Digital Audio Basics
16-Bit
65,536 separate levels for each sample.
Audio File Format
An audio file format is a file format for storing digital audio data on a computer system. The bit layout of the audio data (excluding metadata) is called the audio coding format and can be uncompressed, or compressed to reduce the file size, often using lossy compression.
Analogue to Digital Converter
Analogue to Digital Converter Repeatedly measures the amplitude (volume) of an incoming electrical voltage. It then outputs these measurements as a long list of binary bytes....101101001010001010010010010010101010101
Analogue (Analog)
Continuous audio signal.
Aliasing
If the sample rate is set too low a type of distortion will be audible in the signal when it is converted back to analogue by a DAC (digital to analogue converter). Audible effect of this can be random noise or unpleasant and unwanted lower frequencies within the sound.
24-Bit
Often used in modern professional studios, this bit rate provides 16.7 million different levels.
Jitter
Refers to irregularities in the time intervals between samples -adversely affects audio quality.
CD Quality
Sample Rate: 44.1kHz 44,100Hz 44,100 snapshots per second Bit Depth: 16 Bit - 65,536 separate levels for each sample.
Sample Rate
The amount of samples or "snapshots" that are taken per second. The more samples or "snapshots" taken, the more detail the sound has.
Digital
The analogue signal is broken up into the 1s and 0s that make up the binary world of computers. Digitized audio is a series of "snapshots" that we hear as continuous sound.
Bit Depth
This defines the dynamic range of the sound, the amplitude (volume) of the waveform at each sample point.