Meridian Audio 568 - Manual (Page 9)

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Introduction
The 568 Digital Surround Processor incorporates the result of
several years of research and development into several
innovative technologies.
Digital Signal Processing
Digital Signal Processing, or DSP, is a technique pioneered by
Meridian in hi-fi products for achieving extremely accurate
reproduction of audio signals using high-precision mathematical
processing.
DSP allows sophisticated processing to be performed without
any of the cumulative noise or degradation that inevitably
occurs, even with high-quality analogue circuitry. In addition,
several of the surround-sound decoding techniques and signal
improvement techniques available in the 568 would be virtually
impossible to implement in analogue circuitry.
The 568 takes advantage of DSP for several different functions:
❍ To remove timing variations from the incoming digital signals
(de-jittering).
❍ To expand the precision of the signal to use the full available
range.
❍ To resample the signal to take advantage of the highest rate
available (upsampling).
❍ To perform filtering or adjustment of the frequency response;
eg treble or bass.
❍ To decode digitally-encoded signals from Dolby Digital (AC-3),
DTS, or MPEG Audio.
❍ To process the audio into a multi-channel signal, and match
the source channels to the configuration of main loudspeakers
and subwoofers in the system.
The 568 converts analogue input signals to digital format, using
high-quality analogue-to-digital converters (ADCs). Digital
signals, from CD, DVD, LaserDisc or digital broadcasting, are
already in digital format and do not need to be converted.
The signals are then retained in digital form throughout the 568
until they are converted back to analogue form at the analogue
outputs, to drive power amplifiers. If you are using the 568 with
Meridian DSP Loudspeakers, the signals remain in digital form
until the last possible stage.
The 568 Digital Surround Processor