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






2. RAM holds in memory audio data before it is transferred to the memory controller; Certain amount of data is processed before large amounts of data are streamed to prevent latency






3. Leaving space at beginning and ending of song for data crunching during mastering; Last step in mastering process






4. Inner ear component that attaches to the stapes and helps to decrease the amplitude of vibrations; Causes the masking phenomenon






5. Mixing data and control characters in a single operation






6. The act of a frequency swinging back and forth with a steady - uninterrupted rhythm






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






8. 15.9 GB; DS/DL






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






10. Pertaining to hearing or sound; Combination of the intensity of air pressure molecules with amplitude






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






12. The more bits allocated during quantization - the more accurate the measurement






13. Describes various optical disc characteristics including the size and shape of the disc - the size of pits - the speed at which the disc spins - and a multitude of aspects regarding the specifications of the player itself






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






15. Occurs as data is assembled into meaningful bits or information and as left & right channels are separated






16. A method of representing real numbers using a mantissa and an exponent






17. Measurement at regular intervals of the amplitude of a varying waveform (in order to convert it to digital form); There must be a minimum of 2 samples for each cycle in a waveform






18. Reduces A/D sample rate from the oversampled rate to nominal rate by turning series of one- bit samples into a series of multi- bit PCM samples; (ex. => 2.8MHz sample rate converted to 44.1kHz and simultaneously converts 1-Bit samples to multi- bit);






19. 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






20. 16-Bit; 44.1 kHz; PCM; Stereo






21. EDL; Final list of samples used in the audio editing process; Identified by time code






22. Overtones that contribute to the timbre of a sound and make up a complex waveform's physical characteristics






23. DAW's and software must buffer when converting or bouncing and this latency can add up if not monitored






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






25. The difference in volume between the loudest and quietest sounds of a source






26. The loudest point of a Full Scale system






27. Stores only one copy of a stereo signal and assigns it to both channels in order to save 50% of original bandwidth






28. Branch of psychology concerned with the subjective perception of sound






29. Sony sigma- delta modulation based technology that bypasses the decimation and interpolation steps found in PCM converters






30. Reference voltage determined by summing the voltage values of a predetermined number of previous samples; Numbers of 1 in row = waveform peak; Numbers of 0 in row = waveform trough; Basis of Sony's Direct Stream Digital (DSD)






31. Measuring equipment in A/D conversion that processes voltage and provides a value for that voltage






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






33. Digital and analog processing capability is combined on a single microchip allowing for 1- bit resolution at high sample rates






34. The art of deciding where to place a processor in signal flow based on how that processor will be influenced by the other processors in the path






35. Specific set of instructions for carrying out a data reduction technique that determines how to 'save' binary data information efficiently






36. Apple Lossless; Windows Media Lossless; DTS HD Master Audio; Dolby True HD; FLAC






37. Number or variable that represents the number of times the base of a power is used as a factor; Defines magnitude






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






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






40. Channels are processed one at a time and the results are stored on multiple CPU buffers that alternately send data as DAW requests the data for playback; First few seconds are relayed to the buffer prior to processing and playback and it continuously






41. Father of modern information theory; Solidified the Nyquist Theory by adding the concept that bits per second (binary representation of audio signals) must be at equal intervals to accurately represent data






42. VBR; Most common & best data reduction technique; Codecs that encode data by determining how dense or sparse areas of the audio are; Can result in buffering issues






43. Unit of measurement that is equal to one billionth of a meter






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






45. Full Scale; Type of metering that measures level in digital recording system; Recording and Mixing levels should NEVER exceed 0dB FS in digital audio or clipping will occur






46. Signal conversions are mixed with playback tracks resulting in near-zero latency






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






48. MPEG; Standardizing body of audio coding






49. Measure of the amplitude of a longitudinal wave






50. Twice as many samples as the highest frequency at minimum; Sampling rate totally controls frequency response