(Not a) good explanation of jitter in TAS
Reply #189 – 2010-04-09 19:06:37
My goal is to design products where all of the artifacts produced by the product fall below the threshold of hearing in a silent room. In order to guarantee inaudibility, I am consciously ignoring masking effects and designing as if the only sound being played was that of the artifacts. To me this means keeping the sum total of all artifacts at a level that is at least 110 dB below the peak audio levels. This goal has been achievable in the analog domain for at least 20 years, and for the last 10 years has been achievable in the digital domain. Achieving these goals requires more engineering, careful circuit layout, and a few more components. We deliver products that meet these goals in a price range that may seem extravagant to the average consumer ($1000 to $2000). But, these are very reasonable prices for professional products that will be used in a recording studio on a regular basis. The hi-end hi-fi enthusiast looks at our products and says "how can it be any good if it only costs $2000"? I don't see any compelling logic here. If your goal was to design products where all of the artifacts produced by the artifact fall below the threshold of hearing in a silent room, any reasonable person would say that you are tilting at windmills, given that there are no silent rooms. A reasonable goal is to design products where no real world customer will hear artifacts in the most silent room that he is likely ever to encounter. A resasonable goal is to design products where no real world customer will hear artifacts while wearing the most isolating earphones in the best room that he is likely ever to encounter. Recording studios have many audio devices in cascade. The system performance is limited by the combined performance of all of the devices. My goal is to provide tools that don't get in the way (by causing audible defects). A comfortable margin of safety is appreciated in a professional environment. The goal of the recordist is to capture a musical performance. If he is distracted by the poor performance of his equipment chain, he may miss the opportunity to capture that very special musical performance. Obviously most consumers do not need or demand this sort of performance.