How Digital Speakers Work?
- Thread starter fixit
- Start date
squidospyder
New member
I'm an idiot at this, but my 'acting educated' guess would be...
I think most digital speakers are self-powered? As in like powered speakers. I hope i'm not wrong, but suppose you're talking about stuff like Mackie HR series monitors or Roland DS monitors which have digital input.
from source -> speaker the signal would be digital (optical most probably unless you're talking about SPDIF) thus eliminating the common nonsense audiophiles spend like hundreds of dollars to overcome: cabling losses. Eg no clarity, etc. Digital would mean exact replication of signal from source to destination. But there's a limit to the length you can go I think.
But i'm just guessing. Anyone with the correct answer please raise your hand :lol:
I think most digital speakers are self-powered? As in like powered speakers. I hope i'm not wrong, but suppose you're talking about stuff like Mackie HR series monitors or Roland DS monitors which have digital input.
from source -> speaker the signal would be digital (optical most probably unless you're talking about SPDIF) thus eliminating the common nonsense audiophiles spend like hundreds of dollars to overcome: cabling losses. Eg no clarity, etc. Digital would mean exact replication of signal from source to destination. But there's a limit to the length you can go I think.
But i'm just guessing. Anyone with the correct answer please raise your hand :lol:
this thread i posted quite long ago..
if all speakers produce analog sound to the ears, (there will never be digital out to the ears rite? if not we all be listening to 0s and 1s) y name them digital? becoz the speakers offer digital connections? or maybe marketing terms?
y is there this thing known as Digital Sound..is there such sound..i tot all sound is analog rite?
in terms of performance which one is better? both is good?
to wire up speakers to pc doesn't require long cables so i guess the degradation of audio quality is unnoticed. is there realli any difference in audio quality?
im asking all this coz if there is realli a significant advantage over the analog speakers, i would like to get one. hope experts out there can advise..
squidospyder, if u use digital transmission from a source to a destination dat is half the world away, i tink there will be no loss of quality, SNR will still remain the same. for analog, the SNR will decrease over distance i guess.
this is wat i've found on the net:
consistent signal quality over the entire transmission path. (meaning even if distance is infinite i guess)
and also this:
The digital transmission system needs to transmit those zeros and ones, and it does this by modulating the carrier wave. Low power for a 0 and high power for a 1 (This is the most simple way of modulating. There are much more sophisticated forms of modulation, but it would take a whole book to describe them all.)
So on the receiving end, it doesn’t matter anymore what the quality of the signal is, as long as it still is possible to identify the zeros and ones. Noise in the received signal is no problem. A “1” with noise is still a “1” and a “0” with noise is still a “0”. Of course the noise can not be too high, otherwise mistakes would be made and a zero would be received as one or a one would be received as a zero.
So Digital Transmission Systems are better because they eliminate the effect of noise completely. You don’t look and listen to a received signal from an original recording, but you look and listen to a reproduced signal of the recording. The reproduction comes from an exact copy of the original recording.
if all speakers produce analog sound to the ears, (there will never be digital out to the ears rite? if not we all be listening to 0s and 1s) y name them digital? becoz the speakers offer digital connections? or maybe marketing terms?
y is there this thing known as Digital Sound..is there such sound..i tot all sound is analog rite?
in terms of performance which one is better? both is good?
to wire up speakers to pc doesn't require long cables so i guess the degradation of audio quality is unnoticed. is there realli any difference in audio quality?
im asking all this coz if there is realli a significant advantage over the analog speakers, i would like to get one. hope experts out there can advise..
squidospyder, if u use digital transmission from a source to a destination dat is half the world away, i tink there will be no loss of quality, SNR will still remain the same. for analog, the SNR will decrease over distance i guess.
this is wat i've found on the net:
consistent signal quality over the entire transmission path. (meaning even if distance is infinite i guess)
and also this:
The digital transmission system needs to transmit those zeros and ones, and it does this by modulating the carrier wave. Low power for a 0 and high power for a 1 (This is the most simple way of modulating. There are much more sophisticated forms of modulation, but it would take a whole book to describe them all.)
So on the receiving end, it doesn’t matter anymore what the quality of the signal is, as long as it still is possible to identify the zeros and ones. Noise in the received signal is no problem. A “1” with noise is still a “1” and a “0” with noise is still a “0”. Of course the noise can not be too high, otherwise mistakes would be made and a zero would be received as one or a one would be received as a zero.
