The Signal to Noise Ratio is a ratio of desired signal to undesired signal (noise) in the average power level of a transmission. The signal is what you are measuring that is the result of the presence of your analyte. Noise is extraneous information that can interfere with or alter the signal. It can not …
The Need for Wireless Speakers A common complaint against home audio systems has been the cables that interconnect the speakers to the audio receiver, tuner, cd player, or stereo units. As more and more channels are added to modern home audio equipment the problem of connecting the speakers to the audio sources has exacerbated. Running …
One of the significant developments with the widespread adoption of the personal computer for home, business, and school use is the digitalization of media and the subsequent mass adaptation by consumers and industry. While digital media is not a new concept, it has only recently made its way into the “normal” household and is commonly …
A microphone is a device that converts acoustic power into electric power. Both the acoustic power and the electric power have similar wave characteristics that convert sound waves into electric voltages that eventually convert back into sound waves through speakers. Microphone were used with the first telephones, and then with radio transmitters soon after. Sir …
Noise-canceling headphones are headsets that have the ability not just to block out noise but to cancel it using the properties of sound waves. Sound waves have compression and rarefaction characteristics similar to the crests and troughs of a transverse wave. They also have amplitude and frequency characteristics. These characteristics of sound waves are used …
A banana plug is mainly used to insert speaker wire coming from an amplifier or receiver directly into the speaker. The banana plug is named after its shape. It is a slender, but bulging prong that is similar to a banana. However, unlike bananas, the banana plug is not bent, but straight. Other uses for …
Most people usually look to Signal to Noise Ratio to measure the signal quality of either audio or video communications. Signal to noise ratio is usually written either S/N or SNR. Most of the time the signal to noise ratio is measured in decibels. A decibel is a measure of power or loudness. Not to …
High Definition Audio, also known as HD Audio, is an audio standard created by Intel to be used on their chipsets, i.e. it is a standard for high-quality on-board audio. HD Audio was designed to replace the Audio Codec 97 (AC'97) standard that Intel released in 1997. The main achievement of the AC'97 specification was …
Experts in science and technology developed a known digital audio standard, AES/EBU, to handle signals from digital audio systems. It is known officially by the name AES3 and an Audio Engineering Society and the European Broadcasting Union developed it, hence the name. It was first publicized in 1989, but was revised later in 1995, 1998, …
A hydrophone is a type of microphone that is specifically designed to be used under water. Hydrophones depend on piezoelectric transducers to detect sound waves and other pressure waves coming from underwater vehicles, animals, and natural structures. Hydrophones were widely used in World War I, and II to detect U-boats (German submarines) and are still …