Antex Electronics SX-26 Digital Audio Adapter - Manual (Page 4)

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INTRODUCTION
The Series 2 Digital Audio Adapters are IBM AT compatible add-on
boards which convert high fidelity analog signals to digital data for
storage to, and retrieval from, disk.
The Series 2 adapters sample two channels of audio from 6.25
kHz to 50kHz with 16 bit resolution. They incorporate Sigma Delta
technology with 64 times oversampling, providing superior fidelity
at greater than 90 dB signal-to-noise ratio.
ABOUT DIGITAL AUDIO
In professional circles, digital audio has been with us for over 10
years. With the advent of the compact disk in 1983, digital audio
has become commonplace as a consumer item. Few will argue
that digital audio has afforded an order of magnitude improvement
in overall sound quality and signal-to-noise ratio over the best
analog systems which preceded them. But just what is digital
audio, and where and how is it used?
It is possible to use digital data transmission techniques to
transmit digital audio signals by wire or radio. However, this
practice has not yet become common due to the extremely wide
signal bandwidth required to transmit real-time digital audio
signals. For the present, digital audio techniques seem largely
confined to the recording and playback of music and other audio
signals where, in a few short years, digital audio technology has all
but replaced the previous analog record/playback techniques. In
the present decade we will see digital audio technology replace
analog technology in most signal processing functions in both the
professional and consumer markets. It is also likely, particularly
with the advent of fiber optic cables, that digital audio technology
will be utilized in the transmission of real-time audio signals on a
widespread basis.
But what is digital audio?