Digital Audio Basics - Attempting to get it - Posted on 2013-05-07 by Anthony Howell

Lionel and I had a great day in the studio today discussing digital audio basics and sampling rates, and the Nyquist thereom, and quantization, and dithering, and I thought my head was going to explode from information overload, but luckily I internalized and made it through with my noggin in tact. I was overwhelmed at first because some of the math was hard and I am terrible at math, but once Lionel had put in terms I could understand (ahem, simple diagrams, ahem) it was gravy from there on. I was particularly enthused about learning that there are so many different variations of converters in the digital realm and that each one is in fact an expression of not only the components used but also an expression of how the engineer/manufacturer interprets what a good digital converter should be. Lionel explained that putting project files though one set of converters vs. another set of converters can be an entirely different aural experience. This is not something I would have previously considered but has certainly sparked my interest and just goes to show that the process of recording in the 21^st century is indeed multi-faceted and it’s encouraging to know that our imagination is the only limitation to discovery, imagination and dolla dolla bills ya’ll. Until next week.