[sdiy] dsPICs with DACs: linearizing the 12 bit ADCs, external RAM?

[jbv]

cheater cheater a *crit :

>
> >  nevertheless the difference
> >  between tracks recorded in 16 bits and tracks recorded in 20 bits was
> >  clearly audible...
>
> And how are you sure that the one is better than the other? Difference
> is easy to spot. 'Better' and 'worse' are matters of not only taste,
> but even then very difficult technical considerations.

well, I wasn't actually discussing difference of quality... I was just pointing
at the fact that everyone in the studio, from the sound engineer to the doorman,
agreed that the 20-bit recordings had more dynamics (that makes sense) and more
sound clarity (they sounded less "muddy", especially when sent to some fx,
like an Eventide harmonizer AFAIR)...
Actually, it occured the other way round (in a kind of blind test) : the guy in
charge
of the remix (who was not responsable for the original takes) asked : "how come
these tracks sound better than the others ?"... And we realized that he was
referring
to the 20-bit tracks...

>
> And even if one of them was indeed better - how do you know it wasn't
> the microphone? Cables? Amplifiers? Jacks? Solder joints? Temperature?
> Word clock?
> the list can go on.
> it's difficult to compare like that - unless you have a very good,
> dedicated lab.

well, all your remarks make perfect sense... We didn't have a dedicated lab at
hand, but the recordings were all made in the same home studio, only the ADAT
was changed from 16-bit version to 20-bit version between the 2 series of
recordings...

And just to put an end to this semi-OT thread, I'd like to add that over the years,

I've read in mags or heard (with my own ears) sound engineers repeat that what
is being recorded in the first place only matters, and that one can use the best
sound
processor / enhancer in the world, that will never totally improve low quality
recordings...

Best,
JB