyquist limit Sample
Nyquist Point Rate
Frequency
1

Frequency
(Hz)

0K Alias Frequency 15K 30K

0
 Anti-Alias Filtering
SR ≥ 2 × Highest Frequency
(SR = Sampling Rate Frequency)
Amplitude Ideal
Real-World
Audible Range
1

Frequency
(Hz)

20 100 500 1K 2K 5K 10K 20K 22.5 K

0
Low Pass Filter
Quantization

1 bit 2 bit 3 bit 4 bit 5 bit 6 bit

Quantization
3.0467V = (01100101 00101101)

8-bit Word = (nnnn nnnn) = 28 = 256 Step

16-bit Word = (nnnnnnnn nnnnnnnn) = 216 = 65536 Step
20-bit Word = (nnnnnnnnnn nnnnnnnnnn) = 220 = 1,048,576 Step
24-bit Word = (nnnnnnnnnnnn nnnnnnnnnnnn) = 224 = 16,777,216 Step
Quantization
 Represents the amplitude component of digital
sampling process.
 Technique of translation the instantaneous voltage
level of a continuous analog signal into discrete set
of binary digits (bits)
 Common binary word length for professional audio
is 16-bit (ex, [01100101001011011]) 20- and 24-bit
 Digital Signal Processor (Reverb, Equalizer and
Dynamic Processors) often perform their internal
calculations using 24- or 32- or 64-bit word length.
Quantization Error
Noise which occurs when the amplitude
resolution of a digital system is too coarse.
For example in a 4 bit system (which has only
16 discrete amplitude levels) whatever the
sampling rate,
music will sound distorted and will contain a
great deal of noise.
Signal to Error Ratio
 Indicates
the degree of accuracy that’s used
when encoding a signal’s dynamic range.

Signal-to-error ratio = 6n + 1.8 (dB); (n = bits)

Ex, for 16-bit system = 97.8 dB

Dither

 Additionof small amounts of white noise.

 To reduce Signal-to-error and distortion.

 Use when resample data.

 such as 24-bit to 16-bit
Basic Digital Signal Processing

Analog Digital
Input Signal Signal
Analog A/D Digital encoding,
Input Converter Processing and storage

Coded
Digital
Signal
Cable, transmission,
Recording tape, etc… Channel

Coded
Digital
Decoded
Analog Signal
Output Digital
Signal Signal
Analog D/A Digital decoding,
Output Converter Processing and storage
Analog-to-Digital Steps

 Filtering : Limits the analog signal bandwidth

 Sampling : Converts a continuous-time signal
into a discrete-time signal
 Quantization : converts a continuous-value
signal into a discrete-value signal
 Coding : define the code of the digital signal
according to application
Analog-to-digital Conversion

Analog Digital
In Out
Filter Sampler Quantizer Coder

1 2 3

• Analog Signal - Continuous in time / Continuous in value

• Samples Signal - Discrete in time / Continuous in value
• Digital signal - Discrete in time / Discrete in value
The Digital Recording

Dither
Generator

Line Anti-aliasing Sample Analog-to-Digital

Amplifier filter And Conversion
Hold

Storage Media Record Processing Data Coding

(Tape, CD , disk) Modulation (error correction)
The Reproduction Process

Storage Reproduction Processing Demultiplexer

Media demodulation (error correction)

Analog Output
Output D/A
Audio Sample and
Low-Pass Filter Converter
Output Hold
Digital Media

Approx file
Media Type Bit Length Sample Rate
size/minute
Audio CD 16 44.1 kHz 10 MB
ADAT 24 48 kHz 17 MB
Super Audio CD 24 48 kHz 17 MB
Audio DVD 24 96 kHz 37 MB
High-Definition (HD) 24 192 kHz 80 MB
Sampling Rate

Sampling Rate Application

22,000 Hz Radio / Web Streaming

audio CD, also most commonly used with MPEG-1 audio (VCD,
44,100 Hz SVCD, MP3)
digital sound used for miniDV, digital TV, DVD, DAT, films and
48,000 Hz professional audio
DVD-Audio, some LPCM DVD tracks, BD-ROM (Blu-ray Disc)
96,000 Hz audio tracks

192,000 Hz HD-DVD (High-Definition DVD) audio tracks

Digital Transmission
 AES/EBU
 Audio Engineering Society and the European
Broadcast Union
 Transmitting digital audio between professional
digital audio devices.
 Use 3-pin XLR connector.

 1 Ch Transfer Both L-R (Stereo)

 Low-impedance (110 Ohms)

 Waveform amplitude range between 3 and 10V

 Maximum cable length up to 328 feet (100M)

AES/EBU

AES/EBU In/Out
 S/PDIF
 Sony/Philips Digital InterFace
 Transmitting digital audio between consumer
digital audio devices.
 Use Unbalanced phono (RCA) connector.

 1 Ch Transfer Both L-R (Stereo)

 Conduct 0.5 volt with impedance 75 ohms

 Can transmitted by using optical connection lines

“Lightpipe”.
S/PDIF

RCA S/PDIF

Optical S/PDIF
 Multi-channel Transmission
 MADI (Multi Channel Audio Digital Interface)
 Up to 56 Channels
 Cable distances up to 50 Metres
 ADAT Lightpipe
 Transmitted eight digital audio channels
 Use same lightpipe with S/PDIF
 TDIF (Tascam Digital InterFace)
 Transmitted & received eight digital audio channels
 Use 25 pin D-Sub Cable
 In and out in one cable.
Digital Audio Recording
 Digital Audio Tape (DAT)
 Modular Digital Multitrack System
 Computer-Base System
 Harddisk Recorder
 Sampler
Modular Digital Multitrack
Computer-Base
Harddisk Reccorder
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)