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From: poirier@ellerbe.rtp.dg.com (Charles Poirier)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: CD sound (was Re: For all you who want more advertizing)
Summary: Not even close to CD
Message-ID: <1990Oct25.003358.24989@dg-rtp.dg.com>
Date: 25 Oct 90 00:33:58 GMT
References: <901023.160924.CDT.C503719@UMCVMB.MISSOURI.EDU> <1990Oct23.215703.1586@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu>
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In article <1990Oct23.215703.1586@cunixf.cc.columbia.edu> es1@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Ethan Solomita) writes:
>	It would be nice to have true CD quality audio from
>Paula, but I REALLY think this should be low priority, for two
>reasons: first, the Amiga's audio capabilities are already
>excellent and compare quite favorably with CD sound with a good
>digitizer.

I'm not flaming, either the poster or the Amiga sound capability, but the
phrase "compares favorably to CD" is definitely not what I would favor.  "Is
kind of okay, considering the limited CHIP bus bandwidth" is more like it.
To say that Amiga's 8-bit audio is comparable to CD sound (it doesn't matter
*how* carefully it is digitized into 8 bits) is to say that one has a tin
ear.

Eight bit sound is audibly noisy (to me).  Sound that rolls off at 7 KHz
(with the filter on), sounds like it is coming from under a pillow.  Sound
that rolls off at 14 KHz (with the filter off), is better, but it still
sounds like it's coming from under a towel, while simultaneously wind
whistles through a crack in a nearby window (aliasing).  I may have the
numbers wrong, but not the perceptible results.  Also: most CDs play more
than four simultaneous notes/voices :-) !  Amiga sound is not even close to
CD quality.

>Second, most people who really need professional
>quality sound are using MIDI and get most of their sound from the
>MIDI instruments.

This statement may well be true, but it begs the question.  If Amiga *could*
generate its own professional quality sampled sound (as I maintain it does
not), more professionals would be using it that way!

Most MIDI instruments don't let you record your own sampled sounds.
The ones that do are (I'd guess) as much computer as instrument.  Sound
sampling really belongs on a computer, where you already have lots of
flexible resources for storing, processing, and editing the samples.  Why
not do it in style?  

Also, not all professional-quality sound need be music.  Amiga's fine video
capability ought to be accompanied by high fidelity Amiga sound, whether
it be music, speech, or birdcalls.  HiFi-VHS is wasted on 8-bit sound.

>	Besides, there are add-on boards you can buy.

The issue of whether to build-it-in or rely on add-ons is always an
arguable point.  Though it would certainly add to the cost, IMHO it would
be a great selling point to be able to advertise "Built-in CD-quality sound!"
You will not (and wouldn't want to) see "CD quality sound available ... from,
mumble, some third party whom we can't name."  This applies, of course, to
all of the nice third party add-ons, most of which C-A can't ever hope to
build themselves.  Oh well.

This is meant as food for thought, not flamage.  Really.

>Ethan Solomita: es1@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu

	Cheers,
	Charles Poirier  poirier@dg-rtp.dg.com