Test your basic knowledge |

Digital Audio

Subject : engineering
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. (Amplitude Based) Amplitude: Voltage; Quantization; Bit Depth; Quantization Intervals; Quantization Noise; [Signal:Quantization Noise Ratio]; Dither; Dynamic Range






2. Six channel (five speakers and one subwoofer for bass) digital surround sound system by Dolby






3. Based on Full Scale (dB/FS); -6dB represents a loss of one bit so account for this when calculating






4. Take up half as many bits (50%); Algorithm can keep same quality by lossing the stereo track






5. Very quiet digital amplifier that produces a series of output pulses with the audio signal coded the same as the width of the output pulses; Pulses are used to represent wave forms and are either on or off; Intense signals have long pulses with short






6. Industry Standards: -6 dB Peak = -20 RMS Meter






7. Voltage -> Dither -> Anti-Aliasing (Low Pass Filter) -> Sample & Hold Circuit -> Successive Approximation/Quantizer --) 100111010 (PCM Audio File)






8. French mathematician that noted that any complex sound can be broken down into a series of component pure tones






9. Amplitude meter that takes the square root of all instantaneous amplitudes and averages them to find a mean and squares that value; Useful with particularly complex waveforms






10. When recording you want the smallest buffer available; When mixing you want the largest buffer available






11. In order to play multiple channels at one time data is buffered as read to disk; Latency happens between play command & beginning of playback






12. Ratio of magnitude of the analytical signal to the magnitude of the background noise signal






13. Method of sampling data at a higher resolution (higher sample rate) as a means of reducing harmonic content during D/A conversion; (x2) oversampling gets rid of all odd harmonic content






14. 'Capturing' part of digital audio; Never captures a signal perfectly






15. Used as the main disc from which other discs are made; Composed of ground glass with a very fine photoresistor layer; An imaging laser burns pit and land patterns in preparation for duplication






16. The frequency above or below which attenuation begins in a filter circuit






17. Allows for an internal sample rate at multiples of the input and output rates; Alleviates the need for steep 'brickwall' filters; Often combined with internal '1- bit' processing; Increases smoothing effect






18. Uses entropy coding as the basis; Computer data compression algorithm that packages files such as .ZIP & .RAR






19. A drive that can read and write on optical media that hold up to 50 GB on two layers; 24- bit/96 kHz for 8-Channel; 24- bit/192 kHz for 6-Channel






20. Fractional part of a floating- point number; Also called the mantissa; Defines precision






21. Visual graph that shows how loud a sound is at different frequencies






22. ADPCM; Pulse code modulation that produces a digital signal with a lower bit rate than standard PCM; Records only the difference between samples






23. Playback; I/O Connections; CPU (Streaming); Conversion from DAW or Software






24. Computer program or device capable of encoding and/or decoding a digital data stream with the end result being a reduced file size






25. Circuit that interprets the meaning of the symbols as they were chosen and arranged by the encode






26. Deviation from a normal - steady pulse or tick of a clock that contributes to misrepresentation of a signal; Result of small timing irregularities that become magnified during the transmission of digital signals as the signals are passed from one dev






27. Increases or decreases the digital signal so that the loudest sample is brought up to 0dBfs; Uses all bits from dynamic range and makes it even from track to track






28. Signal that uses variable voltage to create continuous waves resulting in an inexact transmission






29. ADAT Optcal; 8- in/8- out on two cables; Fiber- optic - TOSLINK connector






30. Method used in digital recording and reproduction in which a signal is sampled at various points and the resulting value is translated into binary numbers






31. A digital filter's time domain output sequence when the input is a single sample is input






32. Measures the highest levels of a signal being recorded or mixed; Monitors for clipping - which occurs at 0dBFS); Does not always reflect perceived volume of signal






33. Measure of the amplitude of a longitudinal wave






34. Unit of measurement that is equal to one millionth of a meter






35. A sample- by- sample operation on two signals






36. The process of reducing the space required to store data by efficiently encoding the content.






37. A time regulator that makes all samples and bits to align when working with interconnected digital devices; Basically a signal that all of the digital devices refer to when operating.






38. Difference in brightness between land and pit on a CD Physical Format






39. Digital Word -> Series of Resistors (each with assigned charges) -> Sample- and-Hold Circuit -> Anti-Imaging Filter (Smoothing Filter) -> Reconstructed Sample






40. Multi-Bit Words; (Pulse Code Modulation)






41. The elapsed time it takes for a packet of data to arrive at its destination; Lagging or pause of an audio signal as digital processing occurs; Can be managed utilizing several forms of 'audio monitoring'






42. The continuous loss of signal strengths as a signal travels through a medium






43. 4.38 GB; SS/SL






44. Contains all even and odd harmonics associated with a fundamental tone - making it a rich source for modeling other sounds; Amplitude of each overtone decreases exponentially as a ratio of the harmonic's frequency to that of the fundamental






45. Low Pressure; Part in a longitudinal wave where the particles are spread apart






46. MPEG; Standardizing body of audio coding






47. Splits the input signal and mixes it with an analog copy so that no latency is present






48. Algorithm uses matrix of a mid/side microphone pair to determine a side signal & that signal is reduced then distributed as code in stereo






49. Used when the reference pressure of a sound is 20 microPa (0.00002); Sound Pressure Level; Measure of amplitude






50. Subtract place values from the decimal number and place ones or zeros in the correct places