Dictionary of Audio Terminology - C
C - The electronic symbol for a capacitor.
C50 (dB); C80 (dB) - Clarity ratings; a logarithmic measure of the early-to-late arrival sound energy ratio; for music the constant is 80 ms (C80) and for speech it is 50 ms (C50).
CABA (Continental Automated Buildings Association) - An industry association that promotes advanced technologies for the automation of homes and buildings in North America.
cables - Audio systems use many different types of cables:
coaxial cable - A single copper conductor, surrounded with a heavy layer of insulation, covered by a thick surrounding copper shield and jacket. A constant-impedance unbalanced transmission line.
data cable - Analog audio signals require a relatively small bandwidth and are interconnected using standard cables. In contrast to analog audio, digital audio and digital control signals require a very large bandwidth and are interconnected with specially designed data cables.
fiber optics - The technology of using glass fibers to convey light and modulated information. Short distances (typically less than 150 feet) use plastic fibers, while long distances must use glass fibers.
mic cable (aka audio cable) - A shielded twisted-pair, usually designed for low current, high flexibility and low handling noise. The best insulating materials are somewhat inflexible, so most mic cables use rubber, neoprene, PVC, or similar materials, with small gauge wire, and therefore, true mic cables are not intended for long runs.
quad mic cable or star-quad mic cable - [a term coined by Canare for the first quad mic cable, but was not trademarked and is now a generic term]. A four-conductor cable exhibiting very low noise and hum pickup (hum reduction can be 30 dB better than standard mic cable). The four conductors are wound together in a spiral, and then opposite conductors are joined together at the connectors forming a two-conductor balanced line (also called double balanced) with superior performance.
speaker cable - An unshielded insulated pair, normally not twisted, characterized by heavy (or large) gauge conductors (hence, low-resistance), used to interconnect the output of a power amplifier and the input of a loudspeaker.
triax cable - Similar to coax, but with an extra layer of insulation and a second conducting sheath, providing better bandwidth and RFI rejection.
twisted-pair - Standard two-conductor copper cable, with insulation extruded over each conductor and twisted together. Usually operated as a balanced line connection. May be shielded or not, abbreviated UTP (unshielded twisted-pair), or STP (shielded twisted-pair).
cadence - A progression of chords moving to a harmonic close, point of rest, or sense of resolution. [AHD]
calcium light - (a) An early type of stage light in which lime was heated to incandescence producing brilliant illumination. (b) The brilliant white light so produced. [AHD]
calypso - A type of music that originated in the West Indies, notably in Trinidad, and is characterized by improvised lyrics on topical or broadly humorous subjects. [AHD]
Campbell, George A. - (b. 1870-1954) American engineer who was one of the pioneers in long-distance telegraphy and telephony, and in that position created the first audio filter/bandpass EQ circuit. See: U.S. Patent 1,227,113 Electric Wave-Filter issued May 22, 1917. Also see: Wave-Filter.
Candombe - Uruguay drum music.
Cannon plug - Alternate reference for XLR.
cans - Popular nickname for headphones.
capacitance - A force that resists the sudden buildup of electric voltage (as opposed to inductance which resists the sudden buildup of electric current). [IEEE]
capacitive reactance - The opposition to the change of voltage on a element. Capacitive reactance is inversely proportional to the signal frequency and the capacitance .
capacitor - Circuit symbol: C - (1) A device with the primary purpose of introducing capacitance into an electric circuit. (2) An element within a circuit consisting of two conductors, each with an extended surface exposed to that of the other, but separated by a layer of insulating material called the dielectric. [IEEE]
capacitor microphone or condenser microphone - Invented by Wente in 1916, a microphone design where a condenser (the original name for capacitor) is created by stretching a thin diaphragm in front of a metal disc (the backplate). By positioning the two surfaces very close together an electrical capacitor is created whose capacitance varies as a function of sound pressure. Any change in sound pressure causes the diaphragm to move, which changes the distance between the two surfaces. If the capacitor is first given an electrical charge (polarized) then this movement changes the capacitance, and if the charge is fixed, then the backplate voltage varies proportionally to the sound pressure. In order to create the fixed charge, condenser microphones require external voltage (polarizing voltage) to operate. This is normally supplied in the form of phantom power from the microphone preamp or the mixing console.
