First post, by Cloudschatze
- Rank
- Oldbie
I'm always looking for the most incredibly inefficient ways to spend my time here on Earth, and recently went about trying to enhance the digital audio output of the PSSJ, or "Tandy DAC."
(For reference, the Tandy DAC is an 8-bit, DMA-capable playback "device" with output generally comparable to that of the early Sound Blaster cards, but with slightly less-aggressive low-pass filtering.)
Concerning the playback of WAV files within Windows, the following limitations apply:
- 8-bit resolution
- 22kHz playback rate
- Single-channel (mono) output
- ...and a static, 5.3kHz cutoff frequency imposed by the low-pass circuitry.
While decent enough for its intended purpose, the conversion and playback of "CD-quality" material, and the resulting sound, isn't exactly satisfying. Oh, what to do?
<Aphex: has entered the chat>
Aphex' Aural Exciter effect can purportedly be used to "regenerate" high-frequency audio spectra lost to compression and/or destructive editing, primarily through the creation of additional harmonics. As fate would have it, Yamaha licensed the Aural Exciter effect for use in many of its 90's-era synthesizers and tone-generators, which can then be externally leveraged with the units bearing A/D inputs.
So, let's configure and chain that with some other MU-based effects - carefully tuned EQ and slight chorusing - and see if it actually improves things...
The Cars. (1984). Magic [Excerpt]. On Heartbeat City. Elektra Records.
♫ Tandy PSSJ output (3.2 MB FLAC)
♫ Tandy PSSJ -> Yamaha MU100 output (FLAC)
The Cars. (1984). Drive [Excerpt]. On Heartbeat City. Elektra Records.
♫ Tandy PSSJ output (5.2 MB FLAC)
♫ Tandy PSSJ -> Yamaha MU100 output (FLAC)
Depeche Mode. (1990). Enjoy the Silence [Excerpt]. On Violator. Mute Records.
♫ Tandy PSSJ output (4.8 MB FLAC)
♫ Tandy PSSJ -> Yamaha MU100 output (FLAC)
Billy Idol. (1982). White Wedding [Excerpt]. On Billy Idol. Chrysalis Records.
♫ Tandy PSSJ output (5.6 MB FLAC)
♫ Tandy PSSJ -> Yamaha MU100 output (FLAC)
Grimes. (2020). You'll Miss Me When I'm Not Around [Excerpt]. On Miss Anthropocene. 4AD.
♫ Tandy PSSJ output (5.3 MB FLAC)
♫ Tandy PSSJ -> Yamaha MU100 output (FLAC)
Grimes. (2020). Before the Fever [Excerpt]. On Miss Anthropocene. 4AD.
♫ Tandy PSSJ output (3.7 MB FLAC)
♫ Tandy PSSJ -> Yamaha MU100 output (FLAC)
Uh-oh, it's Magic.