So Digital Transmission Systems are better because they eliminate the effect of noise completely. You don’t look and listen to a received signal from an original recording, but you look and listen to a reproduced signal of the recording. The reproduction comes from an exact copy of the original recording.
seekz
New member
well i think a speaker with a digital inputs is just simply a "plus" point.
who knows what you'll be using the speakers to monitor on.
having another option just saves you the incovienience of having to go tru a DAC or vice versa if need arises.
probly can just hook up your MD easier or something.
who knows what you'll be using the speakers to monitor on.
having another option just saves you the incovienience of having to go tru a DAC or vice versa if need arises.
probly can just hook up your MD easier or something.
squidospyder
New member
fixit said:
Haha as I said I was just kinda guessing... Hope someone can shed better light on this... For me, I can't really be too obsessed with sound quality up to a certain extent; in the end its always the content that is more important
Don't worry too much about it. It's just another usable connector or port to any other average Joe.
If you use it, fine. If you don't use it, that's also fine.
If you start caring about all these small things, life will pass you by. We must not be too engrossed in the means, but concentrate more on achieveing the ends.
That's the problem with internet. Too much "Useful/less" information. People start getting themselves concerned about non-existence issues and forgetting about how to best carrying on with their lives.
One fine example is how a "computer idiot" think he got all the info on the net and start assembling his own PC. Where "PC techs" these days can do a pro-job for you cheap cheap, due to competition. Ends up with either a problematic poorly built PC or blow some component during building.
If you use it, fine. If you don't use it, that's also fine.
If you start caring about all these small things, life will pass you by. We must not be too engrossed in the means, but concentrate more on achieveing the ends.
That's the problem with internet. Too much "Useful/less" information. People start getting themselves concerned about non-existence issues and forgetting about how to best carrying on with their lives.
One fine example is how a "computer idiot" think he got all the info on the net and start assembling his own PC. Where "PC techs" these days can do a pro-job for you cheap cheap, due to competition. Ends up with either a problematic poorly built PC or blow some component during building.
Anyway, my own ears tell me that it prefer songs created before the digital age (before mid 90's, especially during the 70's to 80's).
As the years goes by, more and more of the music processes are digitalized, the sound has largely lost some magical dynamics that are found in purely analogue products.
When a microphone picks up a stream of sound, if you keep that signal analogue, there will be some special info within which will not be lost.
By converting it into digital, no matter how high the resolution, you are in fact chopping it up in to tiny pieces, no arguement about that. So you tell me in simple logic, if you chop something up and at the end fit them back together again, will it still be the same as the original signal??? No way hosay.
So if you ask me to choose between Karen Carpenter and Christina Aguliara, no question I will choose the former recording to keep on playing on my player for the rest of my life.
As the years goes by, more and more of the music processes are digitalized, the sound has largely lost some magical dynamics that are found in purely analogue products.
When a microphone picks up a stream of sound, if you keep that signal analogue, there will be some special info within which will not be lost.
By converting it into digital, no matter how high the resolution, you are in fact chopping it up in to tiny pieces, no arguement about that. So you tell me in simple logic, if you chop something up and at the end fit them back together again, will it still be the same as the original signal??? No way hosay.
So if you ask me to choose between Karen Carpenter and Christina Aguliara, no question I will choose the former recording to keep on playing on my player for the rest of my life.
to each his own i guess,
karen carpenter & cristina aguilera?
all recordings will be converted to digital by the way..
0s and 1s will be burned on the CD..
and every second 44100 numbers are being read..
even if u record by analog means, in the end it has to be, like u said, chopped to tiny pieces brother..its digital!! :twisted:
but it sounds 'perfect' to our ears rite? it is..
and u guys complaining bout digital guitar effects do not sound real..
dats not true..its real and sound perfect if u know how to do it and wat brands to rely on..
thats because, IMO, some ppl dont know how to use them..dont know how to tweak..
its good for recording coz in the end, no matter wat effects u use, analog or digital, u will only be able to hear 44100 numbers per sec on the CD.
and if u use digital connections up to the soundcard, it'll will eliminate line noise and the quality will be consistent.
and if u can accept 44100 numbers per sec on ur Hi-fi, why complain about digital guitar effects(produce 44100 sample per sec too) when it comes to playing live? IMO again, its simply because they dunno how to use them, what amps goes along with digital effects, how to tweak them, best way to connect..
digital means are introduced to address certain issues that EXIST..
its useful and not useless..
and to improve our lives..
and again to each his own. everybody has their own way of doing tings. different preferences...
but if u tink u need them, get them
im using both so i can achieve wat i want to achieve..
karen carpenter & cristina aguilera?
all recordings will be converted to digital by the way..
