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Audiophile terms


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Ovo bi bilo odprilike ono sto bi svaki pravi Audiofil trebalo da zna napamet u po noci :buehehe:ne bi bilo lose kada bi neko imao dobre volje i vremena da sve ovo prevede na Srpski sta se moze prevesti :happy64:Aggressive - Forward and bright sonic character.Airy - Spacious. Open. Instruments sound like they are surrounded by a large reflective space full of air. Good reproduction of high frequency reflections. High frequency response extends to 15 or 20 kHz.Ambience - Impression of an acoustic space, such as the performing hall in which a recording was made.Analytical - Highly detailed.Articulate - Intelligibility of voice(s) and instruments and the interactions between them.Attack - The leading edge of a note and the ability of a system to reproduce the attack transients in music.Balance - essentially tonal balance, the degree to which one aspect of the sonic spectrum is emphasized above the rest. Also channel balance, the relative level of the left and right stereo channels.Bass - The bass between 60Hz and 250Hz contains the fundamental notes of the rhythm section. EQing this range can change the musical balance, making it fat or thin. Too much boost in this range can make the music sound boomy. Bassy - Emphasized Bass.Blanketed - Weak highs, as if a blanket were put over the speakers.Bloated - Excessive mid bass around 250 Hz. Poorly damped low frequencies, low frequency resonances. See tubby.Blurred - Poor transient response. Vague stereo imaging not focused.Body - Fullness of sound, with particular emphasis on upper bass. Opposite of thin.Boomy - Excessive bass around 125 Hz. Poorly damped low frequencies or low frequency resonances.Boxy - Having resonances as if the music were enclosed in a box. Sometimes an emphasis around 250 to 500 Hz.Breathy - Audible breath sounds in woodwinds and reeds such as flute or sax. Good response in the upper mids or highs.Bright - A sound that emphasizes the upper midrange/lower treble. Harmonics are strong relative to fundamentals.Brilliance - The 6kHz to 16kHz range controls the brilliance and clarity of sounds. Too much emphasis in this range can produce sibilance on the vocals. Chesty - The vocalist sounds like their chest is too big. A bump in the low frequency response around 125 to 250 Hz.Clear - See Transparent.Closed - A closed-in sound lacking in openness, delicacy, air, and fine detail usually caused by Roll-off above 10kHz; in contrast to Open.Coloured - Having timbres that are not true to life. Non flat response; peaks or dips.Crisp - Extended high frequency response, especially with cymbals.Dark - A tonal balance that tilts downwards with increasing frequency. Opposite of bright. Weak high frequencies.Decay - The fadeout of a note, it follows the attack.Definition (or resolution) - The ability of a component to reveal the subtle information that is fundamental to high fidelity sound.Delicate - High frequencies extending to 15 or 20 kHz without peaks.Depth - A sense of distance (near to far) of different instruments.Detail - The most delicate elements of the original sound and those which are the first to disappear with lesser equipment.Detailed - Easy to hear tiny details in the music; articulate. Adequate high frequency response, sharp transient response.Dry - A sound that is devoid of "juice", which usually comes across as fine grained and lean. Also a loss of reverberation as produced by a damped environment.Dull - See dark.Dynamic - The suggestion of energy and wide dynamic. Related to perceived speed as well as contrasts in volume both large and small.Edgy - Too much high frequency response. Trebly. Harmonics are too strong relative to the fundamentals. Distorted, having unwanted harmonics that add an edge or raspiness.Euphonic - An appealing form of distortion that generally enhances perceived fidelity, often ascribed to the harmonic elaborations of some valve amps.Fast - Good reproduction of rapid transients which increase the sense of realism and "snap".Fat - See Full and Warm. Or, spatially diffuse; a sound is panned to one channel, delayed, and then the delayed sound is panned to the other channel. Or, slightly distorted with analogue tape distortion or tube distortion.Focus - A strong, precise sense of image projection.Forward(ness) - Similar to an aggressive sound, a sense of image being projected in front of the speakers and of music being forced upon the listener.Full - Strong fundamentals relative to harmonics. Good low frequency response, not necessarily extended, but with adequate level around 100 to 300 Hz. Male voices are full around 125 Hz; female voices and violins are full around 250 Hz; sax is full around 250 to 400 Hz. Opposite of thin.Gentle - Opposite of edgy. The harmonics (of the highs and upper mids) are not exaggerated, or may even be weak.Grainy - A slightly raw, exposed sound which lacks finesse. Not liquid or fluid. Grip - A sense of control and sturdiness in the bass.Grungy - Lots of harmonic or I.M. (Intermodulation) distortion.Hard - Too much upper midrange, usually around 3 kHz. Or, good transient response, as if the sound is hitting you hard. Uncomfortable, forward, aggressive sound with a metallic tinge.Harsh - Grating, abrasive. Too much upper midrange. Peaks in the frequency response between 2 and 6 kHz. Or, excessive phase shift in a digital recorder's low pass filter.Headstage - The perception of the Soundstage while listening to headphones.High Mids - The upper midrange between 2kHz and 4kHz can mask the important speech recognition sounds if increased, introducing a lisping quality into a voice and making sounds formed with the lips such as “m,” “b” and “v” indistinguishable. Too much increase in this range — especially at 3kHz — can also cause listening fatigue.Honky - Like cupping your hands around your mouth. A bump in the response around 500 to 700 Hz.Imaging - The sense that a voice or instrument is in a particular place in the room.Juicy - Sound that has joie de vivre, energy and life.Low Level Detail - The quietest sounds in a recording.Low Mids - The midrange between 250Hz and 2000Hz contains the low order harmonics of most musical instruments and can introduce a telephone-like quality to the music if increased too much. Increasing the 500Hz to 1000Hz octave makes the instruments sound horn-like, while increasing the 1kHz to 2kHz octave makes them sound tinny. Excess output in this range can cause listening fatigue.Mellow - Reduced high frequencies, not edgy.Muddy - Not clear. Weak harmonics, smeared time response, I.M. distortion.Muffled - Sounds like it is covered with a blanket. Weak highs or weak upper mids.Musical (or musicality) - A sense of cohesion and subjective "rightness" in the sound.Nasal - Honky, a bump in the response around 600 Hz.Naturalness - Realism.Opaque - Unclear, lacking transparency.Open - Sound which has height and "air", relates to clean upper midrange and treble.Pace - Often assoc. with rhythm, a strong sense of timing and beat.Piercing - Strident, hard on the ears, screechy. Having sharp, narrow peaks in the response around 3 to 10 kHz.Presence Range - The presence range between 4kHz and 6kHz is responsible for the clarity and definition of voices and instruments. Increasing this range can make the music seem closer to the listener. Reducing the 5kHz content makes the sound more distant and transparent. Presence - A sense that the instrument in present in the listening room. Synonyms are edge, punch, detail, closeness and clarity. Adequate or emphasized response around 5 kHz for most instruments, or around 2 to 5 kHz for kick drum and bass.Puffy - A bump in the response around 500 Hz.Punchy - Good reproduction of dynamics. Good transient response, with strong impact. Sometimes a bump around 5 kHz or 200 Hz.Resolution - See DefinitionRich - See Full. Also, having euphonic distortion made of even order harmonics.Roll-off (Rolloff) - The gradual attenuation that occurs at the lower or upper frequency range of a driver, network, or system. The roll-off frequency is usually defined as the frequency where response is reduced by 3 dB.Round - High frequency rolloff or dip. Not edgy.Seismic - Very low bass that you feel rather than hear.Shrill - Strident, steely.Sibilant - "Essy" Exaggerated "s" and "sh" sounds in singing, caused by a rise in the response around 6 to 10 kHz. Often heard on radio.Sizzly - See Sibilant. Also, too much highs on cymbals.Smeared - Lacking detail. Poor transient response, too much leakage between microphones. Poorly focused images.Smooth - Easy on the ears, not harsh. Flat frequency response, especially in the midrange. Lack of peaks and dips in the response.Snap - A system with good speed and transient response can deliver the immediacy or "snap" of live instruments.Soundstage - The area between two speakers that appears to the listener to be occupied by sonic images. Like a real stage, a soundstage should have width, depth, and height.Spacious - Conveying a sense of space, ambiance, or room around the instruments. Stereo reverb. Early reflections.Speed - A fast system with good pace gives the impression of being right on the money in its timing.Steely - Emphasized upper mids around 3 to 6 kHz. Peaky, non flat high frequency response. See Harsh, Edgy.Strident - See Harsh, Edgy.Sturdy - Solid, powerful, robust sound.Sweet - Not strident or piercing. Delicate. Flat high frequency response, low distortion. Lack of peaks in the response. Highs are extended to 15 or 20 kHz, but they are not bumped up. Often used when referring to cymbals, percussion, strings, and sibilant sounds.Telephone Like- See Tinny.Thick - A lack of articulation and clarity in the bass.Thin - Fundamentals are weak relative to harmonics. Bass light.Tight - Good low frequency transient response and detail.Timbre - The tonal character of an instrumentTiming - A sense of precision in tempo.Tinny - Narrowband, weak lows, peaky mids. The music sounds like it is coming through a telephone or tin can.Transient - The leading edge of a percussive sound. Good transient response makes the sound as a whole more live and realistic.Transparent - Easy to hear into the music, detailed, clear, not muddy. Wide flat frequency response, sharp time response, very low distortion and noise. A hear through quality that is akin to clarity and reveals all aspects of detail.Tubby - Having low frequency resonances as if you're singing in a bathtub. See bloated.Veiled - Like a silk veil is over the speakers. Slight noise or distortion or slightly weak high frequencies. Loss of detail due to limited transparency.Warm - Good bass, adequate low frequencies, adequate fundamentals relative to harmonics. Not thin. Also excessive bass or mid bass. Also, pleasantly spacious, with adequate reverberation at low frequencies. Also see Rich, Round. Warm highs means sweet highs.Weighty - Good low frequency response below about 50 Hz. A sense of substance and underpinning produced by deep, controlled bass. Suggesting an object of great weight or power, like a diesel locomotive. Woolly - Loose, ill-defined bass.

