Hi All,
.... First a "Happy New Year" to you all 😉 ....
And then to the subject of this thread which has been on my mind for some time now:
"What will a/the Future Audio Standard be?" (looking 10 - 20 years into the future ...)
My main reasons for thinking about this, & now also posting this thread, have been these:
- Knowing what a future audio standard may be (recording & playback) may make new audio developments easier as there is a/some steering points to adhere to.
- It may actually make for better audio components since the circuitry solutions may be optimized for a certain standard (an example could be digital decoupling which to my knowledge works only optimally for a narrow range of frequencies - thus 384 kHz/32 bit decoupling may not be optimal for 192 kHz/32 bit decoupling, etc.).
- Reduce environmental load due to less different devices & less components in a device since (potentially) only one standard is needed.
Currently there are more "standards in practice" like 44.1 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 176.4 kHz, 48 kHz, 96 kHz, 192 kHz, 384 kHz, 768 kHz 16/24/32 bits as well as DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 & DSD512. IMHO these are a lot of standards which both on the recording and playback sides make for many conversions (software or hardware), more complex hardware & software developments (which are also suboptimal sound quality-wise?), and possibly more ...
So with these points in mind I've been wondering if there could be a/few approaches that could set some guiding points for a superb future audio standard?
My own thoughts about such a possible future audio standard have narrowed down to:
- It will be digital. Although I've owned & heard superb analog playback systems due to convenience and future improvements I believe such a standard will be digital.
- One sampling rate base. Possibly either 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz based. With much higher sampling rates available today both on the recording & playback sides I reckon choosing either of these two sampling bases may be feasible ... Yet, which will it be ... ?
- PCM, DSD or...?. I notice quite some discussion in many forums as to the feasibility and audible qualities of either standard. However, which will contribute most to the progression of audio quality in the future? - and may issues with either format be solved, e.g. direct editability of DSD files? Or will there be a new standard that is altogether better sound-wise?
- Sampling rates will increase. This seems to historically be the case and I personally believe this will continue ... However, may it e.g. be feasible already now to try to develop devices capable of e.g. PCM at 1536 kHz/1411.2 kHz sampling or DSD2048? Thus skipping more intermediate sampling rates (less environmental load, less complex future hardware, "audio community collaboration advantages", a fixed standard for some years, setting a high goal for audio, etc.), and/or oversampling (which currently appears to be "under scrutiny" ..) ...
On the hardware side I've been thinking that these developments may happen:
- A/D and possibly D/A conversion may move towards "stand-alone" DS modulators (or functional equivalents) with associated software processing. This would allow the processing power of computers to be used to handle potential signal processing.
- Maybe SAR ADCs and R2R DACs in place of multi-bit delta-sigma converters? This would e.g. allow for much lower clock frequencies (less phase noise) at the point of conversion, less filtering (digital and analog), possibly less HF noise.
- Some other superb converter technology becoming available?
... I reckon there are many more aspects to consider so please feel welcome to include these ... 😉
Also - since "audio" is both recording and playback - to get an input from the people who work at the other end of the spectrum, i.e those who make the recordings, I have also posted a thread on recording.org about this (http://recording.org/threads/future-gen-audio-standard.59158/)
Well, I hope this may be interesting to many of you and may lead to an interesting, informative/knowledgeable, and possibly clarifying exchange about a possible future audio standard ...
Cheers 🙂
Jesper
.... First a "Happy New Year" to you all 😉 ....
And then to the subject of this thread which has been on my mind for some time now:
"What will a/the Future Audio Standard be?" (looking 10 - 20 years into the future ...)
My main reasons for thinking about this, & now also posting this thread, have been these:
- Knowing what a future audio standard may be (recording & playback) may make new audio developments easier as there is a/some steering points to adhere to.
- It may actually make for better audio components since the circuitry solutions may be optimized for a certain standard (an example could be digital decoupling which to my knowledge works only optimally for a narrow range of frequencies - thus 384 kHz/32 bit decoupling may not be optimal for 192 kHz/32 bit decoupling, etc.).
