Potential merit in matching DAC to ADC?

[Norton]

I think this was a claim of the codec that shall not be named (although AFAIK in practice there are no or virtually no commercial releases made with a MQA ADC), but putting this inflammatory association  to one side, could there be any merit per se in the idea of a DAC  (or perhaps a pre DAC processor) “knowing” what ADC etc had been used in a recording, and maybe also spatial info about recording venue  etc, and selecting bespoke filters and DSP to optimise reconstruction of  the analogue signal?  I recall  it being described as an “elegant” solution by some.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mansr]

No. You always get the best result using a reconstruction filter as close as possible to an ideal sinc filter. Mistakes made during sampling are not undone by more mistakes in reconstruction. If the ADC has anomalies below the Nyquist frequency, such as excessive roll-off, this can easily be fixed before distributing the recording.

[crenca]

39 minutes ago, Norton said:

...bespoke filters and DSP to optimise reconstruction of  the analogue signal?

 

I am unconvinced about about filters - like mansr says the ideal still remains, and out of phase (i.e. "minimum phase") filters are not the solution in any case - though some prefer the sound it still is not a fideality solution, rather it's a preference.  Other kinds of DSP I think fall into this preference category as well....

[mansr]

If the aim is accurate reproduction of a recorded sound, DSP can serve two purposes:

1. Compensate for errors in the recording.
2. Compensate for errors in the reproduction.

The former can be done entirely on the production side, before distribution, while the latter can be done entirely at the playback end. There is no need for either to have any knowledge of the other.

[fas42]

Yes. If the playback chain 'knows' what the recording environment was, then before a note is played all settings that adjust the playback to suit the particular listener could be in place - rather than rely on dynamic correction, as the playback 'learns' from what's being fed to it.