INTRODUCTION
The Series 2 and 3 Digital Audio Adapters are IBM AT compatible add-on boards which convert high fidelity analog signals to digital data for storage to, and retrieval from, disk.
The Series 2 and 3 adapters sample two channels of audio from
7.35kHz to 50kHz with 16 bit resolution. They incorporate Sigma Delta technology with 64 times oversampling, providing superior fidelity at greater than 80 dB signal-to-noise ratio.
ABOUT DIGITAL AUDIO
In professional circles, digital audio has been with us for over 10 years. With the advent of the compact disk in 1983, digital audio has become commonplace as a consumer item. Few will argue that digital audio has afforded an order of magnitude improvement in overall sound quality and signal-to-noise ratio over the best analog systems which preceded them. But just what is digital audio, and where and how is it used?
It is possible to use digital data transmission techniques to trans- mit digital audio signals by wire or radio. However, this practice has not yet become common due to the extremely wide signal bandwidth required to transmit real-time digital audio signals. For the present, digital audio techniques seem largely confined to the recording and playback of music and other audio signals where, in a few short years, digital audio technology has all but replaced the previous analog record/playback techniques. In the present dec- ade we will see digital audio technology replace analog technol- ogy in most signal processing functions in both the professional and consumer markets. It is also likely, particularly with the advent of fiber optic cables, that digital audio technology will be utilized in the transmission of real-time audio signals on a widespread basis.
But what is digital audio?