cardioid - A heart-shaped plane curve, the locus of a fixed point on a circle that rolls on the circumference of another circle with the same radius. [AHD]
cardioid microphone - A directional microphone with an on-axis response shaped like a cardioid. Different degrees of caridiod-ness exist, termed subcardioid and hypercardioid.
carillon - A stationary set of chromatically tuned bells in a tower, usually played from a keyboard. [AHD]
Carmen® - An EAE system developed by the French company, CSTB.
Carry-Coder 150 - The first portable compact cassette player introduced in 1965 by Norelco (North America Philips). Also see: Walkman.
cart - Nickname for the Fidelipac.
Cartesian coordinate system - (1) A two-dimensional coordinate system in which the coordinates of a point in a plane are its distances from two perpendicular lines that intersect at an origin, the distance from each line being measured along a straight line parallel to the other. [AHD] (2) A three-dimensional coordinate system in which the coordinates of a point in space are its distances from each of three perpendicular planes that intersect at an origin.
cascade - A series connected string of two or more circuits where the output of one circuit drives the input of the next, etc.
cassette (or compact cassette) - A small flat case containing two reels and a length of magnetic tape that winds between them, often used in audio and video recorders and players and as a medium for storing data in digital form. [AHD] First developed by Philips in 1962.
Category wiring - A wire grading system developed by the EIA / TIA ("TIA/EIA 568-B: Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard") describing UTP cabling (and hardware) with transmission characteristics. Some of the most popular follow:
CAT 3 (Category 3 cable) - Unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) data grade cable (usually 24 AWG). CAT 3 cables are characterized to 16 MHz and support applications up to 10 Mbps. Typically used for voice telephone and 10Base-T Ethernet systems.
CAT 5 (Category 5 cable) - Unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) data grade cable (usually 24 AWG). CAT 5 cable runs are limited to 100 meters (328 feet) due to signal radiation and attenuation considerations. Longer runs are vulnerable to electromechanical interference. CAT 5 cables are characterized to 100 MHz and support applications up to 100 Mbps. Most common application is 100Base-T Ethernet systems. [With the release of ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B, CAT 5 is no longer recognized and is officially replaced by CAT 5e.]
CAT 5e (Category 5 enhanced) - As above CAT 5 cable except there is a plastic rib running through the center of the cable that separates the pairs, maintaining greater distance between them to reduce crosstalk (there are other non-rib ways to meet this requirement). It also keeps them in position to maintain the proper geometry along the whole cable. It uses better insulation, making attenuation and crosstalk performance better. Bandwidth is not extended with relation to CAT 5.
CAT 6 (Category 6) - Same as CAT 5e except with extended bandwidth to 250 MHz.
CAT 7 (Category 7) - Same as CAT 6 except with extended bandwidth to above 600 MHz.
cathode Abbr. ka - (1) A negatively charged electrode. (2) In a vacuum tube the electron emitting electrode. (3) In a forward-biased semiconductor diode it is the negative terminal. Contrast with anode.
cathode follower - The output voltage of a common plate amplifier is the same as the input (this arrangement is used as the input presents a high impedance and does not load the signal source, although it does not amplify the voltage), i.e., the output at the cathode follows the input at the grid.
CATV (community antenna television or cable television) - A broadband transmission medium, most often using 75-ohm coaxial cable carrying many TV channels simultaneously.
Cauer filters or elliptic filters - A filter having an equiripple passband and an equiminima stopband. [IEEE]
CAV (constant angular velocity) - A disc rotating at a constant number of revolutions per second. The LP is a CAV system at 33-1/3 rpm. Another example is the CAV laser disc that plays two 30-minute sides.
