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

Mosfet Power Supply
A power supply that employs MOSFET transistors to convert DC to AC. Offers superior thermal stabilit

Motor Structure
The part of the speaker that moves a diaphragm to produce sound. The motor structure basically consi

Mounting Depth
The amount of physical space required to mount a Driver without having any of its parts touch object

Mounting Ring
Often used to describe the circular gasket seal incorporated into the edge of a speaker, traditional

MP3
Is the file extension for MPEG, audio layer 3. Layer 3 is one of three coding schemes (layer 1, laye

Multi-Tracking
The process of recording a multi-part performance on separate tracks at different times which allows

Multimeter
A common term used to describe a VOM. A multimeter usually has the ability to measure volts, ohms, a

Mute
A control found on receivers, some mixers, and certain signal processing units that silences (mutes)

Near Field Sound
Typically, any point where the direct sound emission is measurably louder than the reflections of th

Negative Feedback
The dynamic comparison of a fraction of the output signal to the input signal at the input to an amp

Negative LCD
A liquid crystal display employing a dark backfield with lit elements. This results in a primarily d

Neodymium
A material used in some speaker magnets. Neodymium magnets are smaller and more powerful than conven

Neodymium Magnet
A magnet material providing 7.5 times the magnetic strength of standard magnetic materials.

Net Volume
The amount of airspace that is enclosed within a speaker's enclosure. This does not include the airs

Noise
Perceived sounds not in the original soundtrack. Such things as hiss, crackle, pops, hum, and buzz,

Noise Floor
Normally the lowest threshold of useful signal level (although sometimes audible signals below the n

Noise Gate
An expander with a fixed 'infinite' downward expansion ratio. Used extensively for controlling unwan

Nominal Impedance
The minimum impedance a loudspeaker presents to an amplifier, directly related to the power the spea

Non-Delay Play
A disc changer feature with significantly reduced silence between the time one disc is finished, and

Non-Lossy Compression
A form of data compression which seeks out chunks of data which are identical, replacing them with m

Notch Filter
A special type of cut-only equalizer used to attenuate ( no boosting ) a narrow band of frequencies.

Nyquists Theorem
This states that a sound must be sampled at at least twice its highest analog frequency in order to

Octave
In audio, the interval between any two frequencies having a ratio of 2 to 1. One octave up from 100

Ohm
The measurement of electrical resistance and system impedance. It is a measure of the degree to whic

Ohms Law
The mathematical relationship between voltage, current, and resistance. It is named after George Ohm

Omnidirectional
Literally, from all directions. In audio, microphones are said to be omnidirectional if they can det

On Axis
A listening experience which takes place with the ear precisely lined up with the central pressure a

Op Amp
(operational amplifier) An analog integrated circuit device having two opposite polarity inputs and

Oscillator
A device which produces an alternating current or pulsating current or voltage at varying frequencie

Output (Audio)
The high level (speaker) or line level (RCA) signals sent from one system component to another, or t

Oversampling
A technique where each sample from a data converter is sampled more than once, i.e., oversampled. Th

Overtone
Similar in concept to a harmonic. Overtones are sounds produced by an instrument (or sound source) t

Pad
An electrical circuit used to attenuate or reduce the amplitude of an audio signal by a fixed amount

Pan Pot
Short for panoramic potentiometer, this is a knob controlling a voltage divider that can send a sign

Parallel Wiring
A circuit in which two or more devices are connected to the same source of voltage, sharing a common

Parametric Equalizer
A multi-band equalizer enabeling control of at least three essential 'parameters' of the internal ba

Passive Component
In a crossover system, a non-powered component used to separate an audio signal into a specified fre

Passive Radiator
A type of bass reflex speaker enclosure that includes a 'passive' woofer in addition to the main woo

Peak Power Handling (Max)
Peak power handling refers to the amount of power a speaker is estimated to handle during a brief hi

Period
The amount of time required to complete a full single cycle of a sound wave.

Permalloy Tape Head
A cassette tape head constructed of permalloy, an alloy made primarily of nickel and iron, used for

Phase
Refers to the timing relationship of two or more signals or sound waves. It's especially important t

Phase Cancellation
Audio signals are complex phenomena expressed mathematically as phasors, or vectors. When two signal

Phase Control
A 2-position switch found on some powered subwoofers that lets you delay the subwoofer's output slig

Phase Delay
A phase-shifted sine wave appears displaced in time from the input waveform. This displacement is ca

Phase Linear
Any audio system which accurately preserves phase relationships between frequencies, i.e., that exhi

Phase Shift
The fraction of a complete cycle elapsed as measured from a specified reference point and expressed

Phon
A unit of apparent loudness, equal in quantum to the intensity in decibels of a 1,000 Hz tone estima

Piezo (Tweeter)
A tweeter whose motor is simply a crystal of Piezo material through which the signal current flows.

