Digital to analog converter

In electronics, a digital to analog converter (abbreviated to DAC or D-to-A) is a device for converting a digital (usually binary) code to an analogue signal (usually a current or voltage). This is done with a network of resistors, usually a ladder of two sizes of resistors, one twice the other.

An analog to digital converter performs the reverse operation.

Applications

Audio: An analogue signal from a microphone or other sound source can be converted to digital form for storage in a computer, where it can be edited if necessary and then reconstructed for playback. In a personal computer, the conversion is usually done in a sound card, but there are some USB devices that do this conversion externally to improve the sound quality.