From time to time the level shift module pictured above has come in handy. They do a great job shifting 3.3VDC to 5VDC logic or 5VDC logic to 3.3VDC logic. The cost is about $1USD and hookup is simple. Of course they are designed for low speed digital signals but, we wondered how the module would handle higher speeds.
Performance was very good, especially considering these module are often used in the 100KHz and below range. Leveling from 5V to 3.3V had better results. The signals start looking ridiculous over 1MHz. Take a look at the scope shots below.
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3.3V Level Shifted to 5V at 10KHz, 100KHz, 500KHz, and 1MHz
(Yellow = Input; Blue = Output)
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5V Level Shifted to 3.3V at 10KHz, 100KHz, 500KHz, and 1MHz
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A friend of mine got a Pono music player this Christmas. The claimed advantage of the Pono player vs other music players is better sound fidelity.
So what does the Pono player do different? Normal CD music is sampled at 44,100 times per second (44.1Ks/S) and 16-bit resolution. The Pono is capable of playing music with an increased sample rate of 192,000 times a second (192Ks/S) and 24-bit resolution. A quick web search yields page after page of audiophiles debating these fidelity claims and we will leave that discussion to the experts.
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Since Pono advocates see benefits in increasing sample rate from 44,100 times per second to 192,000 times a second, then just think about how awesome really turning up the sample rate would be!!! But how? Enter the Tektronix MDO3000 which can sample at an amazing 2,500,000,000 (2.5Gs/S) times per second and that's a lot!
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The Tektronix MDO3000 is a benchtop instrument that has some truly amazing capabilities that push it way beyond being just an oscilloscope. One of these features is the Arbitrary Function Generator (AFG) that can capture signals from any of the analog channels and play them back on command.
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In the video below, we set the Tektronix MDO3000 to sample at a lazy 1,000,000 times per sec (1Ms/S). Then we use a PC to play a MP3 music file for capture into the instrument's waveform memory via analog channel 1.
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Next, with a few button clicks the music waveform we just captured is loaded into the instrument's AFG to make it ready for playback. Simple.
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The Tektronix MDO3000 AFG output is BNC connector on the back of the instrument. We connect to the AFG and plug into a speaker. The result: The most impractical (and expensive) MP3 player available, but with an impressive sample rate many, many times higher than the Pono player.
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This whole experiment means nothing, of course. We did it simply because "we could". If you do decide to go with a Pono (or a Tektronix MDO3000) as a music player remember that much of the sound quality is determined at the time of the original recording and not just at playback. Also your headphones, speakers, listening room, ears, etc...
