Midterm

Question 1

Control Room

Answer 1

Acoustically isolated room containing the recording console

Question 2

Project Studio

Answer 2

Recording studio designed for personal use

Question 3

Waveform

Answer 3

Graphic representation of a sound-pressure level.

Question 4

Amplitude

Answer 4

Distance above or below centerline of a waveform.

Question 5

Frequency

Answer 5

the rate at which a vibrating mass repeats within a cycle of positive and negative amplitude.

Question 6

Velocity

Answer 6

sound waves travel at 1130 ft/sec (at 68° F).

Question 7

Wavelength

Answer 7

physical distance between the beginning and end of one cycle.

Question 8

Frequency Response curve

Answer 8

chart of output of an audio device.

Question 9

Phase

Answer 9

equal waveforms that begin their cycles at different times.

Question 10

Fundamental Pitch

Answer 10

the strongest, usually lowest, frequency that helps comprise a complex musical tone.

Question 11

Overtones

Answer 11

Frequencies that are whole-number multiples of the fundamental frequency of a musical tone. The fundamental and relative strengths of the harmonics determine the characteristics of a musical instrument.

Question 12

Envelope

Answer 12

variations of level that occur over time for the duration of a played note.

Question 13

Decibel

Answer 13

unit of measurement for relative changes in level, based on logarithmic scale. Measures differences in intensities between two levels.

Question 14

Sound Pressure Level (SPL)

Answer 14

the acoustic pressure within a defined atmosphere. Measures “loudness”.

Question 15

Threshold of Feeling

Answer 15

an SPL that causes discomfort in a listener 50% of the time, about 118dB.

Question 16

Threshold of Pain

Answer 16

an SPL that causes pain in a listener 50% of the time, about 140 dB.

Question 17

Transducer

Answer 17

a device that changes one form of energy to another.

Question 18

Dynamic Microphone

Answer 18

Uses electromagnetic induction to generate an output signal. Does not require phantom power.

Question 19

Ribbon Microphone

Answer 19

Uses thin ribbon of aluminum suspended in strong magnetic field to produce output signal. Produces a weak signal that needs to be amplified to be useful and can be damaged by phantom power.

Question 20

Condenser Microphone

Answer 20

Uses a capsule (a capacitor) with a charged plate to generate an output signal. Requires phantom power.

Question 21

Omnidirectional

Answer 21

Responsive to sounds emanating from all directions.

Question 22

Cardioid

Answer 22

Responsive to sounds emanating from a heart-shaped pattern facing the capsule. Rejects sound from behind.

Question 23

Bi-directional (figure eight)

Answer 23

Equally responsive to sound from the front and rear; rejects sounds from the sides.

Question 24

Balanced Line

Answer 24

An audio line using 3 conductors, two of which carry the audio signal. Noise generated in the cable is cancelled when passed through a transformer.

Question 25

Sampling Rate

Answer 25

Number of sample per second used to numerically represent an audio signal, measured in kHz. CD audio-44.1 kHz; Digital video-48 kHz.

Question 26

Dither

Answer 26

Random noise added to an audio signal to produce more accurate sound resolution at low SPL’s.

Question 27

AES/EBU (Audio Engineering Society and the European Broadcast Union)

Answer 27

Standard for transmitting a digital stereo signal through a three conductor XLR cable. Generally used in professional studios because of its stability.

Question 28

S/PDIF (Sony/Phillips Digital Interface)

Answer 28

Consumer standard for transmitting digital signals through a single conductor, unbalanced cable

Question 29

ADAT Lightpipe

Answer 29

Multichannel digital optical cable transmitting up to eight digital channels per cable

Question 30

Dante

Answer 30

Network audio over CAT6. with 512 channels of digital audio, bi-directional

Question 31

Wordclock

Answer 31

A timing reference that synchronizes multiple digital audio devices

Question 32

DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)

Answer 32

Integrated computer-based hard disk recording system offering many recording and editing functions in one program.

Question 33

wave (.wav)

Answer 33

MS Windows audio file format

Question 34

Audio Interface

Answer 34

Contains Analog to Digital, and Digital to Analog converters. Allows computer software to handle the flow of digital audio.

Question 35

.aif (AIFF)

Answer 35

Apple format

Question 36

.sd2 (Sound Designer)

Answer 36

Digidesign format (OUTDATED)

Question 37

DSP

Answer 37

Digital Signal Processing Allows DAW’s to manipulate audio in numerous ways, including EQ, Dynamic Range, Delay, and pitch/Time effects

Question 38

EQ (Equalization)

Answer 38

Manipulate the frequencies of a file

Question 39

Dynamic Range

Answer 39

signal levels of sounds

Question 40

Delay

Answer 40

Regenerating a sound over time

Question 41

DSP Plugins

Answer 41

Third party software applications that can be added to DAWs

Question 42

AU

Answer 42

Apple OS X format

Question 43

VST

Answer 43

Steinberg format for both Mac and PC

Question 44

MAS

Answer 44

MOTU for Digital performer DAW only

Question 45

TDM

Answer 45

Digidesign Pro Tools only format

Question 46

AAX

Answer 46

Pro Tools only format