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GLOSSARY OF AUDIOPHILE TERMS Analogthe actual sound wave. Baffle bounceReflection off the baffle of the sound wave after the main wave has launched. The larger the baffle, the more bounces. BandwidthAny spectrum of frequencies used for discussion. Audio bandwidth is 20hz to 20,000Hz. Subwoofer bandwidth might be 15Hz to 45Hz etc. Bass reachAbility to go down to the low frequency extremes. Bass tightnessTuneful, accurate bass not bloated or muddy. Bi-ampingUsing one channel of an amplifier to drive each Ribbon and midbass so that a stereo pair of speakers requires 4 channels of amplification. Means that instead of driving a speaker full-range with a single channel of amplification, through a single set of speaker cables, you actually connect two sets of cables, with each set driven by a separate amplifier, or separate channels of a multi-channel amplifier. This way, low frequencies and high frequencies each receive dedicated amplifiers. Bi-wiringRunning separate cables from the amplifier to the Ribbon and midbasses. CablesCarrying higher voltage and power, running from the amplifiers to the speakers. Also power cables CrossoverDigital, passive, electronic - means of channeling high frequencies into the high frequency driver (Ribbon midrange/tweeter or dome tweeter etc.), and low frequencies to the woofer. DiffractionAnomalies created when a wave moves out from the diaphragm and encounters a radical change in the baffle - say a 90 degree corner. The sharper the corner, the greater the diffraction effect. DigitalThe soundwave is broken down into a digital format which bears no physical resemblance to the original analog waveform. Digital chainWhere the complete signal path is digital and there are no analog steps except when the amplifier converts the digital information into the analog waveform which powers the speakers. DispersionHorizontal, vertical - radiation pattern - how evenly the soundwave moves off to the sides and up and down. DynamicsAbility to play loudly and cleanly. EQEqualizing electronically to deal with room acoustic problems or produce special effects. ExcursionForward and backward movement of the diaphragm. EtchedEmphasis of very high frequencies sounding very live but harsh. HardToo much mid-treble emphasis leading to rapid listening fatigue.Interconnectscarrying low voltage signals from the CD player say to the preamp and from the preamp to amp. Linesourcetall loudspeaker with a line of drivers or diaphragms (in the case of Ribbon) all producing the same frequencies. Tall enough to put the listener in the nearfield where there is very little room interaction. The taller the linesource, the further back the nearfield area extends. Very little floor or ceiling reflections. Radiates in a columnar form. Midrangespeaker driver reproducing middle (say speech) frequencies. Midbass driverbasically a woofer which also operates well into the lower midrange. Muddyrefers to bass and midbass where the notes are indistinct and poorly defined. Off-axisthe position relative to a line straight ahead of the diaphragm. Off-axis vertical and off-axis horizontal. Phasetime arrival of the information. Out of phase means wave is 180 degrees shifted from the in phase (ideal) wave. Planarany flat surface diaphragm driver typically film based, electrostatic, Ribbon types. Pointsourceradiates hemispherically - as much towards the ceiling and floor as to the sidewalls and listening position. Ribbonthin conductive diaphragm suspended in strong magnetic gap. Diaphragm vibrates when audio signal is put through it. Room acousticsthe sonic signature of a room, the frequencies it emphasizes and damps down. Softrolled off treble and bass producing very mellow sound but losing a lot of information. Soundstagingeffect of hearing the soundsources - instruments, singers etc. - located in specific places horizontally and in front of and behind the plane of the speakers. 3D sound localization as it would appear in a live show. Smooth responseeven frequency response so that all frequencies are presented evenly, it their proper perspective. Suck outa hole or depression in the frequency response - not as easy to detect as a boosted section of bandwidth. Tight group of curvesoff axis response very close to that of the on-axis response. Ie broad horizontal dispersion giving even sound in a wide listening area. Tweaksmodifying you sound components for better performance. Transparencyability to hear into the music. Separation of instruments, removal of "veils" from obscuring musical detail. Naturalness. Tweeterspeaker driver reproducing high frequencies. Voicing a speakergiving a speaker a specific character. (Newform's policy is to remove character as much as possible) Wooferspeaker driver reproducing low frequencies.

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A-B Test: A test between two components. For example, a test between two different pre-amplifiers. For the test to be scientifically valid the levels should be matched.

ABX Comparator: A device that randomly selects between two components being tested. The listener doesn't know which device is being listened to.

AC3: See Dolby Digital

Acoustic suspension: A sealed or closed box speaker enclosure.

