Interested to learn about digital console designs

[Yambo]

Hi everyone, hope everyone is safe.
First of all I am not sure if this is the right 'sub category' to start this discussion. I hope its ok.
I am really intrigued to learn about the design and the digital processing which goes inside a digital audio console. The nitty gritty of it - the electronics design and also how the micro controller/processors would be programmed.
Hope you could direct me to some good reference materials.

Thanks so much in advance for the help

 

[MAAC0]

That's console manufacturer's secret. I'm sure You won't find anything.

 

[Mark Tillotson]

The nitty-gritty is A/D convertsion, digital signal processing: convolution, correlation, DFT, rate-conversion (decimation/interpolation) and so forth, then possibly D/A conversion afterwards or simply digital storage.

Front ends are analog upto the A/D (instrument and microphone amps basically)

DSP is a big area.


My suspicion is a top flight console with have many custom FPGAs to keep latency down for live use.

 

[nigelwright7557]

After hardware acquisition its mostly about functions performed on signals.
My limit on this has been simple averaging of input waveform to perform low pass function.
I have also used FFT for a frequency graph display.
It can get very complex.

 

[thoglette]

It can get very complex.

That's the short version.

The other short version is: don't break the rules.

The maths has rules (actually, fundamental underlying assumptions) about what can and cannot be represented in the number system. Break them and it sounds really really ugly (e.g. aliasing in the ADC, giving the DAC an illegal sequence, or clipping anywhere).

 

[Yambo]

Wow, thanks everyone for the replies. I shall start digging into the books, any ideas of where to get some schematics so that I could study them as well. After searching the web I was able to find the schematics for the Behringer X32 console.

Once again thanks for the help

 

[Tubelab_com]

There is a simple solution to play with some real hardware and a simple drag and drop GUI for learning the "how to play with digital audio" basics. The Teensy SBC is an Arduino compatible Single Board Computer. There is a 2 in 2 out audio adaptor (shield) for it and a simple Graphical User Interface for assembling audio gizmos without the hard DSP programming usually associated with these tasks.

Myself and several others have build music synthesizers, guitar effects boxes and other devices, just search YouTube for Teensy Synth, Tensy MIDI, or Teensy whatever for some examples. There is a DIY 8 in 6 out audio interface explained in their forums. I built one, but haven't explored using it's inputs yet, I'm using all the outputs for a synthesizer.

PJRC Store

PJRC Store

Teensy Audio Library, high quality sound processing in Arduino sketches on Teensy 3.1

YouTube

 

[Printer2]

It is one of those things, if you have to ask you can't afford it. Best you can do is string bits of hardware and software together. And by the time you do it a Chinese firm will be making one costing less and with better performance.

 

[Mark Tillotson]

But with lots of software bugs and an unusable UI...

 

[Yambo]

Thank you everyone for the helpful tips - @Tubela_com wow some interesting links.

Doing a bit of research into ADC and DAC and DSP circuitry, do you have any links that you think might be good for a newbie like me.
I would also like to know more about programming these DSP - a very newbie question I know 😉

Thanks so much for the help.

 

[Printer2]

Go to



DIYstompboxes.com - Index


They have a section on Digital and DSP.