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. 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






2. 16-Bit; 44.1 kHz; PCM; Stereo






3. 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






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






5. Roughly around 1 -130 ft/s






6. Ultra low- latency - 512- channel (on a gigabit network) - less flexible AoE format; Routed like audio cables...not network cables






7. Measure of sound pressure over the frequency spectrum - for which a listener perceives a constant loudness when presented with pure steady tones






8. 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






9. The mathematics - algorithms - and the techniques used to manipulate signals after they have been converted to digital form






10. 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






11. Electromagnetic receptor that detects the radiation known as visible light






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






13. 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






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






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






16. Increases D/A sample rate from nominal rate to oversampling rate by turning series multi- bit PCM samples into 1- bit samples; (ex. => 44.1kHz sample rate converted to 2.8MHz and simultaneously converts multi- bit samples to 1- bit); Low Pass Filter






17. The amount of energy at each wavelength






18. Describes acceptable data - performances both offered and essential for a disc player - and the complete user experience






19. 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






20. (AES/EBU); 110O - 2- channel balanced digital audio cable with an XLR connection; NOT a mic cable!!






21. 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






22. 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






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






24. 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






25. Very selective method of lowering buffer levels by halting different levels of audio processing






26. Built into DAWs; Bits are added when signals are mixed together to avoid clipping






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






28. The frequency range that is allowed through a filter






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






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






31. Perceptual coding technique that uses louder sounds of a similar frequency to decide what information is to be saved during data reduction






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






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






34. Signal voltage is relayed to a register from sample- and - hold circuit; Holds reference frequencies in binary form that decrease in value; Finds approximated value & assigns binary number accordingly






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






36. 1st commercially successful AoE format for the transmission of digital audio - video - and control signals over 64- channel 100Mbps Ethernet networks






37. 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)






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






39. Process that begins with a fast FFT analysis of the spectra of two input signals - then the multiplication of like frequencies - and IFFT to finalize the process






40. High channel count; 64 channels on one cable; Coaxial cable with BNC connector or fiber optic with ST1 connector






41. 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);






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






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






44. 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






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






46. 7.95 GB; SS/DL






47. EBU






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






49. 12.33 GB; DS/ML






50. 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)