SPDIF, or the Sony/Philips Digital Interconnect Format) is used to carry or transport digital audio signals in consumer electronic equipment such as CD and DVD players, PC audio cards, and car audio systems over short distances. The digital signal can be carried over fiber optic (TOSLINK connectors) or coaxial cable (RCA connectors) and is also …
A breakout box is a device in which a multi-cable electric line is split into its component cables in order to allow for testing or signal enhancement. There are two main types of breakout boxes. They include breakout boxes that are built to enhance or customize audio or visual signals and breakout boxes that are …
There are many ways to measure sound quality. Many measurements have been created to specifically measure and rate the quality of sound. Here are a few of the most common types of measurements used for sound quality. THD THD stands for Total Harmonic Distortion. It is a measurement taken to view the total amount of …
Lossy compression is a type of compression that removes unnecessary components of a file to reduce the file’s size. Lossy compression is often used in multimedia files, such as still images and audio files that hold a significant amount of redundant information. Lossy compression results in a reduction of quality of the file that is …
TOSLINK or Toshiba – LINK is a connection standard for digital audio streams. It is a standard which uses fiber optic cables. The important feature of fiber optic cables is that they convert audio signals into light impulses as opposed to electric signals. TOSLINK cables usually transmit their signals as the red LED lights. The …
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 …
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, …
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 …
FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) is an audio format similar to MP3, but it is a lossless encoding format, meaning that audio is compressed in FLAC without any loss in quality. FLAC is unique as it is the fastest and most widely supported lossless audio codec, and the only one that at once is non-proprietary, …
Conceptually, hypersonic sound (HSS) systems do to sound what laser technology does to light – focus sound into a tight beam that can travel great distances without dispersing. HSS systems can create sound that is meant only for a certain individual(s), not for everyone who just happens to be in the vicinity. HSS Speakers versus …