CBGB (country bluegrass blues) - Famous Manhattan underground music club and gallery opened in 1973 and closed in 2006.
CBID (content-based identification) - The method of establishing intellectual property through a system that does not embed digital watermarks into the audio data but instead uses algorithms to analyze an audio segment to determine its unique characteristics (e.g., loudness, pitch, brightness and harmonicity).
CBN (common-bonded network) or mesh ground - "A system where every piece of structural and non-structural metalwork in a building is bonded together. This includes concrete reinforcing bars, girders, cable trays, ducts, deck-plates, gratings, frameworks, raised-floor stringers, conduits, elevators, window and door frames, and the metal pipe-work used for HVAC to make a highly interconnected system that is finally connected to the lightning protection system." From A Practical Interference Free Audio System by Tony Waldron, Technical Manager, CADAC Electronics PLC.
CB Scheme (Certification Bodies Scheme) - The official name is "Scheme of the IECEE for Mutual Recognition of Test Certificates for Electrical Equipment."
CCD (Content Creator Data) - The Library of Congress, partnered with The Recording Academy Producers & Engineers Wing and BMS/Chase, standard for media metadata.
CCIF (Comité Consultatif International des Téléphonique, or International Telephone Consultative Committee) - The CCIF merged with the CCIT becoming the CCITT. In 1992, the CCITT, together with the CCIR, morphed into the ITU.
CCIR (Comité Consultatif International des Radio Communications, or International Radio Consultative Committee) (International Radio Consultative Committee) - Merged with the ITU and became the ITU-R radiocommunications division.
CCIR ARM or TU-R (CCIR) ARM-weighting or ITU-R (CCIR) 2 kHz-weighting - This curves derives from the ITU-R 468-curve. Dolby Laboratories proposed using an average-response meter with the ITU-R 468-curve instead of the costly true quasi-peak meters used by the Europeans in specifying their equipment. They further proposed shifting the 0-dB reference point from 1 kHz to 2 kHz (in essence, sliding the curve down 6 dB). This became known as the ITU-R ARM (average response meter), as well as the ITU-R 2 kHz-weighting curve. (See: R. Dolby, D. Robinson, and K. Gundry, "A Practical Noise Measurement Method," J. Audio Eng. Soc., Vol. 27, No. 3, 1979).
CCIR-468 or ITU-R 468-weighting - This filter was designed to maximize its response to the types of impulsive noise often coupled into audio cables as they pass through telephone switching facilities. Additionally it turned out to correlate particularly well with noise perception, since modern research has shown that frequencies between 1 kHz and 9 kHz are more "annoying" than indicated by A-weighting curve testing. The ITU-R 468-curve peaks at 6.3 kHz, where it has 12 dB of gain (relative to 1 kHz). From here, it gently rolls off low frequencies at a 6 dB/octave rate, but it quickly attenuates high frequencies at ~30 dB/octave (it is down -22.5 dB at 20 kHz, relative to +12 dB at 6.3 kHz).
CCIR 2 kHz - This curve is derived from the CCIR 468-curve. Dolby Laboratories proposed using an average-response meter with the CCIR 468-curve instead of the costly true quasi-peak meters used by the Europeans in specifying their equipment. They further proposed shifting the 0 dB reference point from 1 kHz to 2 kHz (in essence, sliding the curve down 6 dB). This became known as the CCIR ARM (average response meter), as well as the CCIR 2 kHz-weighting curve. [TermWiki]
CCIT (Comité Consultatif International des Télégraphique, or International Telegraph Consultative Committee) - Merged with the CCIF to become the CCITT.
CCITT (Comité Consultatif International des Téléphonique et Télégraphique, or International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee) - Merged with the ITU and became the ITU-T telecommunications division.
CCWLE (counterclockwise lead end) - Refers to electric motor rotation viewed from the end where the hook-up wires exit.
