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






2. Cable used to transmit data; Inner cable is surrounded by a plastic insulator - which is surrounded by a wire mesh conductor that insulates the internal signal wire from external interference and an outer casing that functions as a ground






3. 1st commercially successful AoE format for the transmission of digital audio - video - and control signals over 64- channel 100Mbps Ethernet networks






4. Softest sound that can be heard by the average human ear (0 dB)






5. 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






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






7. 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






8. (Time Based) Frequency: Aliasing; Anti-Aliasing Filter; Sample Rate; Nyquist Limit






9. Toshiba developed digital audio interface utilizes fiber optics as a transmission medium.






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






11. Also known as equal loudness curves; Graph that indicates the average ear sensitivity to different frequencies at different SPL levels (as volume increases - these curves flatten out)






12. Sony and Philips optical disc format; Utilizes sigma delta DSD to offer higher resolution; 1- bit; 2.8224 MHz; 6-Channel






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






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






15. Psychoacoustic model of data reduction used for general audio compression that aims to transmit only features perceptible to the human ear; Useful for mastering streaming media






16. The ability of a digital system to perform complex DSP without running into problems with overflow or loss of resolution






17. Number of bits used to represent the smallest unit of information in an audio file; Greater bit depth = better quality audio






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






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






20. Discrete incremental distinctions made between the value of one sample and the next; Breaks down bit depth into a series of evenly spaced intervals






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






22. Data reduction technique that selectively removes original information in order to significantly reduce the file size; Some data is lost; Files can be reduced up to 99% in size (90% with no perceived sound quality loss); Bit rate effects the perceive






23. 7.95 GB; SS/DL






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






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






26. Allowance of noise floor below that which is required for the final product






27. Samples are duplicated and the playback sampling rate correspondingly increased; Significantly raises the Nyquist limit to a range well beyond human hearing; Processing 'pushes' the distortion resulting from quantization error into these higher frequ






28. Rate at which energy is drawn from a source that produces a flow of electricity in a circuit; Expressed in volts






29. Number of bits per second processed when sampling sound; (Sampling Rate x Bit Depth) = Resolution






30. A network communications protocol that specifies how machines will exchange data; Uses a broadcast system in which one machine transmits its message on the communication medium and the other machines listen for messages directed to them






31. Each bit in the bit depth is equal to a _____ increase in dynamic range






32. Decibels Full Scale






33. Waveform of a pure tone showing simple harmonic motion






34. 'Reconstructing' part of digital audio






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






36. How Loud (Y-Axis) & How Fast (X-Axis)






37. Data transmission protocol over which computer network traffic travels; Poorly suited to real- time transmission but numerous attempts have been made to harness the technology because of its flexible routing; Uses simple Cat5 cabling; Resists interfe






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






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






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






41. 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






42. Snippets of time in which frequency analysis takes place in a perceptual codec






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






44. Root Mean Square; Refers to taking the square root of all instantaneous amplitudes; Takes the average of those squares; (-6 Peak Level is approximately equal to -20 RMS)






45. 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






46. The set of rules that computers use to move files from one computer to another on an internet






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






48. If a signal is sampled at a rate higher than twice the highest significant signal frequency and at evenly spaced intervals - then the samples contain all the information of the original signal






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






50. Having a repeated succession of waves or curves as in a sound waveform