ADA Compliant Devices: assistive listening equipment that comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, Public Law 336 of the 101st Congress, which was enacted July 26, 1990. The act contains requirements for new construction, for alterations or renovations to buildings and facilities, and for improving access to existing facilities of private companies providing goods or services to the public. It also requires that State and local governments provide access to programs offered to the public. The ADA also covers effective communication with people with disabilities, eligibility criteria that may restrict or prevent access, and requires reasonable modifications of policies and practices that may be discriminatory.

AES/EBU: Balanced digital connection. For example, used to connect a CD transport to a DAC. The AES/EBU standard uses XLR type connectors.

Alignment: A class of enclosure parameters that provides optimum performance for a woofer with a given value of Q.

Alpha: Term used in sealed enclosure designs to mean the ratio of Vas to Vb, where Vb is the volume of the box you will build.

Alternating Current (AC): An electrical current that periodically changes in magnitude and direction.

Ambience: The acoustic characteristics of a space with regard to reverberation. A room with a lot of reverb is said to be "live"; one without much reverb is "dead."

Ampere (A): The unit of measurement for electrical current in coulombs per second. There is one ampere in a circuit that has one ohm resistance when one volt is applied to the circuit. See Ohms Law.

Amplifier (Amp): A device which increases signal level. Many types of amplifiers are used in audio systems. Amplifiers typically increase voltage, current or both.

Amplifier classes: Audio power amplifiers are classified primarily by the design of the output stage. Classification is based on the amount of time the output devices operate during each cycle of signal swing. Also defined in terms of output bias current, (the amount of current flowing in the output devices with no signal).

Attenuate: To reduce in level. Analog: Before digital, the way all sound was reproduced.

Aperiodic: Refers to a type of bass-cabinet loading. An aperiodic enclosure type usually features a very restrictive, (damped), port. The purpose of this restrictive port is not to extend bass response, but lower the Q of the system and reduce the impedance peak at resonance. Most restrictive ports are heavily stuffed with fiberglass, dacron or foam.

Audiophile: A person interested in sound reproduction.

AWS: Adaptive Woofer System, trademark of ACI. An active woofer system with built in user adjustable equalization capabilities.

Baffle: A surface used to mount a loudspeaker.

Balanced: Referring to wiring: Audio signals require two wires. In an unbalanced line the shield is one of those wires. In a balanced line, there are two wires plus the shield. For the system to be balanced requires balanced electronics and usually employs XLR connectors. Balanced lines are less apt to pick up external noise. This is usually not a factor in home audio, but is a factor in professional audio requiring hundreds or even thousands of feet of cabling. Many higher quality home audio cables terminated with RCA jacks are balanced designs using two conductors and a shield instead of one conductor plus shield.

Bandwidth: The total frequency range of any system. Usually specified as something like: 20-20,000Hz plus or minus 3 db.

Band-pass Enclosure: A multi-chambered ported system.

Band-pass filter: An electric circuit designed to pass only middle frequencies.

Bass Blockers: Commercial name for auto-sound first order high pass crossovers (non-polarized capacitors), generally used on midbass or dash speakers to keep them from trying to reproduce deep bass.

Bass Reflex: A type of loudspeaker that uses a port or duct to augment the low-frequency response. Opinions vary widely over the "best" type of bass cabinet, but much has to do with how well a given design, such as a bass reflex is implemented.

Beaming: A tendency of a loudspeaker to concentrate the sound in a narrow path instead of spreading it.

Bessel crossover: A type of crossover design characterized by having a linear or maximally flat phase response. Linear phase response results in constant time-delay (all frequencies within the passband are delayed the same amount). Consequently the value of linear phase is it reproduces a near-perfect step response with no overshoot or ringing. The downside of the Bessel is a slow roll-off rate. The same circuit complexity in a Butterworth response rolls off much faster.

Bi-amplify: The use of two amplifiers, one for the lows, one for the highs in a speaker system. Could be built into the speaker design or accomplished with the use of external amplifiers and electronic crossovers.

Bi-wiring: The use of two pairs of speaker wire from the same amplifier to separate bass and treble inputs on the speaker.

Blu-ray Disc: A Blu-ray Disc (also called BD) is a high-density optical disc format for the storage of digital media, including high-definition video. The name Blu-ray Disc™ is derived from the blue-violet laser which, because of its short wavelength (405 nm), allows substantially more data to be stored than a comparably sized DVD. A Blu-ray Disc can store approximately 5X as much data as a DVD which uses a red laser with a wavelength of 650 nm. A benchmark for the purpose of calculating duplication speeds, a Blu-ray Disc™ takes about 45 minutes to burn its 25 GB of data at a 2X speed. On average, a single-layer Blu-ray Disc™ can hold a High Definition feature of 135 minutes using MPEG-2, with room for an additional 2 hours of bonus material in standard definition quality. A dual layer disc will extend this number up to 3 hours in HD quality and 9 hours of SD bonus material.

BNC: A type of connection often used in instrumentation and sometimes in digital audio. BNC connectors sometimes are used for digital connections such as from a CD Transport to the input of a DAC.

Boomy: Listening term, refers to an excessive bass response that has a peak(s) in it.

Bright: Listening term. Usually refers to too much upper frequency energy.

Bridging: Combining both left and right stereo channels on an automotive amplifier into one higher powered mono channel. When an amplifier is bridged, the impedance that the amplifier actually "sees" is calculated based upon the output of both stereo channels. Here is a simple formula to help define this:

Bridged Mono Impedance = (Y / X)/2

Y = impedance of driver(s) (both drivers should be identical)

X = # of drivers in circuit

One 4 ohm sub in bridged mono is equal to hooking up two 2 ohm subs in stereo, one to each channel.

Butterworth crossover: A type of crossover circuit design having a maximally flat magnitude response, i.e., no amplitude ripple in the passband. This circuit is based upon Butterworth functions, also know as Butterworth polynomials.

Cabin gain: The low frequency boost normally obtained inside a vehicle interior when subs are properly mounted.

Capacitor: A device made up of two metallic plates separated by a dielectric (insulating material). Used to store electrical energy in the electrostatic field between the plates. It produces an impedance to an ac current.

Center Channel: In home theater, sound decoded from the stereo signal sent to a speaker mounted in front of the listener, specially designed to enhance voices and sound effects from a movie soundtrack. Used in car audio to help offset skewed stereo imaging due to seating positions in the automotive environment.

Channel Balance: In a stereo system, the level balance between left and right channels. Properly balanced, the image should be centered between the left-right speakers. In a home-theater system, refers to achieving correct balance between all the channels of the system.

Clipping: Refers to a type of distortion that occurs when an amplifier is driven into an overload condition. Usually the "clipped" waveform contains an excess of high-frequency energy. The sound becomes hard and edgy. Hard clipping is the most frequent cause of "burned out" tweeters. Even a low-powered amplifier or receiver driven into clipping can damage tweeters which would otherwise last virtually forever.

Class A, Class A-B etc.: Amplifying an audio signal means using AC or DC current to increase the amplitude from low output to high. Different classes of amplifiers accomplish this in unique ways. Consider a Class A amplifier: turning a vacuum tube "on" or "off" with AC increases the efficiency of the amplifier, but adds unwanted distortion to the output signal. Therefore a Class A amplifier is relatively inefficient.

