ad conversion difference among programs?

  • Thread starter Thread starter cello_pudding
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cello_pudding

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A respectable guy said that using the exact same soundcard/interface...but with different programs, using the exact same bit/sample rates, will yield very slight difference.

I always thought audio to digital conversion was 100% up to the hardware.

is it mork like....99.9 and .1%?
 
hmm...i just remembered that when recording with crappy firmware, i got some phasing issues...so i guess software can effect it...but still, with the same firmware installed and associated with that hardware, recording with different programs would probably yield the same results
 
cello_pudding said:
A respectable guy said that using the exact same soundcard/interface...but with different programs, using the exact same bit/sample rates, will yield very slight difference.

I always thought audio to digital conversion was 100% up to the hardware.

is it mork like....99.9 and .1%?
Click to expand...

Let me guess, this guy was employed by Guitar Center right?

Its bullshit, recording is done via the hardware and its driver, where it ends up (i.e. software) makes NO DIFFERENCE in the sound. Mix engines on the other hand (and ppl will argue this) SUPPOSEDLY have differences also
 
nah. the guy doesn't even use a pc/mac. he uses a computer like thing that is meant for recording only.
 
Audio going into the computer will be converted to digital format by the interface (converters). The software doesn't even see the audio until this happens.
 
Software is just an interface between you and your hardware. It shouldn't have any effect on the sound.
 
legionserial said:
Software is just an interface between you and your hardware. It shouldn't have any effect on the sound.
Click to expand...

Unless its meant to :D

"I just downloaded this sweet reverb plug-in!"
"Oh yea, what's it sound like?"
"Sound like - it doesn't have a sound - uhh duhh"
"Umm... right."
 
The A/D conversion will be the exact same whether you use Pro Tools, Nuendo, Sonar, Digital Performer or Microsoft Word. What may be different however is how it is translated through each individual peice of software.
 
xstatic said:
The A/D conversion will be the exact same whether you use Pro Tools, Nuendo, Sonar, Digital Performer or Microsoft Word. What may be different however is how it is translated through each individual peice of software.
Click to expand...

Ive used MS Word for papers, sweet 2D graphics, and WordArt, but I've never used it to record an album - I should look into that :D
 

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xstatic said:
The A/D conversion will be the exact same whether you use Pro Tools, Nuendo, Sonar, Digital Performer or Microsoft Word. What may be different however is how it is translated through each individual peice of software.
Click to expand...

More specifically, things like the way audio is scaled can differ. For example, the audio hardware generates integer values, but drivers generally convert this to floating point values. There is some potential for error in doing so (but only if you're sloppy). There's a lot of potential for error when you're doing format conversion (96 kHz to a 44.1 kHz mixdown), and there are many ways to do bit depth reduction (rounding, truncation, etc.) during mixing.

But yeah, the actual A/D and D/A conversion happens in hardware, so software can't affect that stage of the process (except in the case of software-controlled gain adjustments prior to conversion).
 
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