Neat. Which version and which page? I think this^ is similar to how some programs provided 14-bit audio. By using volume control you can in effect extend the range of the Amiga's default 8-bit DACs. IIRC, the Amiga had/has 64 volume levels (5 bit volume control).
Prior: I think many here are getting hung up with incorrect terminology. Karlos and Trev seem to be more on target.
The real Amiga audio system by default was designed for playing samples. Contrast this to the C64's SID chip that used Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release circuits (hyrbid analog-digital). Both have advantages. I advocated adding ADSR circuits to the Amiga audio. But oh well. The Amiga does have a mode that goes beyond sample playing however. See Karlos's posting above.
>Doing a proper emulation of Paula could be quite difficult as it gets
>different tones by altering it's playrate
Altering the sample itself can also affect the tone / pitch / frequency. For example, set the Amiga to do a 1 second 22KHz digitization. You can record (from a piano) a C note (for example) or the next C up (an octave up- which is twice the inherent frequency). The playback rate is still 22KHz, but the second sample has a higher tone because while the record/playback rate (period) is the same, the second sample recorded a string vibrating at 2X the frequency (it's an octave higher). If you looked at the digital levels you'd see that the number of times the sample level crosses the 0 position is twice that of the first sample. This is basically what Karlos mentions in the Amiga Hardware Ref. Manual.
>The data words from the modulator channel are written into the corresponding registers
>of the modulated channel each time the period register of the modulator channel times out."
Sadly, that's a tad vague. :-( Still the Amiga HRM is like a college education in one book.
>To properly emulate the Amiga sound system *accurately*
>will rather ironically, require some pretty high end (read expensive) kit.
Same is true of the video hardware. Though the Amiga videographic circuits are relatively incomplete by some modern standards, most graphics chips today lack sprites (it's true), color compression modes... and yes, most lack multiple playfields like the Amiga had. Instead they rely on brute force and fancy blitters. Sad but true.
