Filter Types
The kinds of digital reconstruction filter a DAC offers, described by their phase response and high-frequency roll-off.
Linear phase delays all frequencies equally and can produce ringing before a test impulse. Minimum phase avoids this pre-ringing, but delay varies with frequency. Fast or sharp roll-off reduces high frequencies more steeply than slow roll-off.
Filter Types — DAC
“Sharp” or “Fast” alone does not establish linear phase. Apodizing, hybrid/short-delay and proprietary labels need the manufacturer’s explanation; numbered presets reveal no type. A blank entry means unspecified, not no filtering.
Super Slow, NOS (non-oversampling) or filter bypass does not, by itself, prove that all filtering and oversampling are disabled throughout the DAC.
Check the finished product’s manual for its actual options and any format or sample-rate restrictions. Chip specifications alone do not establish which settings are available. Filter types describe different trade-offs, not a ranking of sound quality.
Sources
- ESS ES9038Q2M datasheet v1.4 — ESS Technology
- RME ADI-2 DAC FS manual v2.2 — official archive — RME
Sources
- Cambridge Audio 851N Filters — Cambridge Audio