Effective learning of digital signal processing requires a learning tool that
allows us to easily build and test digital systems. We designed a development
system that captures the sound signal from any player. The sound signal is then
digitally processed by program written by students. After that it is reconstructed
and suitably amplified for playback with headphones.
The input stage of the system is a differential amplifier that eliminates any
common mode noise. Next comes the mixer, which can add the signal of one of the
expansion modules to the input signal. We have developed four expansion modules:
a sine wave generator, a white noise generator, a guitar preamplifier, and a
microphone amplifier. The combined signal then travels through an input filter to
an analog to digital converter (ADC). Instead of an embeded microcontroller, the
development system has a socket for the NUCLEO-G431KB development board.
That allows us to show transparently that a digital filter is just an algorithm
that runs on any computing machine. The microcontroller development board is
followed by a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and a headphone amplifier.
We found that the noise floor before the ADC and after the DAC is the
same, i.e. –120 dBV2/Hz . There is more noise at lower frequencies due to the
influence of the mains frequency. The signal-to-noise ratio of the system, for a
pure sinusoidal signal with an amplitude of 0,25 V which corresponds to moderate
volume is 54 dB. The frequency response of the circuit was tested by a white noise
generator, which showed that the system attenuates signals higher than 20 kHz.
We proved that the sine signal generator has the best THD at lower frequencies,
where it is equal to 0,68 %. We also measured the frequency response of the
microphone. The crosstalk between the two channels is equal to –54 dB. The
presence of noise and crosstalk is small enough to not affect the perceived quality
of the processed signal.
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