CD (compact disc) - Trademark term for the Sony-Philips digital audio optical disc storage system. The system stores 80 minutes (maximum) of digital audio and subcode information, or other non-audio data, on a 12-centimeter diameter optical disc. The disc is made of plastic, with a top metallized layer, and is read by reflected laser light. Variations (such as the 3" disc) are reserved for special applications.
CD-4 (Compatible Discrete 4) also called Quadradisc - JVC introduced this discrete quadraphonic vinyl record in 1971. This was the only successful discrete 4-channel record, although short lived.
CD horn EQ or constant directivity horn - (also known as uniform coverage or constant coverage horns) - A horn-loaded high frequency driver that exhibits more or less constant distribution (or directivity) of high-frequency sound in the horizontal direction (and vertical, but horizontal is considered more important). The ideal is a broadband directional loudspeaker producing a beam pattern essentially constant for all frequencies above a certain cutoff frequency (i.e., the crossover point) over a 90, 60 or 40 degree horizontal arc depending upon design (termed long-, medium- and short-throw respectively), and around 40 degree vertical spread. This is done by using one of several special dual shaped horn designs created to solve the traditional problem of horn-loaded driver output varying with frequency. All CD horns exhibit a high frequency roll-off of approximately 6 dB/octave beginning somewhere in the 2 kHz to 4 kHz area. Fixed EQ boost networks that compensate for this are known as CD horn EQ circuits. Well designed CD horns can produce uniform coverage over a wide frequency range of 600 Hz to 16 kHz.
CD-I (compact disc interactive) - System storing digital audio, video, text, and graphics information interactively, with user control over content and presentation, on a 12-centimeter diameter optical disc.
CD+MIDI - A System storing MIDI information in a disc's subcode area.
CD-PROM (compact disc programmable read-only memory) - A write-once CD-ROM disc.
CD-R (compact disc-recordable) - A compact disc that is recordable at least once.
CD-ROM (compact disc read-only memory) - A method of storing digitally coded information, such as computer information or database, on a 12-centimeter diameter optical disc.
CD-V (compact disc video) - A system storing five minutes of analog video and digital audio plus twenty minutes of digital audio only on a 12-centimeter diameter optical disc, and longer times on 20- or 30-centimeter diameter optical discs.
CdS (cadmium sulfide) - (1) In reference to chemistry, known as greenockite in its only native form, it is a naturally occurring light-variable resistor.
CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) - CEA's mission is to grow the consumer electronics industry.
CEA-2006 - A voluntary standard published by the CEA advocating an objective and uniform method for determining a car (or other mobile) amplifier's power rating. It specifies that the power be measured with a supply voltage of 14.4 volts, a 4-ohm resistive load, at a 1% THD+N level, and a frequency range of 20 Hz - 20 kHz. Also that S/N be measured using an A-weighted filter at a reference level of 1 watt into 4 ohms.
CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association) - A global trade association of companies that specialize in planning and installing electronic systems for the home.
CEI (Commission Electrotechnique Internationale) - A European organization (headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland) involved in international standardization within the electrical and electronics fields. The U.S. National Committee for the IEC operates within ANSI.
Celsius Abbr. C - Of or relating to a temperature scale that registers the freezing point of water as 0 °C and the boiling point as 100 °C, under normal atmospheric pressure. [AHD]
Celsius, Anders - (b. 1701-1744) Swedish astronomer who devised the centigrade thermometer (1742). [AHD]
CEMA (Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association) - The definitive source for information about the consumer electronics industry.