Cms: Mechanical suspension compliance of a driver, consisting of the spider and surround.

Co-axial: A speaker type that utilizes a tweeter mounted at the center of a woofer cone. The idea being to have the sound source through the full frequency range become "coincident".

Coaxial Driver: a speaker composed of two individual voice coils and cones; used for reproduction of sounds in two segments of the sound spectrum. See also triaxial driver.

Coherence: Listening term. Refers to how well integrated the sound of the system is.

Coloration: Listening term. A visual analog. A "colored" sound characteristic adds something not in the original sound. The coloration may be euphonically pleasant, but it is not as accurate as the original signal.

Compliance: The relative stiffness of a speaker suspension, specified as Vas.

Compression: In audio, compression means to reduce the dynamic range of a signal. Compression may be intentional or one of the effects of a system that is driven to overload.

Crossover: A frequency divider. Crossovers are used in speakers to route the various frequency ranges to the appropriate drivers. Additionally, many crossovers contain various filters to stabilize the impedance load of the speaker and or shape the frequency response. Some crossovers contain levels controls to attenuate various parts of the signal.

A passive crossover uses capacitors, coils and resistors, usually at speaker level. A passive crossover is load dependent (the transition may not be very smooth or accurate if a different speaker is substituted for the one the crossover was designed for).

An active crossover is based on integrated circuits (ICs), discreet transistors or tubes. An active crossover is impedance buffered and gives a consistent and accurate transition regardless of load.

Crossover Slope: High and low pass filters used for speakers do not cut-off frequencies like brick walls. The rolloff occurs over a number of octaves. Common filter slopes for speakers are 1st through 4th order corresponding to 6db/oct to 24db/oct. For example, a 1st. order, 6db/oct high pass filter at 100hz will pass 6db less energy at 50Hz and 12db less energy at 25Hz. Within the common 1st through 4th filters there is an endless variety of types including Butterworth, Linkwitz-Riley, Bessel, Chebychev, etc. Salesmen and product literature will sometimes make claims of clear superiority for the filter used in the product they are trying to sell. Since the subject fills books, suffice it to say that there is no one best filter, it depends on application and intended outcome. Good designers use the filters required to get the optimum performance from the system.

Cross-talk: Unwanted breakthrough of one channel into another. Also refers to the distortion that occurs when some signal from a music source that you are not listening to leaks into the circuit of the source that you are listening to.

Current (I): The flow of electrical charge measured in amperes.

DAC: A Digital to Audio Converter. Converts a digital bitstream to an analog signal. Can be a separate "box" that connects between a CD Transport or CD Player and a pre-amplifier. Damping (Damping factor, etc.): Refers to the ability of an audio component to "stop" after the signal ends. For example, if a drum is struck with a mallet, the sound will reach a peak level and then decay in a certain amount of time to no sound. An audio component that allows the decay to drag on too long has poor damping, and less definition than it should. An audio component that is overdamped does not allow the initial energy to reach the full peak and cuts the decay short. "Boomy" or "muddy" sound is often the result of underdamped systems. "Dry" or "lifeless" sound may be the result of an overdamped system.

D'Appolito: Joe D'Appolito is credited with popularizing the MTM (Midrange-Tweeter-Midrange) type of speaker.

Decibel (dB): Named after Alexander Graham Bell. We perceive differences in volume level in a logarithmic manner. Our ears become less sensitive to sound as its intensity increases. Decibels are a logarithmic scale of relative loudness. A difference of approx. 1 dB is the minimum perceptible change in volume, 3 dB is a moderate change in volume, and about 10 dB is an apparent doubling of volume.

* 0 dB is the threshold of hearing, 130 dB is the threshold of pain.

* Whisper: 15-25 dB

* Quiet background: about 35 dB

* Normal home or office background: 40-60 dB

* Normal speaking voice: 65-70 dB

* Orchestral climax: 105 dB

* Live Rock music: 120 dB+

* Jet aircraft: 140-180 dB

Diaphragm: The interface between the air and the electronic components which allows the conversion of sound to electrical signals and visa versa.

Diffraction: A change in the direction of a wave front that is caused by the wave moving past an obstacle.

Dipole: An open-back speaker that radiates sound equally front and rear. The front and rear waves are out of phase and cancellation will occur when the wavelengths are long enough to "wrap around". The answer is a large, wide baffle or to enclose the driver creating a monopole.

Direct Current (DC): Current that moves in only one direction.

Dispersion: The spreading of sound waves as they leave a source. The spreading of sound waves as they leave a source.

Diversity: A reception technique by which two antennas are utilized to eliminate dropouts that occur when multiple signals arrive at the receiver at different times. A dropout can either be the result of a weak signal, causing a hissing sound, or a lapse in the silencing circuitry, which results in a popping noise. A diversity system constantly monitors the antennas to see which is providing the stronger signal at any given moment so that the receiver can take the strongest signal. A True Diversity system goes one step further by using two separate receivers housed in a single unit. Whichever receiver produces the stronger signal is the one that is used.

Distortion: Anything that alters the musical signal. There are many forms of distortion, some of which are more audible than others. Distortion specs are often given for electronic equipment which are quite meaningless. As in all specifications, unless you have a thorough understanding of the whole situation, you will not be able to make conclusions about the sonic consequences.

DIY: Abbreviation for Do - It - Yourself. In audio, the most common DIY is building speakers but some hobbyists build everything from pre-amps to amplifiers to DACs.

Dolby Digital: Is a five-channel system consisting of left, center, right and left rear, right rear channels. All processing is done in the digital domain. Unlike Dolby Prologic in which the rear effects channels are frequency limited to approx. 100-7000Hz, Dolby Digital rear channels are specified to contain the full 20-20Khz frequency content. The AC3 standard also has a separate subwoofer channel for the lowest frequencies.

Dolby Digital EX Surround: Also referred to as Dolby Digital 6.1, adds a rear, center channel to the existing left, center, right and rear speakers. This format requires a 6.1 processor or receiver and DVDs that are 6.1 encoded.

Dolby Prologic: Is a four-channel system consisting of left, center, right and rear channel, (the single rear channel is usually played through two speakers).

Dome Tweeter: A high frequency speaker with a dome-shaped diaphragm.A high frequency speaker with a dome-shaped diaphragm.

Double (Dual) Voice Coil (DVC): A voice coil with two windings, generally used in woofers. Each voice coil can be connected to a stereo channel, or both voice coils can be wired in parallel or series to a single channel.

DTS: Digital Theater System. A multi-channel encoding/decoding system. Used in some movie theaters. Also now included in some home-theater processors. A competitor to Dolby Digital.

DSP: Digital Signal Processing. DSP can be used to create equalization, compression, etc. of a digital signal.

DVD: Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc. A relatively new standard that seeks to combine better-than-laser-disc quality video with better-than-CD quality audio in a disc the size of a CD. Requires special players. Seems to be a viable candidate to replace both Laser Discs and CDs, but the jury is still out.

Dynamic Headroom: The ability of an audio device to respond to musical peaks. For example, an amplifier may only be capable of a sustained 100 watts, but may be able to achieve peaks of 200 watts for the fraction of a second required for an intense, quick sound. In this example the dynamic headroom would equal 3 db.

