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Topic: Quality of Sony's 1-Bit High Density Linear Converter? (Read 13366 times) previous topic - next topic
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Quality of Sony's 1-Bit High Density Linear Converter?

My CD player is a Sony CDP-M33 model from 1991-92:



I'm curious about the quality of the 1-bit pulse DAC (High Density Linear Converter).... Is it in the cheap/crappy range? is an improvement over first generations of DACs? I know there are different types of DAC, is 1-bit DAC better or worse than the others?

Actually I like how it sounds but maybe I'm missing something, as I don't have other CD players to make direct comparisons.

Thanks.

Quality of Sony's 1-Bit High Density Linear Converter?

Reply #2 –
Should I expect a big and noticeable improvement if I get a newer model with a different DAC?

Quality of Sony's 1-Bit High Density Linear Converter?

Reply #3 –
No but you'll never get a big and noticeable improvement from switching DACs.

Quality of Sony's 1-Bit High Density Linear Converter?

Reply #4 –
If you want to improve your sound or if you're just getting bored and you just want a change, I'd suggest upgrading your speakers, or maybe get a subwoofer if you think the bass from your current speakers can use a little help.  Or maybe just get an equalizer (if you don't already have one).

Or if you don't already have a home theater system, there are Dolby Pro Logic II "Soundfield" settings that will process stereo into surround sound.  Virtually all home theater receiver have Pro Logic II.  These settings are in addition to the regular Pro Logic Movie settings which generally don't work well with regular stereo music.  (I'm using a setting that sends reverb to my rear speakers.)     

"Simulated surround-sound" is not for everybody, and it's a "violation" of the principals of high-fidelity, since you are not faithfully reproducing the stereo sound as it was intended.    But, it might be worth visiting an audio-video store to take a listen.

Quality of Sony's 1-Bit High Density Linear Converter?

Reply #5 –
Quote from: DVDdoug on
If you want to improve your sound or if you're just getting bored and you just want a change, I'd suggest upgrading your speakers, or maybe get a subwoofer if you think the bass from your current speakers can use a little help.  Or maybe just get an equalizer (if you don't already have one).

Or if you don't already have a home theater system, there are Dolby Pro Logic II "Soundfield" settings that will process stereo into surround sound.  Virtually all home theater receiver have Pro Logic II.  These settings are in addition to the regular Pro Logic Movie settings which generally don't work well with regular stereo music.  (I'm using a setting that sends reverb to my rear speakers.)     

"Simulated surround-sound" is not for everybody, and it's a "violation" of the principals of high-fidelity, since you are not faithfully reproducing the stereo sound as it was intended.    But, it might be worth visiting an audio-video store to take a listen.



DPLII 'Music' mode typically allows a lot of user adjustments for center width, front/back balance (dimension), and 'side fill' (panorama) effects .  IIRC it also doesn't apply a treble shelf to the surrounds, as 'Movie' mode does.  I tend to apply DPLII Music to all stereo sources, since I have a 5.1 setup.

Never heard of 'Soundfield', although this might just be 'room emulation'?  Like 'concert hall' or 'jazz club'?  Lots of AVRs have these modes too

Quality of Sony's 1-Bit High Density Linear Converter?

Reply #6 –
Quote from: Batman321 on
... I'm curious about the quality of the 1-bit pulse DAC (High Density Linear Converter).... Is it in the cheap/crappy range? is an improvement over first generations of DACs? I know there are different types of DAC, is 1-bit DAC better or worse than the others. ...


The following history of DAC development is greatly simplified.

The first DACs were NOS (Non OverSampling). They fed the digital values for each sample to a series of switches which allowed current to flow through a network of precision resistors. The sum of the currents equalled the analogue value represented by the sample. The disadvantage of this was that for 16 bits the switches and resistors had to be very high precision, and this was expensive to manufacture. Also, the output reconstruction filter had to be high quality (and expensive).

Single bit DACs had just one switch and resistor. For each sample, the switch triggered for a number of times corresponding to the digital value. The sum of the current pulses corresponded to the analogue value for that sample. This is a form of sigma-delta conversion. While it made the hardware cheaper, it proved difficult to stabilise the pulse generator to produce a low distortion, low noise output.

Because of the limitations of single-bit conversion, manufacturers compromised. Modern DACs use a combination of NOS and sigma-delta technologies. Typically, 4 or 5 of the bits are decoded "directly". The tolerances required for this number of bits are manageable. The rest of the bits are decoded using the pulse generator scheme. This relaxes the requirements on the sigma-delta stage and makes it easier to linearise.

So in theory, a modern multi-bit sigma-delta DAC will outperform the one in your Sony. But the performance of the chip is only one part of it. The rest of the circuitry around it has to be well designed and implemented. If care was taken in the design and construction of your Sony player, it may well outperform a poorly designed modern player. So if it works well and you're happy with the sound, carry on.
Regards,
   Don Hills
"People hear what they see." - Doris Day