0s and 1s will be burned on the CD..
and every second 44100 numbers are being read..
even if u record by analog means, in the end it has to be, like u said, chopped to tiny pieces brother..its digital!! :twisted:
but it sounds 'perfect' to our ears rite? it is..
and u guys complaining bout digital guitar effects do not sound real..
dats not true..its real and sound perfect if u know how to do it and wat brands to rely on..
thats because, IMO, some ppl dont know how to use them..dont know how to tweak..
its good for recording coz in the end, no matter wat effects u use, analog or digital, u will only be able to hear 44100 numbers per sec on the CD.
and if u use digital connections up to the soundcard, it'll will eliminate line noise and the quality will be consistent.
and if u can accept 44100 numbers per sec on ur Hi-fi, why complain about digital guitar effects(produce 44100 sample per sec too) when it comes to playing live? IMO again, its simply because they dunno how to use them, what amps goes along with digital effects, how to tweak them, best way to connect..
digital means are introduced to address certain issues that EXIST..
its useful and not useless..
and to improve our lives..
and again to each his own. everybody has their own way of doing tings. different preferences...
but if u tink u need them, get them
im using both so i can achieve wat i want to achieve..
me personally, digital speakers are better than analog speakers.
wat u are hearing from ur speakers are from a digital source. might as well keep the connections digital until the Digital-to-Analogue converter in the speaker. that way very very low noise or no noise at all. when not playing aniting, try max the vol on an analog speaker. then do that with a digital speaker. any difference?
wat u are hearing from ur speakers are from a digital source. might as well keep the connections digital until the Digital-to-Analogue converter in the speaker. that way very very low noise or no noise at all. when not playing aniting, try max the vol on an analog speaker. then do that with a digital speaker. any difference?
I am not talking about the current media. I am talking about the means of the original recordings and the processes to get the end result (production print).
Of course I am listening to CDs these days, be it of old bands or new. But it's how the music was produced in the first place that is the point of contention.
Yes, who wouldn't know that CD is a digital format in the first place. It has a lot of advantages over analog media, namely consistency in quality and the technology as it's current is very cost efficient. Everyone can enjoy high fidelity at low price. That's becuz it's an evolvement as a means of current transportation.
So we are talking about 2 different things now, rockito. Do you get it?? Please read properly before OTOT fire.
Anyway back to the issue at hand. Like I have said earlier. Digital speakers are just speakers with different input terminals available, thats all. If you use that, its fine. If you don't, it's fine too. If your equipement is more convinent to use digital speakers, of course by all means use it if you want. Please do not loose any sleep over it.
I WISH TO ADD ONE MORE THING WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT AND TO DEBUNK ANY MYTHICAL IDEAS.
DIGITAL SPEAKERS ARE BY NO MEANS BETTER SOUNDING THAN ANALOGUE POWERED OR PASSIVE SPEAKERS. IT IS NOT A SUPERIOR MEANS TO AMPLIFY YOUR SOUND.
Of course I am listening to CDs these days, be it of old bands or new. But it's how the music was produced in the first place that is the point of contention.
Yes, who wouldn't know that CD is a digital format in the first place. It has a lot of advantages over analog media, namely consistency in quality and the technology as it's current is very cost efficient. Everyone can enjoy high fidelity at low price. That's becuz it's an evolvement as a means of current transportation.
So we are talking about 2 different things now, rockito. Do you get it?? Please read properly before OTOT fire.
Anyway back to the issue at hand. Like I have said earlier. Digital speakers are just speakers with different input terminals available, thats all. If you use that, its fine. If you don't, it's fine too. If your equipement is more convinent to use digital speakers, of course by all means use it if you want. Please do not loose any sleep over it.
I WISH TO ADD ONE MORE THING WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT AND TO DEBUNK ANY MYTHICAL IDEAS.
DIGITAL SPEAKERS ARE BY NO MEANS BETTER SOUNDING THAN ANALOGUE POWERED OR PASSIVE SPEAKERS. IT IS NOT A SUPERIOR MEANS TO AMPLIFY YOUR SOUND.
i read it properly man..we r not toking bout 2 different things..
and u said this "By converting it into digital, no matter how high the resolution, you are in fact chopping it up in to tiny pieces, no arguement about that. So you tell me in simple logic, if you chop something up and at the end fit them back together again, will it still be the same as the original signal??? No way hosay.
So if you ask me to choose between Karen Carpenter and Christina Aguliara, no question I will choose the former recording to keep on playing on my player for the rest of my life."
so wats ur point? analog is better? u can differentiate digital and analog ones? can u guys?
my point is even if u keep the signal analog juz like u preferred i guess, when it is printed on CD, info is lost also..rite? it is..
lets say u record a guitar riff to an ADAT..then print it on CD
then u record digitally on HD and then print it on CD
compare the difference..and tell me wat difference u hear k?
simple..y they have this thing as digital recording.. digital connections and so on?
for fun?
so that ppl can compare and say analog is better?
i hav no intention to fire u..its juz dat the way u mentioned things is like PLS DONT USE DIGITAL MEANS..
and me personally prefer DIGITAL SPEAKERS..not because its better
becoz my recording environment relies on it..that makes it the BEST
and u said this "By converting it into digital, no matter how high the resolution, you are in fact chopping it up in to tiny pieces, no arguement about that. So you tell me in simple logic, if you chop something up and at the end fit them back together again, will it still be the same as the original signal??? No way hosay.
