Audible differences in DSP implementations?

[Rip Van Woofer]

OK, all you EE's and techies out there:

Since I don't get the AES journal and, contrary to appearances sometimes, I DO have a life and can't spend too much time doing research, here's a question I've been pondering:

I'm on record as being an "all modern, well-designed electronics sound alike" guy and ABX advocate, but do various makers' implementations of the "standard" DSP modes (DTS, DPL2, etc) vary enough that audible differences are possible? Or are the standards from Dolby et al sufficiently strict that really poor implementations with audible defects are near impossible? I've always assumed so but the key word is "assumed".

Mind you, I'm not talking about the proprietary and "gimmick" DSP modes that each manufacturer has that often just suck ("music in a toilet" in Gene's words). Just the standard or "universal" ones like Dolby Pro Logic that are licensed from developers who presumably set certain standards. And further I grant that the vast majority of modern DAC chips, regardless of price, are probably audibly transparent. But being a digital neophyte I'm wondering what else if anything can cause trouble. I know that the underlying algorithms play a large part but....

Purely seeking enlightenment, not argument!

 

[mtrycrafts]

OK, all you EE's and techies out there:

Since I don't get the AES journal and, contrary to appearances sometimes, I DO have a life and can't spend too much time doing research, here's a question I've been pondering:

I'm on record as being an "all modern, well-designed electronics sound alike" guy and DBX advocate, but do various makers' implementations of the "standard" DSP modes (DTS, DPL2, etc) vary enough that audible differences are possible? Or are the standards from Dolby et al sufficiently strict that really poor implementations with audible defects are near impossible? I've always assumed so but the key word is "assumed".

Mind you, I'm not talking about the proprietary and "gimmick" DSP modes that each manufacturer has that often just suck ("music in a toilet" in Gene's words). Just the standard or "universal" ones like Dolby Pro Logic that are licensed from developers who presumably set certain standards. And further I grant that the vast majority of modern DAC chips, regardless of price, are probably audibly transparent. But being a digital neophyte I'm wondering what else if anything can cause trouble. I know that the underlying algorithms play a large part but....

Purely seeking enlightenment, not argument!

Did you mean this?
and DBX advocate or DBT Wasn't DBX an old something or other, component or noise reducer?

I would feel confident in stating that there should not be differences in the different processing in different components. After all, it is on a chip that is dime a dozzen

We'll be enlightened soon

 

[Rip Van Woofer]

Oops, I meant ABX (as in DBT)! There is still a DBX company - pro audio gear. Yes, they made a popular consumer audio noise reduction unit back in the analog days.

 

[djoxygen]

I believe that there is only one way to decode each of the digital formats. The data stream of DTS or Dolby Digital should always yield the same component audio streams after processing. The licensing of said technologies from the creators *should* ensure that the result is the same in every case. What happens after the decoding step is pretty much up for grabs. Also, an analog surround format like Dolby ProLogic allows for plenty of variability, even though there should only be one correct way to do it.

(Note: dbx is still around making pretty decent low- and mid-range pro audio gear.)