CE-mark(Conformité Européenne) - The letter-logo used in marking units certified for distribution within the European Union (EU) that meet the directives mandated by the European Commission.
censor - A censor button masks parts of a song, i.e., it is a quick reverse with no timing loss. With a censor button you can reverse a section without losing play position.
center frequency - One of the parameters of a bandpass filter. The center frequency occurs at the maximum or minimum amplitude response for Butterworth filters, the most common found in audio electronics.
centi- - Prefix for one hundredth (10-2), abbreviated c.
centigrade - Temperature term generally not used in scientific contexts apart from meteorology.
cepstrum - The word "spectrum" with the first four letters reversed. Created in 1963 by Bogert, Healy and Tukey in their paper "The Quefrency Analysis of Time Series for Echoes: Cepstrum, Pseudoautocovariance, Cross-Cepstrum, and Saphe Cracking." They observed that the logarithm of the power spectrum of a signal containing an echo has an additive periodic component due to the echo, and thus the Fourier transform of the logarithm of the power spectrum should exhibit a peak at the echo delay. They called this function the "cepstrum," interchanging letters in the word spectrum because "in general, we find ourselves operating on the frequency side in ways customary on the time side and vice versa." The cepstrum is obtained in two steps: A logarithmic power spectrum is calculated and declared to be the new analysis window. On that an inverse FFT is performed. The result is a signal with a time axis.
CERN (Conseil Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire) - European Particle Physics Laboratory.
Chalice drum or goblet drum - A wine glass shaped hand drum indigenous to the Middle East.
Chapman Stick® - A two-handed fretboard tapping instrument invented by Emmett Chapman in 1969.
charge Symbol q - (1) In reference to electricity, (a) To cause formation of a net electric charge on or in (a conductor, for example). (b) To energize (a storage battery) by passing current through it in the direction opposite to discharge. (2) In reference to physics, (a) The intrinsic property of matter responsible for all electric phenomena, in particular for the force of the electromagnetic interaction, occurring in two forms arbitrarily designated negative and positive. (b) A measure of this property. (c) The net measure of this property possessed by a body or contained in a bounded region of space. [AHD]
chassis ground - (1) The common point on a conducting chassis surrounding the system electronic circuit boards; usually separate from the signal ground but may be tied at one point. (2) The earth grounding connection provided on the chassis for safety reasons.
Chebyshev filter - A class of electronic filter characterized by having an equiripple magnitude response, meaning the magnitude increases and decreases regularly from DC to the cutoff frequency.
Chebyshev, Pafnuty Lvovich - [also spelled Tschebyscheff and Tchebysheff] (b. 1821-1894) Russian mathematician best remembered for his work on the theory of prime numbers. [AHD]
checksum - The sum of a group of data items used for error checking. If the checksum received equals the one sent, all is well. Otherwise, the receiving equipment requests the data be sent again.
Chess, Leonard - (birth name: Lejzor Czyz) (b. 1917-1969) Founder of Chess Records famous for his development of electric blues and discovering and promoting such talents as Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and Etta James.
chiff - The name given to the burst of white noise at the beginning of a note (like the "ch" sound in the word "chiff") that occurs in a pipe organ or whistle. Also the hissy white noise heard throughout a note's duration from a whistle.
chilihedron - A solid figure or object with a thousand plane faces. [OED]
chirogymnast - A mechanical apparatus for the exercising of a pianist's fingers. [Kacirk]
chirp - An electronic chirp (swept sine wave) is used in acoustic testing.
choke - Alternate name for an inductor.
chopper - Slang for any type of SMPS device.
chopper-stablized op amp - A specialized op amp where the input errors associated with offset voltage, bias current, temperature drift and 1/f noise are constantly corrected,.
chord - A combination of three or more pitches sounded simultaneously. [AHD]
chorusing - An effect where the audio signal is given multiple delays so as to sound like several instruments playing at once. The delay times are short, typically 20-45 milliseconds, and each delayed signal may be pitch-shifted. The effect is similar to hearing a "chorus," where everyone is singing the same thing but at slightly different times and pitches. Chorusing is a slightly elaborated version of doubling. A signal is delayed approximately 15-35 milliseconds and mixed with the undelayed signal. The delay time is modulated by a low-frequency-oscillator to achieve a shimmering effect due to a combination of beat-frequencies and the slight pitch-bending that occurs as the delay time is changed.
Christie, Samuel Hunter – First described the circuit used in a Wheatstone bridge.
chromatic scale - A scale consisting of 12 semitones.
chrominance - Abbreviated C - The color portion of the video signal - includes hue and saturation information but not brightness.
