On the phone with a customer about DirectStream. He asked a good question. "There are other DACs out there based on FPGA technology. What makes yours different?"
I was going to spout off a flippant answer like "everything", but decided that would not have answered his question, nor would it have been kind. It was, after all, a good question: one that needed to be asked.
So I spent the time explaining how an FPGA is but an empty shell, waiting for the designer to plug in whatever he wants. That it is the bits inside that matter, not the silicone that holds the bits.
It's like saying two cars must be the same because they both have 6-cylinder engines.
It's hard trying to make a decision about how something sounds based on understanding how the underlying technology works.
Actually, I might suggest it's near impossible.
