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






2. 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






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






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






5. 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






6. Only 2 digits used; The value of each place (ones - hundreds - etc.) are as follows from greatest to least: 128 - 64 - 32 - 16 - 8 - 4 - 2 - 1






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






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






9. 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






10. 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)






11. 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






12. Measure of the amplitude of a longitudinal wave






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






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






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






16. 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






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






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






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






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






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






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






23. Roughly around 1 -130 ft/s






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






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






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






27. 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.






28. 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






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






30. 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






31. 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






32. ABR; Codecs that encode data by determining how dense or sparse areas of the audio are while also keeping bit rate within specified limits to avoid rebuffering






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






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






35. The loudest point of a Full Scale system






36. Reduces the percieved distortion due to quantization error; Low level white noise source is introduced to make the profile of the quantization 'noise' more irregular; Useful when reducing the number of bits per word in a signal (i.e. when converting






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






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






39. The difference between the analog value and the approximated digital value due to the 'rounding' that occurs while converting the analog signal to digital






40. 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






41. Have odd numbered harmonics






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






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






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






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






46. 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)






47. Single- pin RCA cable or fiber- optic TOSLINK connector used for digital transfer; 75O coaxial - 2- channel unbalanced; 'Consumer' format of AES3






48. Serial Copy Management System; main difference between AES3 & S/PIDF






49. 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






50. The number of compressions or rarefactions in one second; The higher the frequency the more compressions & rarefactions per second; Measured in Hertz