CI (cochlear implant) - A hearing assisting device surgically placed in the inner ear that allows a representation of sounds.
circuit-bending - The popular art of altering low-cost electronic devices -- toys mostly -- to make them produce new and unique sounds such as squawks, beeps and bongs, thus creating a homemade musical instrument. Reed Ghazala is credited with inventing this new music genre.
circumaural - Literally "around the ear," thus headphones with earpieces surrounding the ear and pressing against the side of the head, forming a seal to reduce ambient noise leakage.
CIS (Common Intelligibility Scale) - International standard (IEC 60849) that maps all intelligibility tests to a common scale for comparative results.
CISAC (Confederation Internationale des Societes d'Auterus et Compositeurs or The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) - An organization that works towards increased recognition and protection of creator's rights.
CISC - Complex instruction set computing.
CISPR (Comite International Special des Perturbations Radioelectriques or International Special Committee on Radio Interference) - Established in 1934 by a group of international organizations to address radio interference.
clairaudience - The supposed power to hear things outside the range of normal perception. [AHD]
clarion - (1) A medieval trumpet with a shrill clear tone. (2) The sound of this instrument or a sound resembling it. [AHD]
clarity index or clarity measure - Clarity ratings; a logarithmic measure of the early-to-late arrival sound energy ratio; for music the constant is 80 ms (C80) and for speech it is 50 ms (C50).
class-A - Amplifier operation where both devices conduct continuously for the entire cycle of signal swing, or the bias current flows in the output devices at all times. The key ingredient of class A operation is that both devices are always on. There is no condition where one or the other is turned off.
Class 1, 2 & 3 wiring - U.S. National Electrical Code (NEC) defines three classes of wiring according to their fire and shock hazard potential:
• Class 1 - Where both fire and shock hazards exist, i.e., the wiring can deliver enough current for a fire hazard and enough voltage for a shock hazard. The most common example is AC power running to equipment. This class requires prevention of all touching and barriers against fire.
• Class 2 - Where neither fire or shock hazard exists, i.e. the wiring cannot deliver enough current (internal limiting) for a fire hazard and not enough voltage for a shock hazard. Examples here are all normal audio interconnect plus most power amplifier output wiring.
• Class 3 - Where there is not a fire hazard but there is a shock hazard, i.e., the wiring cannot deliver enough current (internal limiting) for a fire hazard, but can deliver enough voltage for a shock hazard. Requires touch-proof terminals; seen in audio for very high-output power amplifiers.
Class I equipment - Equipment where protection against electric shock does not rely on basic insulation only, but also provides an additional safety precaution allowing connection of the equipment to the protective earth conductor in the fixed wiring of the installation so that accessible metal parts cannot become live in the event of a failure of the basic insulation.
Class II equipment - Equipment where protection against electric shock does not rely on basic insulation only, but also provides additional safety precautions such as double insulation or reinforced insulation, but there is no provision for connection of the equipment to the protective earth conductor.
clef - French, key, a symbol indicating the pitch represented by one line of a staff, in relation to which the other pitches of the staff can be determined. [AHD]
CLF (Common Loudspeaker data sheet Format) - The organization developed a common format for the presentation of loudspeaker data, which also serves as a stand-alone specification sheet for the loudspeaker parameters required by system designers, with a free downloadable data viewer program.
click track - A series of audio cues used to synchronize sound recordings to a moving image.
client - (1) Any device connected to a server on a local area network (LAN), e.g., personal computer, DSP-based unit, workstation, etc. It is a computer program that requests a service from the server program, usually over the network, e.g. a Wi-Fi card is a client in a WLAN.