Piezoelectric Driver
This is among the most robust and least expensive alternative drivers for the high frequency reprodu

Pin-Type Connectors
Will work with both spring clip and binding post terminals. This is probably the best type for conne

Pink Noise
Pink noise is a random noise source characterized by a flat amplitude response per octave band of fr

Pitch
The subjective sensation produced by various frequencies. The higher the frequency, the higher the p

Polar Response
A plot of the Amplitude measurement of a speaker's output at a given frequency relative to an off-ax

Pole Piece
The ends or 'Poles' of a magnet from which the magnetic lines of force, measured in Gauss, are at th

Polypropylene
A plastic based material used primarily for speaker cones due to its rigidity, damping and resistanc

Port
An opening, usually a tube, in an enclosure, through which sound is permitted to pass.

Port Diameter
The measurement across the port opening. Measured as internal diameter (not outer diameter .

Port Length
The measurement of the length of the port tube.

Ported (Enclosure)
Any enclosure design with ports. In such designs the internal pressure wave is processed to be used

Potentiometer
A three-terminal variable resistor. Two terminals connect to the ends of a flat resistor, while the

Power
A. The product of applied voltage (potential difference) and current in a direct-current circuit (or

Power Factor
The ratio of the total power in watts (resistive load) to the total apparent power in voltamperes (V

Power Handling
A measure of how much amplifier power, in watts, a speaker can take before it is damaged.

Power Handling
A rating of a Driver's ability in optimum conditions to handle a specified amount of audio power (el

Pre-Amp
A circuit unit which takes a small signal and amplifies it sufficiently to be fed into the power amp

Preamp Output
Typically found on headunits, a preamp output provides low level, high quality audio signal for use

Precedence Effect
Also known as the Haas effect, this phenomenon identifies the tendency for the ear to attribute all

Preset
A collection of system settings stored in a memory that is virtually instantly recallable, typically

Program Bank
A Custom File feature that allows the user to flag the tracks on a disc, indicating whether they sho

Program Play
A Custom File feature that allows the user to define a sequence of 12 tracks, in a specific order, f

Proximity Effect
An increase in the bass response of some microphones as the distance between the mike and its sound

Psychoacoustics
The scientific study of the relationship between human hearing and its stimulus; in other words, how

Punch
Like 'hitting hard,' a subjective colloquial term that describes the snap or deep impact of the low

Qes
The Q of a speaker driver at its free air resonance considering only its electrical losses.

Qms
The Q of a speaker driver at its free air resonance considering only its mechanical losses

Qtc
The total Q or resistance of a woofer and sealed enclosure at the system

Qts
The total resistance in a series or parallel circuit. This takes into account all Driver resistances

Quantization
The process of converting, or digitizing, the almost infinitely variable amplitude of an analog wave

Quantization Error
Error resulting from quantizing an analog waveform to a discrete level. In general the longer the wo

Quasi-Parametric
A type of equalizer. A quasi-parametric (also known as 'semi-parametric') EQ will allow control over

Quick Release (Terminal)
A means for securing a wire conductor to a terminal connector that permits easy attachment and remov

Quiescent Current
The term given to describe the amount of current consumed by a circuit when it is not performing any

Radio Data System (Rds)
RDS stands for Radio Data System. RDS tuners can automatically tune in stations according to the typ

Radio Frequency (Rf)
An alternating current or voltage with a frequency (or carrier wave) above about 100khz. It's called

Random Code Encryption
In auto security systems, these terms describe anti-code grabbing technology, a feature which preven

Random Play
Also known as shuffle play. In CD players and changers, this function randomizes the order of select

Range (Audio)
Usually described as frequency range, this is a system's frequency transmission limits, beyond which

Rarefaction
In sound waves, the opposite of compression. An area of decreased air pressure caused by a sound wav

Ratio
One of the parameters which can be varied on dynamic range processors such as compressors and expand

Re
The inherent Direct Current resistance of a speaker's voice coil.

Reactance
In Ac circuits, whether passive or active, a form of frequency dependent resistance produced by indu

Rem Or Remote Wire
The cable connected between the amplifier and the receiver that turns on the amplifier whenever the

Remote Control
For remote-compatible devices, wired or infrared wireless remotes are either included with a receive

Resistance
Most all conductors of electrons exhibit a property called resistance. Resistance impedes the flow o

Resonance
The tendency for a mechanical or electrical systems to vibrate or resonate sympathetically at a cert

Resonant Frequency
The frequency at which a speaker cone vibrates with the least inertia. The point on the spectrum at

Reverb
Abbreviation for reverberation, a complex blend of multiple interacting reflections within an enclos

Reverberant Field
The sound field that exists when the reflected sound at a listening position predominates over the d

RF Modulator
A device that converts a signal (typically audio and/or video) into a radio frequency. This can be r