Dynamic range: The range between the loudest and the softest sounds that are in a piece of music, or that can be reproduced by a piece of audio equipment without distortion (a ratio expressed in decibels). In speech, the range rarely exceeds 40 dB; in music, it is greatest in orchestral works, where the range may be as much as 75 dB.

EBP: Efficiency Bandwidth Product. A guide that helps a designer determine whether a driver is more suitable for a sealed or ported enclosure. EBP of less than 50 indicates the driver should be used in a sealed, 50 - 90 indicates flexible design options, over 90 indicates best for a ported enclosure. EBP = Fs / Qes

Efficiency rating: The loudspeaker parameter that gives the level of sound output when measured at a prescribed distance with a standard level of electrical energy fed into the speaker. The loudspeaker parameter that gives the level of sound output when measured at a prescribed distance with a standard level of electrical energy fed into the speaker.

Electronic Crossover: Uses active circuitry to send signals to appropriate drivers. More efficient than passive crossovers. Uses active circuitry to send signals to appropriate drivers. More efficient than passive crossovers.

Electrostatic Speaker: A speaker that radiates sound from a large diaphragm that is suspended between high-voltage grids.

Equalizer: Electronic set of filters used to boost or attenuate certain frequencies.

Euphonic: Pleasing. As a descriptive audio term, usually refers to a coloration or inaccuracy that non-the-less may be sonically pleasing.

Extension: How extended a range of frequencies the device can reproduce accurately. Bass extension refers to how low a frequency tone will the system reproduce, high-frequency extension refers to how high in frequency will the system play.

Farad: The basic unit of capacitance. A capacitor has a value of one farad when it can store one coulomb of charge with one volt across it.

Fb: The tuned frequency of a ported box.

Fc or Fcb: The system resonance frequency of a driver in a sealed box. The system resonance frequency of a driver in a sealed box.

Feedback: Audio feedback, aka the Larsen effect, occurs when a sound loop exists between an audio input (microphone or guitar pickup) and an audio output (loudspeaker). This means a signal is received by a microphone, amplified and passed out of a loudspeaker. If the microphone can then receive the sound from the loudspeaker, a looping effect will be created. If too much sound looping occurs, the signal will "run away" and quickly degrade into an oscillation at some frequency. The resulting sound is a "squeal", "howl" or a combination of both. While audio feedback is usually undesirable, musicians and bands such as Jimi Hendrix, Robert Ashley, The Beatles, The Who and Nirvana have employed it with much success. Desirable feedback can be created with FX equipment using a simple delay of about 50 milliseconds feedback into the mixing console. The fader controls the volume of the feedback.

Filter: An electrical circuit or mechanical device that removes or attenuates energy at certain frequencies. . An electrical circuit or mechanical device that removes or attenuates energy at certain frequencies. .

Flat Response: The faithful reproduction of an audio signal; specifically, the variations in output level of less than 1 dB above or below a median level over the audio spectrum.

F3: The roll-off frequency at which the driver's response is down -3dB from the level of it's midband response.

Foley Sound Effects: Pre-recorded sounds used to enhance the soundtrack with action sounds in the final mixing process, e.g. receding footsteps, falling rain, and opening doors. Jack Foley (1891-1967) pioneered the art of adding sound effects to movie soundtracks using mechanical devices like springs (comic effect), flapping cards (machine guns), and snapping celery (bones breaking). Nowadays, Foley sound effects use modern technology to gain some or all of the same results. But like the original mechanical sounds these are pre-recorded to enhance content in movies, as well as other media.

Fletcher-Munson curve: Our sensitivity to sound depends on its frequency and volume. Human ears are most sensitive to sounds in the midrange. At lower volume levels humans are less sensitive to sounds away from the midrange, bass and treble sounds "seem" reduced in intensity at lower listening levels.

Free Air Resonance: The natural resonant frequency of a driver when operating outside an enclosure.

Frequency: The range of human hearing is commonly given as 20-20,000Hz (20Hz-20kHz). One hertz (Hz) represents one cycle per second, 20Hz represents 20 cycles per second and so on. Lower numbers are lower frequencies

Frequency agile (agility): Frequency agile devices adaptively learn which frequencies to skip over to avoid interference.

Fs: The frequency of resonance for a driver in free air.

Full-range: A speaker designed to reproduce all or most of the sound spectrum.

Fundamental: The lowest frequency of a note in a complex wave form or chord.

Gain: To increase in level. The function of a volume control.

Golden Ratio: The ratio of depth, width, and height based on the Greek Golden Rectangle. Often applied to speaker boxes or listening room design. The Ratio: W = 1.0, Depth = 0.618W, Height = 1.618W. The ratio of depth, width, and height based on the Greek Golden Rectangle. Often applied to speaker boxes or listening room design. The Ratio: W = 1.0, Depth = 0.618W, Height = 1.618W.

Grain: Listening term. A sonic analog of the grain seen in photos. A sort of "grittiness" added to the sound.

Ground: Refers to a point of (usually) zero voltage, and can pertain to a power circuit or a signal circuit. In car audio, the single most important factor to avoid unwanted noise is finding and setting a good ground.

Haas effect: If sounds arrive from several sources, the ears and brain will identify only the nearest. In other words, if our ears receive similar sounds coming from various sources, the brain will latch onto the sound that arrives first. If the time difference is up to 50 milliseconds, the early arrival sound can dominate the later arrival sound, even if the later arrival is as much as 10 dB louder. The discovery of this effect is attributed to Halmut Haas in 1949.

Harmonics: Also called overtones, these are vibrations at frequencies that are multiples of the fundamental. Harmonics extend without limit beyond the audible range. They are characterized as even-order and odd-order harmonics. A second-order harmonic is two times the frequency of the fundamental; a third order is three times the fundamental; a fourth order is four times the fundamental; and so forth. Each even-order harmonic: second, fourth, sixth, etc.-is one octave or multiples of one octave higher than the fundamental; these even-order overtones are therefore musically related to the fundamental. Odd-order harmonics, on the other hand: third, fifth, seventh, and up-create a series of notes that are not related to any octave overtones and therefore may have an unpleasant sound. Audio systems that emphasize odd-order harmonics tend to have a harsh, hard quality.

HDCD: High-Definition Compact Disc. A proprietary system by Pacific Microsonics that requires special encoding during the recording process. Some observers report HDCD discs as having better sound. To gain the benefits requires having special HDCD in your CD player.

Headroom: The ability of an amp to go beyond its rated power for short durations in order to reproduce musical peaks without distortion. This capability is often dependent on the power supply used in the design.

Head Unit: The in dash control center of a car audio system, usually consisting of an internal low powered amp, AM/FM receiver, and either a tape or CD player (or both).

Hearing Sensitivity: The human ear is less sensitive at low frequencies than in the midrange. Turn your volume knob down and notice how the bass seems to"disappear". To hear low bass requires an adequate SPL level. To hear 25Hz requires a much higher SPL level than to hear 250Hz. In the REAL world, low frequency sounds are reproduced by large objects; bass drums, string bass, concert grand pianos, etc. Listen to the exhaust rumble of a 454 cubic inch V8 engine vs. the whine of the little four banger. The growl of a lion vs. the meow of your favorite kitty. As frequency decreases we perceive more by feel than actual hearing and we lose our ability to hear exact pitch.

Hertz (Hz): A unit of measurement denoting frequency, originally measured as Cycles Per Second, (CPS): 20 Hz = 20 CPS. Kilohertz (kHz) are hertz measured in multiples of 1,000.

