digital vca

[aron]

Can something like the arduino do simply vca work without degrading the sound took much?


I've always wanted to program something like the Arduino but I want something like ICE instead of using things like printf etc

[ElectricDruid]

How much it degrades the sound would depend on the ADC/DAC that you're using with it, I'd say. If you're using an on-chip ADC and DAC with (say) only 12-bits, you'll be at the borderline of noticeable, and reducing the volume will cut into your S/N. If you've got 16 bits, you'll do much better, even if it was only 16-bit processing and output from a 12 bit input (since you won't lose so much of the signal when you start reducing it with your VCA). Beyond that is definitely in the realm of "digital clarity".

A VCA is just a multiply, so it's a pretty simple operation, but it's worth pointing out that if you times X bits by Y bits, you get a result with XY bits, so you'll typically lose some or most of them. That's normal. The question is "how many?".
Also as the bit length goes up, so does the workload for the Arduino. Multi-byte multiply isn't too long-winded, but it's a considerable thing and can't be taken for granted.
HTH,
Tom