clipping - Term used to describe the result of an amplifier running into power supply limitation. The maximum output voltage that any amplifier can produce is limited by its power supply. Attempting to output a voltage (or current) level that exceeds the power supply results in a flattoping effect on the signal, making it look cut off or "clipped." A clipped waveform exhibits extreme harmonic distortion, dominated by large amplitude odd-ordered harmonics making it sound harsh or dissonant. Hard clipping is the term used to describe extreme clipping of a signal, producing highly visible flattoped waveforms as viewed on an oscilloscope; soft clipping refers to moderate clipping that results in waveforms having softly-rounded edges, as opposed to the sharp edges of hard clipping.
clock - A timing device that generates the basic periodic signal used as a source of synchronizing signals in digital equipment.
cloud computing - Technology that allows accessing vast memory storage or hugh software remotely from a computer via the Internet. The computer being the usual desktop or laptop, or hidden inside a smartphone, tablet or other smart device. One audio application is to have all your music stored on the Internet instead of on your hard drive, giving you pretty much limitless capacity and accessible anywhere by any Internet capable device.
CLV (constant linear velocity) - A disc rotating at varying numbers of revolutions per second to maintain a constant relative velocity between pickup and track across the disc radius. The CD is a CLV system rotating from 500 rpm (lead-in track) to 200 rpm (lead-out track).
CMJ Music Marathon - A yearly showcase for new independent music, including rock, hip-hop and electronica genres hosted by the College Music Journal, a music publishing company.
CMR or CMRR or Common-mode rejection (ratio) - The ratio of the response of a circuit to a voltage applied normally (differentially) to that same voltage applied in common-mode through specified impedances. [Whitlock]
coaxial - Having or mounted on a common axis. [AHD]
coaxial cable - A single copper conductor, surrounded with a heavy layer of insulation, covered by a thick surrounding copper shield and jacket. A constant-impedance unbalanced transmission line.
coaxial loudspeaker - Two or more transducers sharing a common axis.
CobraNet® - A registered trademark of Cirrus Logic identifying their licensed networking technology used for the deterministic and isochronous transmission of digital audio, video, and control signals over Ethernet networks.
cochlear implant - A hearing assisting device surgically placed in the inner ear that allows a representation of sounds.
codec (code-decode also compression-decompression) - Originally a device for converting voice signals from analog to digital for use in digital transmission schemes, normally telephone based, and then converting them back again. Broaden now to mean an electronic device that converts analog signals, such as video and voice signals, into digital form and compresses them to conserve bandwidth.
coercivity - A measure of the difficulty of erasure in magnetic recording.
coincident-microphone technique or X/Y microphone technique - A stereo recording technique where two cardioid microphones are placed facing each other, at an angle of 90 degrees, with the center of the source aimed at the center between them. Sometimes this technique is incorporated internally in a single microphone using two capsules.
color organ - Any device that converts musical input to a visual output.
comb filter - A frequency response curve that resembles a comb, having steep peaks and valleys, caused by reflections arriving out of phase with the direct sound, creating reinforcements and cancellations of the sound.
combining response or interpolating response - Term adopted by Rane Corporation to describe the summing response of adjacent bands of variable equalizers using buffered summing stages. If two adjacent bands, when summed together, produce a smooth response without a dip in the center, they are said to interpolate between the fixed center frequencies, or combine well.
common logarithm - A logarithm based on the powers of 10 (aka base-10).
common-mode rejection (ratio) Abbr. CMR and CMRR - The characteristic of a differential amplifier to cancel all common-mode signals applied to its inputs. The "ratio" is obtained by dividing the input common-mode voltage by the amount of output voltage, thereby giving you some measure of the amplifier's ability to reject common signals.
common-mode signal - Strictly speaking it is the average of the signals present at the two inputs of a differential amplifier, although it is more often meant to be the voltage level present at both inputs, as if they were tied together.
compander - A contraction of compressor-expander. A term referring to dynamic range reduction and expansion performed by first a compressor acting as an encoder, and second by an expander acting as the decoder. Normally used for noise reduction or headroom reasons.
comparator - A circuit element with two inputs labeled positive and negative and one output. The output goes either high or low depending upon which input is greater. If the positive input is greater than the negative input then the output goes high, and vice versa.