High-Pass Filter: A circuit that allows high frequencies to pass but rolls off the low frequencies. When adding a subwoofer it is often desirable to roll-off the low frequencies to the main amplifiers and speakers. This will allow the main speakers to play louder with less distortion. High-pass filters used at speaker level are usually not very effective unless properly designed for a specific main speaker (see impedance below).

Hiss: Audio noise that sounds like air escaping from a tire.

Home Theater: An audio system designed to reproduce the theater sound experience while viewing film at home. Minimally consisting of a Dolby Pro Logic® surround sound receiver, left and right front speakers, a center channel speaker, and two surround speakers. These plus optional subwoofer(s), surround speaker(s), and digital formats such as Dolby Digital® can enhance the viewing experience by drastically improving the sound quality of movie soundtracks.

Hum: Audio electronic noise that has a steady low frequency pitch.

Imaging: Listening term. A good stereo system can provide a stereo image that has width, depth and height. The best imaging systems will define a nearly holographic re-creation of the original sound.

Impedance: Impedance is a measure of electrical resistance specified in ohms. Speakers are commonly listed as 4 or 8 ohms but speakers are reactive devices and a nominal 8 ohm speaker might measure from below 4 ohms to 60 or more ohms over its frequency range. This varying impedance curve is different for each speaker model and makes it impossible to design a really effective "generic" speaker level high-pass filter. Active devices like amplifiers typically have an input impedance between about 10,000-100,000 ohms and the impedance is the same regardless of frequency.

Inductance (L): The capability of a coil to store energy in a magnetic field surrounding it. It produces an impedance to an ac current. Inductors are commonly used in audio as low pass crossovers.

Infinite Baffle: A baffle that completely isolates the back wave of a driver from the front without a standard enclosure

Intercom: (intercommunication device) an electronic two-way communication system with at least one microphone and loudspeaker at each station for localized use. Utilizing a variety of microphone/speaker units that connect either wirelessly or via cable to a central control panel, individuals can use intercoms for a number of purposes. Most commonly intercoms are found in control and command applications including (but not limited to) warehouses and construction sites; film studios and theaters; and military commands and search and rescue operations.

IR (Infrared): IR refers to the section of the electromagnetic spectrum located between the red of visible light and the microwave bands (750 nm to 1 mm). IR wavelengths are used in the same way as radio waves for wireless connections between transmitters and receivers in audio systems. See More.

Infrasonic (Subsonic) Filter: A filter designed to remove extremely low frequency (25Hz or lower) noise from the audio signal. Useful for Ported box designs.

Interconnects: Cables that are used to connect components at a low signal level. Examples include CD player to receiver, pre-amplifier to amplifier, etc. Most interconnects use a shielded construction to prevent interference. Most audio interconnects use RCA connections although balanced interconnects use XLR connections.

Isobarik Enclosure: A trade name for a compound enclosure.

Jitter: A tendency towards lack of synchronization caused by electrical changes. Technically the unexpected (and unwanted) phase shift of digital pulses over a transmission medium. A discrepancy between when a digital edge transition is supposed to occur and when it actually does occur - think of it as nervous digital, or maybe a digital analogy to wow and flutter.

Kevlar: Material developed by Dupont that is has an exceptional strength to weight ratio. Used extensively in bullet-proof vests, skis, sailboat hulls, etc. In audio, used in many variations for speaker cones.

Le: The inductance of a driver's voice coil, typically measured at 1 kHz in millihenries (mH).

Line Level: CD players, VCRs, Laserdisc Players etc., are connected in a system at line level, usually with shielded RCA type interconnects. Line level is before power amplification. In a system with separate pre-amp and power-amp the pre-amp output is line level. Many surround sound decoders and receivers have line level outputs as well.

Line-Source: A speaker device that is long and tall. Imagine a narrow dowel dropped flat onto the water's surface. The line-source has very limited vertical dispersion, but excellent horizontal dispersion.

Lobing: Any time more than one speaker device covers the same part of the frequency range there will be some unevenness in the output. (Picture the waves from one pebble dropped into a calm pool vs. two pebbles dropped several inches apart.) Lobing means that the primary radiation pattern(s) is at some angle above or below the centerline between the two drivers. Good crossover design takes this into account.

Low Frequency Extension: Manufacturers, writers and salespeople toss around all kinds of numbers and terminology that can be very confusing and misleading. "This $300 shoebox sized sub is flat to 20Hz". Right, in your dreams . . . How is that cheap, tiny box and driver going to reproduce a 56 foot wavelength with enough power to be heard? It will not to it. Good bass reproduction requires moving a lot of air and playback at realistic volumes. Remember the rule of needing to move four times the air to go down one octave. Example: You have a pair of good quality tower speakers with 10" woofers that produce good bass down to around 40Hz. The salesman is telling you that his little subwoofer with a single 10" woofer will extend your system down to 20Hz. If you've been paying attention, you know that his woofer will have to move eight times as much air as each of your 10" woofers, not likely. Adding that subwoofer to your system might give you more apparent bass energy, and in fact may help a little with movie special effects, but it is unlikely to extend bass response significantly.

Low-Pass Filter: A circuit that allows low frequencies to pass but rolls off the high frequencies. Most subwoofers have low-pass filters built in and many surround sound decoders have subwoofer outputs that have been low-pass filtered.

Loudness: Perceived volume.

Loudness can be deceiving. For example, adding distortion will make a given volume level seem louder than it actually is.

Magnetic-Planar Speakers: A type of speaker that uses a flat diaphragm with a voice coil etched or bonded to it to radiate sound. If the magnets are both in front of and behind the diaphragm, it becomes a push-pull magnetic-planar.

Maximum power rating: A meaningless specification.

Microfarads (mF): A measurement of capacitance.

Midbass: Mid frequency bass, usually frequencies just above the sub-bass range, from around 100 - 400 Hz or so.

Midrange: A speaker, (driver), used to reproduce the middle range of frequencies. A midrange is combined with a woofer for low frequencies and a tweeter for high frequencies to form a complete, full-range system.

Millihenries (mH): A measurement of inductance.

Monopole: Any speaker that encloses the backwave of the speaker device even though part of this backwave may be released via. a port or duct. The primary radiation at most frequencies will be from the driver front. If the driver is not enclosed it becomes a dipole.

MOSFET: Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors. Used in most modern, quality car audio amplifiers in the power supply (and sometimes in the output stage). MOSFET's run cooler than normal bipolar transistors, and have a faster switching speed.

Muddy: Listening term. A sound that is poorly defined, sloppy or vague. For example, a "muddy" bass is often boomy with all the notes tending to run together.

Muting: To greatly decrease the volume level. Many receivers and pre-amplifiers have a muting control which allows the volume level to be cut way down without changing the master volume control. Great for when the phone rings.

Nonlinearity: What goes into a system comes out changed by its passage through that system-in other words, distorted. The ideal of an audio component and an audio system is to be linear, or nondistorting, with the image on one side of the mirror identical to the image on the other side.

Octave: An octave is a doubling or halving of frequency. 20Hz-40Hz is often considered the bottom octave. Each octave you add on the bottom requires that your speakers move four times as much air!

Ohm: A unit of electrical resistance or impedance.

