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. 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






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






3. HD Audio format; Lossless Compression; 24- bit/96 kHz; 5.1 Surround or 24- bit / 192 kHz stereo sound






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






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






6. Governs the frequency response of a digital system; The highest- frequency component that can be captured with a sampling rate; always 1/2 of sampling rate; Also called the limiting frequency






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






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






9. (Amplitude Based) Amplitude: Voltage; Quantization; Bit Depth; Quantization Intervals; Quantization Noise; [Signal:Quantization Noise Ratio]; Dither; Dynamic Range






10. As sample rate is increased more room is created for a smoother slope of the attenuation band because Nyquist limit extends well beyond range of hearing with each increase






11. More aggressive lossy data reduction techniques that require further manipulation of the stereo field; Examples are 'Intensity' & 'M-S'






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






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






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






15. 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






16. 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






17. Most significant lossless coding technique in current use; Measure of disorder in which long strings of data are represented by short symbols and uses the shortest symbols to represent the most common repetitive audio data maximizing data reduction






18. Joint-Stereo Technique; Since the human brain is unable to localize sounds at high frequencies well sounds above 9 kHz threshold are encoded in mono






19. EBU






20. Circuit that seizes voltage values with each tick of an A/D device's internal clock






21. CobraNet; EtherSound; Dante; AVB (currently under development)






22. Digital (binary) measurements of how long each pulse is either on or off; Width of increasing voltage or decreasing voltage is assigned a 1 or 0 respectively






23. The amount of energy at each wavelength






24. 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






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






26. 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.






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






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






29. AAC (Advanced Audio Coding); MP3; RA; WMA; OGG Vorbis; Dolby Digital/AC-3; DTS; ADPCM






30. High Pressure - Part of a longitudinal wave where the particles of the medium are close together






31. Lossless Format; Can hold up to 25GB on a single- layer disc and 50GB on a dual- layer disc






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






33. 4.38 GB; SS/SL






34. Measure of the amplitude of a longitudinal wave






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






36. 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






37. 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






38. 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






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






40. Removes high frequency images and noise and smoothes the stair case output coming from of the sample and hold circuit; Also called a SMOOTHING FILTER






41. 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






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






43. 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






44. CBR; Codecs encodes data at a constant rate regardless of density of the audio file






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






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






47. 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






48. 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






49. Anytime bit depth is reduced the gap gets bigger so more dithering is required






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