Computer audio is one of the most overlooked aspects of a computer purchase. With little information from the manufacturer, most people have a hard time determining exactly what they are getting.
1. Signal Paths – Digital Audio Basics
All audio recorded or played back through a computer system is digital, but all audio played back through a speaker system is analog. The difference between these two forms of recording plays an important role in determining the capabilities of sound processors.
Analog audio uses a variable scale of information to reproduce the original sound waves from the source. This process results in accurate recordings, but these recordings degrade between connections and generations of recordings.
Digital recording takes samples of the sound waves and records them as a series of bits (ones and zeros) that best approximate the wave pattern. The quality of digital recording varies based on the bits and samples used, but the loss of quality is much lower between equipment and recording generations.
