Wiki/AV Glossary/DSP — Digital Signal Processor

DSP — Digital Signal Processor

Dedicated hardware that processes audio signals in real-time — the brain of any commercial audio system.

Common DSP manufacturers in AV:

  • QSC (Q-SYS Core series)
  • Biamp (TesiraFORTÉ, Server series)
  • Crestron (DM-NVX-DSP)
  • Shure (IntelliMix)
  • Bose (ControlSpace)

Typical processing:

  • AEC (echo cancellation)
  • Noise reduction / gate
  • EQ (equalization)
  • Compression / limiting
  • Routing and mixing
  • Feedback suppression
  • Delay alignment

Key points:

  • Every conferencing room needs a DSP (even if built into a sound bar)
  • Choose based on I/O count, Dante/AES67 support, and control integration
  • USB audio output from DSP to PC is the cleanest way to connect to Teams/Zoom