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. If a signal is sampled at a rate higher than twice the highest significant signal frequency and at evenly spaced intervals - then the samples contain all the information of the original signal






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






3. 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






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






5. 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






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






7. 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






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






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






10. 8.75 GB; DS/SL






11. Twice as many samples as the highest frequency at minimum; Sampling rate totally controls frequency response






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






13. Same as 'aliasing'






14. 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






15. 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






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






17. The loudest point of a Full Scale system






18. 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






19. 1.) Taking a series of evenly- spaced measurements 2.) Signal contains no frequency components higher than half the sample rate






20. Discrete incremental distinctions made between the value of one sample and the next; Breaks down bit depth into a series of evenly spaced intervals






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






22. Sample Rate x Bit Depth x # of Channels






23. 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'






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






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






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






27. Roughly around 1 -130 ft/s






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






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






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






31. 7.95 GB; SS/DL






32. Voltage -> Dither -> Anti-Aliasing (Low Pass Filter) -> Sample & Hold Circuit -> Successive Approximation/Quantizer --) 100111010 (PCM Audio File)






33. Sum of all harmonics; Sum of sine and cosine waves which have frequencies f - 2f - 3f - 4f...






34. In order to play multiple channels at one time data is buffered as read to disk; Latency happens between play command & beginning of playback






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






36. MPEG; Standardizing body of audio coding






37. 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






38. ADAT Optcal; 8- in/8- out on two cables; Fiber- optic - TOSLINK connector






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






41. 8- in/8- out on one cable; 25- pin D- sub connector






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






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






44. 4.38 GB; SS/SL






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






46. Data transmission protocol over which computer network traffic travels; Poorly suited to real- time transmission but numerous attempts have been made to harness the technology because of its flexible routing; Uses simple Cat5 cabling; Resists interfe






47. 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






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






49. Level above which audible sounds are painful (125 - 130 db)






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