alt Hacker NewsDepends on what you mean by "efficient".
Delta-sigma modulation generates an inefficient encoding of the audio signal, with much more bits than necessary.
Converting a delta-sigma encoded bit stream to a PCM (pulse-code modulation) stream (e.g. with 24-bit or 16-bit samples at a sampling frequency of 48 kHz or 44.1 kHz) is a method of data compression.
On the other hand, delta-sigma modulation is more efficient for both analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversions, in the sense that for a given quality of the conversion it is much easier and much cheaper to make ADCs and DACs with delta-sigma modulation than with pulse-code modulation.
Because of this, for audio signals, normally delta-sigma ADCs and DACs are used at the analog inputs and outputs, but the delta-sigma bit stream is converted by digital filtering to PCM for data storage or for audio processing.
Delta-sigma is not a compression technique. A good delta-sigma encoder will use roughly the same number of bits as a PCM encoder. Delta-sigma uses more samples per second but fewer bits per sample to capture the same information. The reason delta-sigma is desirable is noise shaping, not compression.
An ADC that merely samples much faster than Nyquist but with the same number of bits per sample as PCM is not a delta-sigma converter; it's an oversampler. Delta-sigma converters always sample faster and use fewer bits per sample (usually just one bit per sample).