Copy of `Superglossary - Home audio `

The wordlist doesn't exist anymore, or, the website doesn't exist anymore. On this page you can find a copy of the original information. The information may have been taken offline because it is outdated.

Superglossary - Home audio Category: Technical and IT > Home audio equipment Date & country: 09/12/2013, USA Words: 524

Component System
This term is used in relation to speaker systems, to indicate a system in which separate mounting ar

Compression
1. An increase in density and pressure in a medium, such as air, caused intermittently by the passag

Compression (Audio)
The process of reducing the dynamic range of a given analog audio program by making the loud parts q

Compression (Data)
The process of packing digital data, such as computer files, more efficiently for the purpose of sto

Compression Driver
Compression drivers are usually dynamic; that is, with a magnet and interacting coil arrangement, an

Compression Wave
A wave propagated by means of the compression of a fluid, such as a sound wave in air. To create sou

Compressor
A type of dynamic range processor which reduces the gain of audio signals which are over an adjustab

Concert Pitch
A standard for the tuning of musical instruments, internationally agreed in 1960, in which the note

Condenser Microphone
A mike that depends on an external power supply or internal battery to electrostatically charge capa

Conductor
Materials along which electrons will flow, making them suitable for use as connecting links in elect

Cone
The cone-shaped diaphragm of a speaker. This is directly attached to the voice coil motor which acti

Connectors
There are several different ways to connect the cables from your receiver or amplifier to your speak

Constant Directivity (Cd) Horn
A horn-loaded high frequency driver that exhibits more or less constant distribution of high-frequen

Coulomb
An amount of electrical charge which contains 6.24 x 1018 of electrons. So there!

Counter Firing
A method for reducing harmonic distortion at low frequencies that involves the use of a secondary co

Cross Talk
1. Undesired capacitive, inductive, or conductive coupling from one circuit, part of a circuit, or c

Crossover
A circuit that divides the frequency spectrum into two or more parts. A crossover acts as a filter,

Crossover Frequencies
The frequencies at which a passive or electronic crossover network divides the audio signals, which

Crossover Network
A unit which divides the audio spectrum into two or more frequency bands (Also see Crossover Frequen

Crossover Slope
The rate at which a crossover circuit attenuates the blocked frequencies. Slope is expressed as deci

Current
The volume or quantum of the flow of electrons through a conductor, as opposed to voltage, which is

Custom File
A feature package that provides intuitive and safe source management for an audio and A/V system. Ex

Cutoff Frequency Filters
The frequency at which a signal falls off by 3 db (the half power point) from it's maximum value. Al

Dac (D-A)
Digital to analog converter. An IC component or circuit that is used to derive or convert an analog

Damper
Part of the suspension connected to the bottom of the speaker cone at the voice coil that centers th

Damping
As Newton observed, an object once set in ,motion will keep on moving unless a restrictive counterfo

Damping Factor
The ratio of rated load impedance to the internal impedance of an amplifier. The higher the value, t

Dc Converter
Since 12 volts limits the amplitude of an audio signal, a group of components within an amplifier co

Dc
Direct Current.

Decay
The time of reduction of the level of a signal immediately after its cessation .

Decibel (Db)
One tenth of a Bel. This is a measurement of the comparative strength of two powers, and can be appl

Delay
A signal processing device or circuit used to delay one or more of the output signals by a controlla

Detachable Face
Occasionally referred to as 'Removable Panel' or 'Theft Deterrent Faceplate', or some variation. Thi

Diaphragm
The part of a speaker driver that moves, producing the sound. Each diaphragm is directly connected t

Diaphragm
This term describes the sound-producing element in a tweeter, or Horn. This is the surface that prod

Die Cast (Basket)
A type of speaker basket or frame that is cast as a single piece of relatively thick, rigid metal. T

Diffraction
A change in the direction and velocity of a wave front that is caused by the wave moving past an obs

Diffuse
Widely spread out or scattered; not concentrated.

Diffuser
A commercial device like a lens or grillwork that diffuses, or scatters sound

Diffusion
The scattering of sound. Diffusion reduces the ability of a listener to pinpoint the actual location

Digital Amplifiers
See article on 'amplifier classes'

Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
A technology for signal processing that combines algorithms and fast number-crunching digital hardwa

Digital Technology
Human beings directly process information in an analog format. That is, our senses directly convey i

Din
Acronym for Deutsche Industrie Norm (Deutsches Institut fuer Normung), the German standardization bo

Dipole
A speaker design that uses two sets of drivers to generate equal amounts of sound both forward and b

Direct And Reflected Sound
The sound that you hear from your listening/viewing position is a combination of the direct sound th

Direct Sound
Sound that arrives at the listeners ear first.. Sound reaching the listening location without reflec

Discrete Output Devices
A separate active unit in an amplifier, capable of performing a single essential function within the

Dispersion
The extent to which a sound emitter yields acoustic radiation over a given area. This is a particula

Displacement
The measurement of cubic volume that an item (such as a speaker or port) takes away from the interna

