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.