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






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






3. Data is transmitted over fiber optic lines; Uses a TOSLINK connecter instead of an RCA type; Can transmit multi- channel audio; Not susceptible to ground hum and loops; Able to support far higher rates of data transfer over greater distances than coa






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






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






6. Have odd numbered harmonics






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






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






9. Same as 'aliasing'






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






11. 12.33 GB; DS/ML






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






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






14. 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






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






16. 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






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






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






19. 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






20. 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






21. EBU






22. 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);






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






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






25. 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






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






27. Inner ear component that attaches to the stapes and helps to decrease the amplitude of vibrations; Causes the masking phenomenon






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






29. Measures the highest levels of a signal being recorded or mixed; Monitors for clipping - which occurs at 0dBFS); Does not always reflect perceived volume of signal






30. 16-Bit; 44.1 kHz; PCM; Stereo






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






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






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






34. 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






35. 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






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






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






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






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






40. Deviation from a normal - steady pulse or tick of a clock that contributes to misrepresentation of a signal; Result of small timing irregularities that become magnified during the transmission of digital signals as the signals are passed from one dev






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






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






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






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






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






46. 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






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






48. A situation where a calculated value cannot fit into the number of digits reserved for it






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






50. The elapsed time it takes for a packet of data to arrive at its destination; Lagging or pause of an audio signal as digital processing occurs; Can be managed utilizing several forms of 'audio monitoring'