[sdiy] FPGA versus audio DSP

[Nicholas Gregorich]

Although I think the DIY spirit is great with the release of the new Spartan 3e development board, I am somewhat confused on the hype this has created.  This isn't the first FPGA development kit and even though its said to be very well priced its not dramatically cheaper than a last generation board, for example.

What are the advantages of using an FPGA for audio rather than a DSP?  I realize the pico Blaze might have an appeal for lowering parts count for MIDI or other typical microcontroller functions, is there anything else I am missing?  Wouldn't DSP development tools for an audio specific DSP be much more useful?

The next advantage that crosses my mind is cost of the Spartan 3e versus DSP, but as far as I know there are low cost DPSs out there too.  Shouldn't DSP cost be falling as quickly (or almost as quickly) as FPGA?

Perhaps I just wish I could get in on the fun.  I took a semester of VHDL and work with microcontrollers frequently, but the concept of writing VHDL for audio synthesis sounds overwhelming to me at the moment.  I suppose I feel the same about analog design, but I don't have much engineering experience yet.

I guess the jump from implementing finite state machines, counters, and multipliers to oscillators, filters, and other musically useful things is intimidating for me.

Nick.