Ohm's Law: The basic law of electric circuits. It states that the current in amperes in a circuit is equal to the voltage [E] in volts divided by the resistance [R] in ohms; thus, I = E/R.

Opaque Projector: Similar to an overhead projector, with the added unique feature of being able to display three dimensional objects, such as book covers, photographs, and single sheets of paper.

Out of Phase: When speakers are mounted in reverse polarity, i.e., one speaker is wired +/+ and -/- from the amp and the other is wired +/- and -/+. Bass response will be very thin due to cancellation.

Output: The sound level produced by a loudspeaker. The sound level produced by a loudspeaker.

Overload: A condition in which a system is given too high of an input level. A common cause of distortion or product failure.

Overtones: See Harmonics.

Passive Crossover: Uses inductors (coils) and capacitors to direct proper frequencies to appropriate drivers. These crossover systems can be simple (First Order = 1 component @ -6 dB/octave slope) to complex (Fourth Order = 4 components @ -24 dB/octave slope).

Passive Radiator: A device that looks just like an ordinary driver, except it has no magnet or voice coil. A passive radiator is usually a highly compliant device, with a similar cone material and surround found on regular active drivers. The radiator must usually be at least as large (or larger) than the driver it is aligned with. The passive radiator is tuned to Fb and used in place of a port.

PCM: Pulse Code Modulation. A means of digital encoding.

Pe: Driver's rated RMS power handling capability.

Peak: The maximum amplitude of a voltage or current.

Peak power rating: Another meaningless specification unless references are given.

Peak-to-Peak power rating: See above.

Phase Coherence: The relationship and timing of sounds that come from different drivers (subs, mids, tweets) mounted in different locations.

Phase Distortion: A type of audible distortion caused by time delay between various parts of the signal.

Planar Source: Most electrostatics and magnetic planars have a large surface area. Think of a wide board dropped flat onto the water surface. The sound can be extremely coherent, but the listening window is effectively limited to being directly on-axis of both the left and right planar speaker.

Point-Source: Most multi-unit loudspeakers try to approximate a point-source. Think of a pebble dropped into the water and the expanding wave pattern away from impact. Obviously it is difficult to integrate multiple point-sources into a truly coherent expanding wave. The best designs do quite well with careful driver engineering and crossover development.

Polarity: A speaker, for example, has a positive and a negative input terminal. Connecting a battery directly to the speaker will result in the diaphragm moving outward. If you reverse the battery leads, the diaphragm will move inward. Caution: Too high of a voltage battery will also burn out the speaker!

Ported Enclosure: A type of speaker enclosure that uses a duct or port to improve efficiency at low frequencies.

Power (P): The time rate of doing work or the rate at which energy is used. One equation for Power:

P = Volts^2 / Impedance

Push-Pull Configuration: One driver is mounted normally, the second is mounted so that it faces into the enclosure, both sharing the same internal volume and wired out of phase with one another. Although electrically out of phase with one another, the drivers are acoustically in phase since they move in the same direction. This alignment theoretically reduces second order harmonic distortion.

Push-pull: Most common type of amplification that amplifies the negative and positive sides of the waveform separately. Allows for much higher power output than single-ended.

Pre-amplifier: Or Pre-amp is a device that takes a source signal, such as from a turntable, tape-deck or CD player, and passes this signal on to a power-amplifier(s). The pre-amp may have a number of controls such as source selector switches, balance, volume and possibly tone-controls.

Q or Quality Factor: Is a measure of damping. Modern home speaker systems have Q values ranging from < .5 to approx. 2.0. Q values < .7 have no peak in the response. Q values around .5 are considered to be optimally damped, having a Bessel response. A Q of 1.0 is a Butterworth response. The lower the Q value, the better the transient response of the system, (less or no ringing), but the tradeoff is a larger required box size and the response begins to rolloff at a higher frequency. Another way to consider it is that the lower the Q, the more gradual the rolloff but the rolloff begins at a higher frequency.

Radio-frequency interference (RFI): Radio-frequency sound waves can be caused by many sources including; shortwave radio equipment, household electrical line, computers and many other electronic devices. RFI sometimes interferes with audio signals, causing noise and other distortions.

RCA Connector: "Phono" plugs, used primarily as low-level connections between Phonographs/CD players/Tuners/Recievers/Amplifiers

Receiver: An audio component that combines a pre-amplifier, amplifier(s) and tuner in one chassis. A Dolby Prologic Receiver also contains a Dolby Prologic decoder for surround sound.

Resistance (Re): In electrical or electronic circuits, a characteristic of a material that opposes the flow of electrons. Speakers have resistance that opposes current.

Resonant frequency: Any system has a resonance at some particular frequency. At that frequency, even a slight amount of energy can cause the system to vibrate. A stretched piano string, when plucked, will vibrate for a while at a certain fundamental frequency. Plucked again, it will again vibrate at that same frequency. This is its natural or resonant frequency. While this is the basis of musical instruments, it is undesirable in music-reproducing instruments like audio equipment.

Reverberation: Reverberation (sometimes called reverb or " echo ") occurs when a sound persists after its source stops emitting it. Sometimes reverberation is intentional - as in sound "effects" which can be added to an audio source during a recording or a live presentation. At other times reverb can be unintentional or even a problem. Acoustical engineers spend significant effort trying to reduce reverb in large venues, such as cathedrals or opera houses. A far cry from the Greek myth of Echo, modern engineers can reduce reverb with new acoustically absorbent material, and/or add reverb to sound tracks with the touch of a button and sophisticated digital software.

Ribbon Speaker: A type of speaker that uses a pleated conductor suspended between magnets. Most true ribbons are tweeters only. Sometimes confused with magnetic-planar speakers.

RMS (root-mean-square): The square root of the mean of the sum of the squares. Commonly used as the effective value of measuring a sine wave's electrical power. A standard in amplifier measurements.

Roll-off (cut-off): The attenuation that occurs at the lower or upper frequency range of a driver, network, or system. The roll-off frequency is usually defined as the frequency where response is reduced by -3 dB.

Satellite: A satellite speaker is usually fairly small, and does not reproduce the lowest frequencies. Usually meant to be used with a woofer or subwoofer.

Sd: The effective piston area of a driver. The effective piston area of a driver.

Sealed enclosure: An air tight enclosure that completely isolates the back wave of the driver from the front. Very tight, defined sound (with Qtc = 0.707) with very good transient response and power handling.

Sensitivity: A measurement of how much power is required for a loudspeaker to achieve a certain output level. The general standard used is on-axis SPL (Sound Pressure Level) at 1 watt input, 1 meter distance.

Signal-to-noise (SN) Ratio: The range or distance between the noise floor (the noise level of the equipment itself) and the music signal.

Sine wave: The waveform of a pure alternating current or voltage. It deviates about a zero point to a positive value and a negative value. Audio signals are sine waves or combinations of sine waves. The waveform of a pure alternating current or voltage. It deviates about a zero point to a positive value and a negative value. Audio signals are sine waves or combinations of sine waves.

Single-ended: Type of amplification often, (but not always), using vacuum tubes. Typically low power output, low damping factor and relatively high distortion. Single-ended enthusiasts claim that the sound quality is more "real".

Sound Pressure Level (Spl): Given in decibels (DB) is an expression of loudness or volume. A 10db increase in SPL represents a doubling in volume. Live orchestral music reaches brief peaks in the 105db range and live rock easily goes over 120db.