Distortion
Any departure from a true and accurate reproduction of the original waveform. It can include Noise,

Diversity Tuner
An FM tuning method which employs two antennas. The tuner can switch between the two antennas in ord

Dolby
The most common shared logo or feature between all brands is the Dolby labs' 'double D' symbol. Name

Dolby Digital
Dolby's name for its format for the digital soundtrack system for motion picture playback. Utilizes

Dolby Noise Reduction
Decodes Dolby-encoded cassette tapes during playback to virtually eliminate the tape hiss which is e

Dome Tweeter
Tweeters come in several different types; cones, horns and domes being the most popular. Dome types

Dot Matrix Display
A display type that employs regularly spaced patterned grids of point-source lighting elements. As a

Double Stacked (Magnet)
Two magnets overlaying each other to increase the overall magnetic field. In some designs for home t

Double-Banana Plugs
Are the same as banana plugs, except the positive and negative banana connectors are both fixed in a

Dress
The arrangement of signal leads and wiring for optimum circuit operation, cosmetic appeal, and prote

Driver
An alternate term for

Driver Volume
The amount of enclosure airspace that is displaced by the speaker itself.

Dual Voice Coil
A woofer with two voice coils mounted to a common cone, which can be connected to separate amplifier

Dual-Cone
Many factory installed auto speakers are of the dual cone type. Sometimes also referred to as a 'ful

Dub
A copy or the process of making a copy of a recording on another storage device.

Dust Cover-Cap
A rigid cardboard or plastic dome placed over the opening to the voice coil cylinder in a dynamic co

Dynamic Range
The ratio of the loudest (undistorted) signal to that of the quietest (discernible) signal in a unit

Dynamic Range Suppression
A signal compression technique which raises the level of lower passages without affecting overall vo

Dynamics
When used in music, refers to the varying degree of loudness and softness in a musical performance.

Earth
An electrical connection to the earth, which represents 0 volts or 'ground potential' by way of a me

Easter Egg
A surprise 'extra' coded into DVD's, computer programs or web pages that is accessed by an undocumen

Echo
The effect of a sound and a delayed version of that same sound. A 'Slap-Back Echo' is the original s

Effect
A device which modifies sonic structures creatively with various processing techniques.

Effective Piston Area (Sd)
(measured in square inches or meters) The active radiating area of a speaker cone, including that pa

Efficiency
The ability of an audio system to convert electrical energy (watts) into mechanical energy (Decibels

Efficiency Bandwidth Product (EBP)
A parameter that helps determine the suitability of a driver for a sealed or ported enclosure. An EB

Electrolytic Capacitor
A polarized capacitor with a negative and a positive terminal that is commonly used for DC power fil

Electronic Shock Protection (ESP)
An electronic circuit that stores the audio data stream from a CD or MD in a memory buffer. If the l

Electrostatic Driver
The Electrostatic Driver generates a motive force for its diaphragm by the interaction of electric r

Enclosure
A cabinet in which the various Drivers are housed. This arrangement is absolutely essential if bass

Enclosure Volume
The total amount of internal airspace of an enclosure. Each woofer has an optimal airspace volume th

Enhancer Circuit
An active low pass amplifier section added to some receivers, equalizers, and amplifiers that allows

Equalizer (EQ)
A class of electronic filter circuits designed to augment or adjust electronic or acoustic systems.

Ergonomics
The accessibility and ease of controlling a system in normal operational mode with a minimum of moti

Excursion
The back-and-forth travel of a cone in a dynamic Driver. How loud a speaker can play depends on how

Excursion Limited Power Handling
Based on the maximum amount of power the driver can handle without appreciable distortion. All frequ

Excursion Limited SPL
The maximum sound pressure level the system can produce given an input signal equal to the rated exc

Expander
A type of dynamic range processor which reduces the gain of audio signals which are under an adjusta

Extended Pole Piece
Extended pole pieces on the magnet assembly allow for more voice coil travel, and thus lower Frequen

Fader
Rather like the right to left balance control, however the fader moves the sonic position between th

Farad (F)
The basic unit of capacitance. A capacitor has a capacitance of 1F when a charge of 1 Volt across th

Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT)
A method by which a system is described using an impulse response. Both frequency and time data can

Fb
The tuned frequency of a Vented Enclosure, measured in Hertz. A combination of the resonance frequen

Feedback
See acoustic feedback.

Fidelity
A term used to describe the accuracy of recording, reproduction, or general quality of audio process

Filter
Any of various electric, electronic, acoustic, or optical devices used to reject signals, vibrations

Flat
When a speaker's response is described as 'flat,' that's a good thing. It means that the speaker can

Flat Response
An output signal in which fundamental frequencies and harmonics are in the same proportion as those

Fletcher-Munson Curves
Fletcher and Munson were pioneering researchers who provided the basis of High Fidelity in the '30s.

Flush (Mounting)
Mounting a speaker in such a way that the speaker and its Grill do not protrude above the surroundin