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. 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






2. Defines the number of sample per second taken from a continuous signal to make a discrete signal; Governs the frequency response of digital audio






3. A frequency specified for a filter (digital or electronic) the marks the point at which the frequency content of a signal is altered +/- 3dB






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






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






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






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






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






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






10. 15.9 GB; DS/DL






11. Method of representing an acoustic quantity with a series of binary numbers; Can have only specific individually distinct values






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






13. 16-Bit; 44.1 kHz; PCM; Stereo






14. Signal that uses variable voltage to create continuous waves resulting in an inexact transmission






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






16. 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






17. 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






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






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






20. Eight channel digital surround sound system by Dolby






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






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






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






24. 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






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






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






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






28. Based on psychoacoustics - these are the basis of frequency analysis for a perceptual codec;






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






30. Based on Full Scale (dB/FS); -6dB represents a loss of one bit so account for this when calculating






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






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






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






34. Accuracy with which an electronic system reproduces the sound or image of its input signal






35. 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






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






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






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






39. Waveform of a pure tone showing simple harmonic motion






40. Splits the input signal and mixes it with an analog copy so that no latency is present






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






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






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






44. 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






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






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






47. 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






48. 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






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






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