By George Petersen

As pro audio devotees, we love old stuff. And when something new comes along, we tend to hold off for a while and let things settle in before making that leap of faith into new technologies. Along the way, our dear friend analog got a new littermate by the name of digital and we were quick to chastise the new arrival.

Much of this admonishment was well deserved. When the CD first debuted, it was pretty bad, yet companies described it with catch-phrases like “the ultimate in sound” and “audio perfection.” Of course, if revision 1.0 was perfect, then how would one describe revision 2.0, when oversampling technologies brought the format closer to perfection. So which version was perfecter? The answer is none of them, but the reason why is not quite what most people expect.

I’m not gonna rally the flag of those who feel the only true hi-fi format is some esoteric vinyl pressing played on an esoteric turntable driving some equally esoteric phono cartridge attached to an even more esoteric tonearm, routed through liquid nitrogen-cooled cabling to just the right preamp/amp/speakers.

But in the domain of way-less-than-$100,000 playback systems, there is a middle ground of digital systems that could sound pretty good. Unfortunately, in the real world of the everyday playback and production tools we all use, simply silk-screening the word “Professional” onto the front panel doesn’t automatically make it sound better. Many of these digital products, from consoles to reverbs to CD players don’t—and can’t—sound good and big reason for that is not digital at all, but analog.

You might think a megabuck console or effects box would have a world-class analog back-end, but the dirty little secret here is that in order to save money, the analog circuitry that follows that highly-touted, D/A converter chip is often based around the cheapest stereo IC op-amps around. And is not limited to low-end gear—there are very expensive products that cut corners in this area to keep costs down/profits up.

Here, the chip’s low channel separation specs result in a squashed soundstage with poor imaging—hardly the sound you want if you prefer wide stereo mixes or lush thick reverbs. Sure, higher bit resolution, increased sampling rates, improved anti-aliasing filters, etc., are all factors in digital quality, but in too many products, a cheap stereo op-amp on the output becomes the weak link in the chain. If you’re working entirely within the digital domain, you’ll be entering the analog world at some point, and when that happens, it’s nice to know what you’re hearing is your project and not a cheap IC’s rendition of your creation.

We audio types tend to be picky about quality: Many of us have invested in quality front-end peripherals—outboard mic preamps and high-end A/D converters—to insure that what we hear in the control room is faithfully captured. But manufacturers of pro (and consumer) gear should pay attention to that often-ignored other side of the chain. We users might consider investing in a outboard D/A with a decent analog back-end. This won’t suddenly create digital perfection—analog recording wasn’t exactly perfect, either—but in the meantime, it’s a step in the right direction.

When not working on Mix stuff, George Petersen records and performs with the SF Bay Area-based rock band ARIEL. Check ‘em out at www.jenpet.com.

____________________________________________

So what do YOU think?

CLICK ON THE “COMMENTS” BUG BELOW TO READ/LEAVE COMMENTS…