So if you ask me to choose between Karen Carpenter and Christina Aguliara, no question I will choose the former recording to keep on playing on my player for the rest of my life."
so wats ur point? analog is better? u can differentiate digital and analog ones? can u guys?
my point is even if u keep the signal analog juz like u preferred i guess, when it is printed on CD, info is lost also..rite? it is..
lets say u record a guitar riff to an ADAT..then print it on CD
then u record digitally on HD and then print it on CD
compare the difference..and tell me wat difference u hear k?
simple..y they have this thing as digital recording.. digital connections and so on?
for fun?
so that ppl can compare and say analog is better?
i hav no intention to fire u..its juz dat the way u mentioned things is like PLS DONT USE DIGITAL MEANS..
and me personally prefer DIGITAL SPEAKERS..not because its better
becoz my recording environment relies on it..that makes it the BEST
I have never said "PLS DONT USE DIGITAL MEANS..". That's not up for one person or even half the listening population to say. I am just making a comparison, between the old and the new. What was available before and what was produced with those equipments and in comparison to todays technology. Something is lost, something else is introduced. Sorry, I am not then one who wallows in the past as I'm using whatever I can get my hands on these days too. Anyway I am not doing any recording work either now, so the technology does not apply to me too.
But my forte is to roughly know what goes on inside the circuitry of audio equipments, as I repair amps and such electronics devices. Thus I'm sharing knowledge to the general people out there only.
So I say this, no need to get touchy at all, I am not out to hurt anyone's pride. Just if you know, you just know. If you use it, you use it, fine. If you don't, that's fine. Like I was saying in the previous initial posts too.
PS. Sometimes it's good to have a mystery which you just know of it's being, no need to actually see it. Just like God existence. Aren't we all just humans, why are we playing god?
But my forte is to roughly know what goes on inside the circuitry of audio equipments, as I repair amps and such electronics devices. Thus I'm sharing knowledge to the general people out there only.
So I say this, no need to get touchy at all, I am not out to hurt anyone's pride. Just if you know, you just know. If you use it, you use it, fine. If you don't, that's fine. Like I was saying in the previous initial posts too.
PS. Sometimes it's good to have a mystery which you just know of it's being, no need to actually see it. Just like God existence. Aren't we all just humans, why are we playing god?
i know u did not mention that..
im juz contributing to this forum juz like u for the good of ppl here..
there is no right or wrong but there will be disagreement here and there..
not my intention to prove i am always right..always reliable..
juz sharing honest opinions..
i hope ppl in here can share good info and experiences too..
yes..ppl like subversion and u, mikemann, and many more have given good infos, advice..
its juz dat i dont agree certain things in this post..
we r all here to share info, experiences..
take it or leave, its up to us..
im juz contributing to this forum juz like u for the good of ppl here..
there is no right or wrong but there will be disagreement here and there..
not my intention to prove i am always right..always reliable..
juz sharing honest opinions..
i hope ppl in here can share good info and experiences too..
yes..ppl like subversion and u, mikemann, and many more have given good infos, advice..
its juz dat i dont agree certain things in this post..
we r all here to share info, experiences..
take it or leave, its up to us..
Ok guys,
Before more questions are thrown about digital amps, I'd like to inform you NOT to confuse digital inputs amp and a NEW class of amplifiers which is in the stage of infantcy in production.
The NEW class of digital output driver circuit is in the power amp stage not the pre-amp stage. These are even more hard to comprehend to us tech people too. Basically these are complex audio amplifier of very high efficiency rates. Which means they are smaller, lighter, consume less power and give more output power. (of course there are trade-offs to the said advantages)
The digital speakers that is mentioned here are active studio monitor speakers with digital inputs.
Thus I guess my contribution to this tread is about the max I can go. So see you guys later, enjoy whatever you have. Don't need to question why all the time, just use it.
Before more questions are thrown about digital amps, I'd like to inform you NOT to confuse digital inputs amp and a NEW class of amplifiers which is in the stage of infantcy in production.
The NEW class of digital output driver circuit is in the power amp stage not the pre-amp stage. These are even more hard to comprehend to us tech people too. Basically these are complex audio amplifier of very high efficiency rates. Which means they are smaller, lighter, consume less power and give more output power. (of course there are trade-offs to the said advantages)
The digital speakers that is mentioned here are active studio monitor speakers with digital inputs.
Thus I guess my contribution to this tread is about the max I can go. So see you guys later, enjoy whatever you have. Don't need to question why all the time, just use it.