A square wave, however, reacts a little differently than its
Wave this results in a square wave that is not identical to the original.īecause the square wave is an analog signal it is still susceptible to noiseĪnd distortion. If the power supply introduces noise or there is jitter on the square Impossible to have bit perfect playback in a real-time system because there are Looking at the concept of bit-perfect, it's arguably Wave, any resulting wave form IS your music. Is real time, there is no error correction that can be done to this square The square wave is also created from power in the power supply. Square wave (either theoretically identical or altered). On the input voltages, logic switches create a new version, a duplicate, of the (mathematical algorithms created by the operating system and software). A computer is made up ofīillions of transistors, all switching very quickly to changes in logic The timing, or duty cycle, along with the amplitudeĭetermine the frequency response of that square wave. This PWM signal has both amplitude characteristicsĪnd timing characteristics. Representation of what we conceptualize as a digital signal and is created by Real time processes in a computer take the form of a square wave, Processing, everything before and the whole operation after is a real time Even if an application loads data into memory for Let's all start by agreeing that audio is a Bit perfect implies that the data and sample rates match, it does not mean jitter isn't introduced within those same sample rates.įinally the third camp, my camp, gets two paragraphs because it's my camp and I'm writing this. When doing something in non-real-time (running an application) bit-perfect is applicable because the data are buffered and sent in packets that are just resent if there are any errors (otherwise you would have applications crashing constantly).
The second camp states that bit perfect means that the bits are exact, but jitter may still be introduced. This means that all bit perfect signals should be created equal. This idea is supported by the camp's theory that bits are just bits and that digital is just ones and zeros, so if a one is a one and a zero a zero the data has passed un-fooled around with and is thus bit perfect. The idea behind this is to say the output is exactly the same as what was put in. Conventional wisdom states that in order for a system to be bit perfect it must act as a pass-through device, not altering the digital data in any fashion through the use of matrixing, DSP, or other means.
Hi res audio player mac software#
There are lots of layers here, and I’ll talk about them more in-depth in our upcoming optimization guides.īefore diving into the software comparison, I need to address bit-perfect playback. This doesn’t mean they make no difference, it just explains why some people will hear a tremendous difference while others will not.
some people will hear a tremendous difference while others will not.īecause many operating systems can be optimized outside of playback software, the benefits of these audio applications may diminish. Simply put, you want the operating system to focus on audio and not useless services, and you want the audio signal to reach the computers output with as little handshaking as possible. One of the main concepts behind high-end playback software is to aid in the elimination of background processes and improve the ability of non-real-time operating systems to process real-time audio information. However, the differences in supported file formats, file management systems, user experience vary greatly. It should also be mentioned that with a properly designed and optimized music server or HTPC, the sonic benefits and differences between operating systems and playback software shrink and selection most often can be made based on form and function. While audible differences can occur in going from an entry-level software like iTunes to one of the audiophile playback engines mentioned below, the transition between high-end software boils down to a preference between real cherry flavor and artificial cherry flavor. Choosing the right audiophile playback software can be a daunting task.