Soundstage: A listening term the refers to the placement of a stereo image in a fashion that replicates the original performance. A realistic soundstage has proportional width, depth and height.

Sound Waves: Sound waves can be thought of like the waves in water. Frequency determines the length of the waves; amplitude or volume determines the height of the waves. At 20Hz, the wavelength is 56 feet long! These long waves give bass its penetrating ability, (why you can hear car boomers blocks away).

Speaker Level: Taken from the speaker terminals. This signal has already been amplified.

Spectral balance: Balance across the entire frequency spectrum of the audio range.

Spider: The flexible material that supports the former, voice coil, and inside portion of the cone within the speaker frame.

Standing wave: A buildup of sound level at a particular frequency that is dependent upon the dimensions of a resonant room, car interior, or enclosure. It occurs when the rate of energy loss equals the rate of energy input into the system. This is what you hear when you listen into a sea shell.

Stereo: From the Greek meaning solid. The purpose of stereo is not to give you separate right and left channels, but to provide the illusion of a three-dimensional, holographic image between the speakers.

Subwoofer: A speaker designed exclusively for low-frequency reproduction. A true subwoofer should be able to at least reach into the bottom octave (20-40Hz). There are many "subwoofers" on the market that would be more accurately termed "woofers".

Surround (suspension): The outer suspension of a speaker cone; holds the diaphragm in place but allows it to move when activated. Usually made of foam or rubber.

Surround Sound: Sound extracted from the stereo signal sent to smaller rear or side speakers used in a home theater.

Thiele/Small parameters: The numbers that specify the behavior of drivers, as defined and analyzed by two engineers, Neville Thiele and Richard Small.

THX: Refers to a series of specifications for surround sound systems. Professional THX is used in commercial movie theaters. Home THX specifications are not published and manufacturers must sign non-disclosure waivers before submitting their products for THX certification. Manufacturers that receive certification for their products must pay a royalty on units sold.

Timbre: The quality of a sound that distinguishes it from other sounds of the same pitch and volume. The distinctive tone of an instrument or a singing voice.

Timbral: Refers to the overall frequency balance of a system. In a perfect world, all systems would have complete tonal neutrality. With current technology, this ideal is approached but not met. Listening to many equally "good" speakers will reveal that some sound warmer than others, some sound brighter etc. In a surround sound system it is important that all speakers have a close timbral match for the highest degree of sonic realism.

Total harmonic distortion (THD): Refers to a device adding harmonics that were not in the original signal. For example: a device that is fed a 20Hz sine wave that is also putting out 40Hz, 80Hz etc. Not usually a factor in most modern electronics, but still a significant design problem in loudspeakers.

Transducer: A device that converts one form of energy to another. Playback transducers are the phono cartridge, which changes mechanical vibrations into electrical energy, and the loudspeakers, which change it back, from electrical energy coming from the amp to mechanical movement of the diaphragm, causing audible pressure changes in the air.

Transmission Line: Also referred to as a T-line. A type of bass cabinet in which the back wave follows a relatively long, usually damped path before being ported to the outside. T-lines are usually rather large and costly cabinets to manufacture. Opinions vary widely over the "best" type of bass cabinet, but much has to do with how well a given design, such as a transmission line is implemented.

Transient response: The ability of a component to respond quickly and accurately to transients. Transient response affects reproduction of the attack and decay characteristics of a sound.

Transparency: Listening term. An analog that can be best "pictured" in photography. The more "transparent" the sound, the clearer the auditory picture.

Transients: Instantaneous changes in dynamics, producing steep wave fronts.

Tri-wiring: The use of three pairs of speaker wire from the same amplifier to separate bass, midrange and treble inputs on the speakers.

Tuning Frequency: The helmholtz resonant frequency of a box. Also refers to the resonant frequency of other types of systems.

Tweeter: A speaker, (driver), used to reproduce the higher range of frequencies. To form a full-range system, a tweeter needs to be combined with a woofer, (2-way system), or a woofer and midrange, (3-way system).

UHF: A UHF (Ultra High Frequency) electronic device transmits and/or receives a signal in a specified band or range of radio frequencies specifically reserved by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). See More.

Unity gain: A circuit with unity gain will not increase or decrease the volume level.

USB: USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a standardized serial computer interface that allows peripherals to communicate with a host computer or PA system using a USB cable. It improves plug-and-play capabilities by allowing devices to be connected and disconnected without rebooting the host (also known as hot swapping). USB provides power, from the host, to low-consumption devices such as personal media players, digital cameras, microphones, headsets, or any device with a USB port. Installing individual device drivers is not required. Recently, PA system manufacturers have been including built-in USB ports into their systems for additional media playing options.

Vas: The equivalent volume of compliance, which specifies a volume of air having the same compliance as the suspension system of a driver.

Vb: The total box volume, usually in cubic feet or liters. Used specifically in sealed and ported designs.

Vf: The front volume of a bandpass design. The front volume of a bandpass design.

VHF: A VHF (Very High Frequency) electronic device transmits and/or receives a signal in a specified band or range of radio frequencies specifically reserved by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission). See More.

Vr: The rear volume of a bandpass design.

Voice coil: The wire wound around the speaker former. The former is mechanically connected to the speaker cone and causes the cone to vibrate in response to the audio current in the voice coil.

Volt (E): The unit of measurement used to measure how much "pressure" is used to force electricity through a circuit.

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Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stani Mika k'o Boga te molim! Sve priznajem! JA sam vaki-naki, ja dilam, ja slušam Cecu, ja sam bio u knjižnici u Dallasu..... Nemoj više! :msn-rofl: :msn-rofl: :msn-rofl: :msn-rofl:
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  • 4 months later...

El promena vremena ili sta? :dubbio:

Od promene vremena mi se koči leva strana. Trne, boli... Neurolog kaže da su mi krvni sudovi ka mozgu odlični, EKG odličan, krvni pritisak, odličan... Samo što nisam "vukovac", a opet, ne prestaje da boli, steže, ubija u pojam... Mislim da slabo ko šta novo radi pa još i to predstavi ovde. (il nema para, il nema vremena, il nema inspiracije, il nema ništa od navedenog) Mene kad malo uhvati melanholija onda brljam u blog, ostatak vremena prčkam aktivnu skretnicu i čikam je da zazuji... :) Do kablova za zvučnike još nisam stigao... Na to nemam pametnog komentara jer nikada nisam razmišljao o tome, nekako sam uvek rađe slušao muziku...
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  • 10 months later...

Sjajan post o mainstream, kako autor kaze, audiofilistinizmu:

http://www.diyaudio....tml#post2873024

Izvod:

"Audiophile ideas seem to travel as a set. Let me see if I can list them.

Feedback is bad.

Digital is bad.

Solid state is bad.

Capacitors are bad.

Cables are bad.

Engineers are bad.

Measurement is bad.

Objective testing is bad.

................

Audiophilistinism is not about finding solutions, rather it is about rejecting solutions. It is about one-upmanship, snobbery, retrogression. No solution will ever be good enough, and the profound hope of every audiophile is that intrinsically linear amplifying devices will never become available, because that would shoot the fox. If they should, then true creativity will be required, because a reason for rejecting that solution will then have to be invented.

The unspeakable in pursuit of the inaudible."

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  • 6 years later...

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