- Reduce environmental load due to less different devices & less components in a device since (potentially) only one standard is needed.
Currently there are more "standards in practice" like 44.1 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 176.4 kHz, 48 kHz, 96 kHz, 192 kHz, 384 kHz, 768 kHz 16/24/32 bits as well as DSD64, DSD128, DSD256 & DSD512. IMHO these are a lot of standards which both on the recording and playback sides make for many conversions (software or hardware), more complex hardware & software developments (which are also suboptimal sound quality-wise?), and possibly more ...
So with these points in mind I've been wondering if there could be a/few approaches that could set some guiding points for a superb future audio standard?
My own thoughts about such a possible future audio standard have narrowed down to:
- It will be digital. Although I've owned & heard superb analog playback systems due to convenience and future improvements I believe such a standard will be digital.
- One sampling rate base. Possibly either 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz based. With much higher sampling rates available today both on the recording & playback sides I reckon choosing either of these two sampling bases may be feasible ... Yet, which will it be ... ?
- PCM, DSD or...?. I notice quite some discussion in many forums as to the feasibility and audible qualities of either standard. However, which will contribute most to the progression of audio quality in the future? - and may issues with either format be solved, e.g. direct editability of DSD files? Or will there be a new standard that is altogether better sound-wise?
- Sampling rates will increase. This seems to historically be the case and I personally believe this will continue ... However, may it e.g. be feasible already now to try to develop devices capable of e.g. PCM at 1536 kHz/1411.2 kHz sampling or DSD2048? Thus skipping more intermediate sampling rates (less environmental load, less complex future hardware, "audio community collaboration advantages", a fixed standard for some years, setting a high goal for audio, etc.), and/or oversampling (which currently appears to be "under scrutiny" ..) ...
On the hardware side I've been thinking that these developments may happen:
- A/D and possibly D/A conversion may move towards "stand-alone" DS modulators (or functional equivalents) with associated software processing. This would allow the processing power of computers to be used to handle potential signal processing.
- Maybe SAR ADCs and R2R DACs in place of multi-bit delta-sigma converters? This would e.g. allow for much lower clock frequencies (less phase noise) at the point of conversion, less filtering (digital and analog), possibly less HF noise.
- Some other superb converter technology becoming available?
... I reckon there are many more aspects to consider so please feel welcome to include these ... 😉
Also - since "audio" is both recording and playback - to get an input from the people who work at the other end of the spectrum, i.e those who make the recordings, I have also posted a thread on recording.org about this (http://recording.org/threads/future-gen-audio-standard.59158/)
Well, I hope this may be interesting to many of you and may lead to an interesting, informative/knowledgeable, and possibly clarifying exchange about a possible future audio standard ...
Cheers 🙂
Jesper
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Hi again,
Posting this thread on 31st December I was thinking that it might not attract much interest since New Year was coming up, however, the inspiration for writing the thread was there at that time so I decided to post anyway ...
Now I take the liberty to posting again (a "bump" post more or less) - I hope there'll be some interest in exchanging about this here on diyaudio.
BTW, the thread I also opened on recording.org was deleted - apparently it's not allowed to make external referrals on that site. A "pity" I think as it would have been interesting (and relevant IMHO) to include those who record as well. Should anyone have a suggestion for another recording engineer site (with skilled recording engineers) please feel welcome to suggest this site.
Cheers,
Jesper
Posting this thread on 31st December I was thinking that it might not attract much interest since New Year was coming up, however, the inspiration for writing the thread was there at that time so I decided to post anyway ...
Now I take the liberty to posting again (a "bump" post more or less) - I hope there'll be some interest in exchanging about this here on diyaudio.
BTW, the thread I also opened on recording.org was deleted - apparently it's not allowed to make external referrals on that site. A "pity" I think as it would have been interesting (and relevant IMHO) to include those who record as well. Should anyone have a suggestion for another recording engineer site (with skilled recording engineers) please feel welcome to suggest this site.
Cheers,
Jesper
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