[music-dsp] Oversampling to improve ADC precision?

[Pierre Richemond]

> From: "Augmentics" <musicdsp at augmentics.com>
>
>> Can running a 10-bit ADC at 16 x normal speed give you the
>> equivalent of a 12-bit ADC?
>
> I don't know the numbers, but that is the basic idea of delta-sigma
> conversion, so you might want to read up on that.

Yes, exactly. For the numbers, oversampling by a factor of two
theoretically halves the power of quantization noise in the baseband,
effectively gaining 3 dBs SNR, or 1/2 equivalent quantization bit.

So you're right : gaining 2 bits can be obtained by oversampling 16 times.
Sigma-delta converters effectively push the concept to the limit and
consist in 1-bit converters (which just compare values) heavily
overclocked.

Cheers,

Pierre