Tír Na HiFi

DaveF wrote:.....and on the subject of dispensing with the PC altogether, I'd agree but we have to keep in mind what the user interface is going to be? How is the user going to select, navigate and play tracks and from where? A NAS, etc?
This will surely involve some sort of product involving a processor/SW/GUI. I believe we touched on this before back in the Tweakers Rash thread.

You are definitely right. The ultimate solution would be to use a PC with fancy UI to build a playlist and then the PC just copies (I mean copy the WAV files) to the FPGA/DAC board, over say Ethernet, which are loaded into RAM on the FPGA board; the WAV files are then buffered out of RAM to the FPGA processor.

Others using dsPIC-based audio transports use an SD card to physically load the playlist and the FPGA plays the list off the SD card. Not much control though once started.

FPGA enabled Dacs are an interesting breed....

Firstly I am no expert on the subject... far from it....

From what I understand, FPGA implementation allows for blank slate "bit transparent" programmable DSP and signal "conditioning". Among other things FPGA also allows for raw DSD processing without the need for an external DA conversion.
FPGA chips can also be used as advanced programmable host controllers.... I.e. USB. Many dacs utilise the FPGA chipset in this fashion.

So JC's lead in statement is not all that incorrect...
FPGA implementation, does in fact allow the application of equalisation/filters/oversampling/conditioning/anti aliasing....etc.
Prior to the external DA conversion

Therefore these conditioning/equalisation techniques which could in fact be utilised by vendors to "artificially" manipulate signal and "subjectively" improve sound.. The user would never know.