dCS 974 User Manual

Manual for Software Version 1.0x

dCS Ltd

May 2001

 

 

Noise Shaping

The dCS 974 uses noise shaping22 that is optimised to the F weighting curve23. It does not affect signal frequency or transient response, but shapes the frequency response of errors (Q noise, or truncation errors) so that they fall as much as possible in the less sensitive part of the spectrum. The architecture used also shapes dither, where this is added. For all the major sample rates (32 kS/s, 44.1 kS/s, 48 kS/s, 88.2 kS/s, 96 kS/s) the noise shapers have been individually optimised and the first 10 orders are offered. The 1st, 3rd, and 9th shapes for 44.1 kS/s agree well with Wannamaker’s published results24.

Noise Shaping adds more noise power, but because of the shaping it is perceived as lower noise. There is a compromise to be drawn – as more aggressive shaping is used, more noise is added, and less perceived improvement occurs. In practice, things stop improving by about the 10th order. The increased real noise power can cause (small) clicks in editing, if this is carried out after the shaping. For each major sample rate, we recommend an aggressive and a gentle setting, below:

Sample RateLowestHighestGentleAggressive
(kS/s)

Order

Order

Shaping

Shaping

32

1st

10th

2nd

6th

44.1

1st

10th

2nd

9th

48

1st

10th

2nd

8th

88.2

1st

10th

3rd

7th

96

1st

10th

3rd

7th

Table 9 – Noise Shape Orders by Output Sample Rate

The gentle shaping tends to follow the E weighting curve, by chance. For more information on this topic, either see Word Length Reduction on page 104 or read the references below.

22It actually uses an Error Shaping architecture, but the name is now being used for entirely other things and is less well known, so we call it, erroneously, Noise Shaping

23“Minimally Audible Noise Shaping”, S.P.Lipshitz and R.A.Wannamaker, J AES vol 39 no 11, p836-852

24“Psychacoustically Optimal Noise Shaping”, R.A.Wannamaker, J AES vol 40 no 7/8, p611-620

Manual part no: DOC1241121A1

Page 84

Document No: OS-MA-A0124-112.1A1

Contact dCS on + 44 1799 531 999

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web site: www.dcsltd.co.uk