Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!convex!eugene!swarren
From: swarren@eugene.uucp (Steve Warren)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Audio Improvements
Message-ID: <1542@convex.UUCP>
Date: 17 Aug 89 18:01:37 GMT
References: <3114@bucsb.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@convex.UUCP
Reply-To: swarren@eugene.UUCP (Steve Warren)
Distribution: na
Organization: Convex Computer Corporation, Richardson, Tx.
Lines: 26

In article <3114@bucsb.UUCP> robertl@bucsb.UUCP (Robert LaFerla) writes:
>/* Go ahead, eat my line. */
>
>There has been discussion about how the audio can be improved on the Amiga.
>One person suggested that CBM provide us with 8 channels of audio.  Two
>channels of stereo are fine.  What needs to be improved is the frequency
>response.  It would be nice to recreate any sound from 20hz-20khz.  I
>believe that to do this we must increase the sampling rate.  Is this

Two areas could be improved, the sample rate and the resolution.  I think
the sample rate is pretty simple to deal with.  20 khz requires a
min. of 40 khz sample rate, but in the real world somewhere above 40.
That's one sample every < 25 usec.  Not exactly taxing on Amiga's
bandwidth (I know it could _get_ taxing, but it's not inherently).

But 8 bits of resolution means audible quantization noise, which could
only be improved by increasing the number of bits.  I wish we could get
16 bit sound on the Amiga, it would really sound great.  But that would
require significant redesign of the sound chip, and I don't know how it
could be made compatible with old software.  Maybe a dual-mode design
that only uses the 8 MSbits of the sound channel for old stuff.

Just dreaming :-).
--Steve
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
	  {uunet,sun}!convex!swarren; swarren@convex.COM