DAC's

[benji_styler]

Im trying to find out some information on DAC's

Does anyone know where i can find resources/info about:

The number of discrete outputs (or steps) in a a 6 bit DAC

Resolution of a 6 bit DAC

1 least significant bit step

Cheers,

Ben.

 

[Dr.EM]

The number of steps is 2^no.of bits, in the case of 6bit, 64 output levels are realised. 6bit is fairly uncommon, what exactly are you looking to do?

 

[benji_styler]

thanks for your response. Im currently working on some theory questions for an electronics module i took last year. My memory is a bit sketchy as i had quite a bad car accident at the beginning of the year and im suffering from memory loss. I cant remeber much of the theory that i was taught

Im under a bit of pressure to complete a series of electronics theory questions.

I have a basic understanding of DAC's and how they work but need to know:

How many discrete outputs a 6 bit DAc has?

If the full scale output of a 6 bit DAC is 7V, what is the magnitude of 1 step (1 least significant bit step)?

What is the resolution of a 6 bit DAC (1LSB/full scale output)X100%?

A music storage system is required to have a sound output resolution of 1% or less (i.e. 1% or better). What is the minimum number of bits for each memory word and the DAC to meet this requirement?

A deluxe version of the music storage system is to be marketed with an output resolution of 0.1% or better (i.e. 0.1% or less). What number of bits will the DAC require? Will sound btter than the standard version? What other DAc factor is crucial to improving sound quality?

I dont have the knowledge to answer these questions any help/direction would be much appriciated.

 

[dknguyen]

0.01 > 1 [bit] / 2^n [total_bits]

The n integer that solves this equation is the minimum number of bits you need. Each bit represents a step in value, and 2^n is the number of bits that represents the largest number (the full scale).

The speed of the DAC is also a factor in sound quality (it's pointless to have a few very accurate beeps and not have any of the sound in between).

A DAC with n bits can output 2^n discrete levels.

It's pretty simple for resolution. Just think, if 2^n bits is the maximum number of bits, then 2^n bits also represents my maximum measurable value of say voltage, sound, light, or whatever), then that means each bit represents
[maximum value of voltage/sound]/2^n units of voltage, sound, etc. That's your resolution. I think you have lulled yourself into thinking it is more complicated than it really is.