complex frequency variable - An AC frequency in complex number form.
complex number - Any number of the form a + bj, where a and b are real numbers and j is an imaginary number whose square equals -1 [AHD]; and (a) represents the real part (e.g., the resistive effect of a filter, at zero phase angle) and (b) represents the imaginary part (e.g., the reactive effect, at 90 degrees phase angle).
component video - A video system for color television that stores separate channels of red, green and blue.
composite video - A video signal combining luminance, chrominance and synchronization data on a single coax cable using RCA connectors and color-coded yellow.
compression - (1) An increase in density and pressure in a medium, such as air, caused by the passage of a sound wave. (2) The region in which this occurs.
compression driver - A high frequency dynamic loudspeaker that mounts at the rear of an acoustic horn that further amplifies and greatly improves the overall efficiency.
compression wave - A wave propagated by means of the compression of a fluid, such as a sound wave in air. [AHD]
compressor - A signal processing device used to reduce the dynamic range of the signal passing through it.
concealment - An interpolation technique where the value of a missing sample is estimated from those nearby.
condenser - Old name for a capacitor.
condenser microphone - [Also called capacitor microphone but more properly, the correct name is electrostatic microphone.] Invented by Wente in 1916, a microphone design where a condenser (the original name for capacitor) is created by stretching a thin diaphragm in front of a metal disc (the backplate). By positioning the two surfaces very close together an electrical capacitor is created whose capacitance varies as a function of sound pressure. Any change in sound pressure causes the diaphragm to move, which changes the distance between the two surfaces. If the capacitor is first given an electrical charge (polarized) then this movement changes the capacitance, and if the charge is fixed, then the backplate voltage varies proportionally to the sound pressure. In order to create the fixed charge, condenser microphones require external voltage (polarizing voltage) to operate. This is normally supplied in the form of phantom power from the microphone preamp or the mixing console.
conductance - The real part of admittance.
cone of confusion - If a sound presented to one ear is within an on-axis cone, then it is not possible to locate it, due to the head blocking the sound from reaching the other ear (or attenuates it so much that the brain ignores it). (The listener can tell from which side the sound comes from but cannot locate it within the cone.) There is a similar effect for sounds occurring exactly in front, or to the rear, where the sound does reach each ear but with the identical level and direction causing localization confusion. If the sound is not heard differently by each ear, we cannot accurately localize the source. This is called the "cone of confusion."
CONEQ (convolution equalization) - A trademark of Real Sound Lab for their automated EQ system.
conjunto - A style of popular dance music originating along the border between Texas and Mexico, characterized by the use of accordion, drums, and 12-string bass guitar and traditionally based on polka, waltz, and bolero rhythms. [AHD]
connectionless - Protocols where the host sends messages without establishing connection with the recipients.
connection-oriented - Protocols where the host sends messages directly to a connected receiver (as opposed to connectionless above), i.e., the protocol requires a confirmed channel before transmission. TCP/IP is connection-oriented.
connectors Audio equipment uses many types of connectors as follows:
banana jack or banana plug - A single conductor electrical connector with a banana-shaped spring-metal tip most often used on audio power amplifiers for the loudspeaker wiring. Usually configured as a color-coded molded pair (red = hot & black = return) on 3/4" spacing. Also used for test leads and as terminals for plug-in components. The British still refer to these as a GR plug, after General Radio Corporation, the inventor (according to The Audio Dictionary by Glenn D. White).
binding posts - Alternate name for banana jacks above, derived from the capability to loosen (unscrew) the body and insert a wire through a hole provided in the electrical terminal and tighten the plastic housing down over the wire insulation, holding the wire in place.
BNC - A miniature bayonet locking connector for coaxial cable.
Cannon connector or Cannon plug - Alternate reference for XLR.
Elco connector or Elco plug - One of several connectors used for interconnecting multiple audio channels at once, most often found in recording studios on analog and digital audio tape machines. One of these, a 90-pin version (Vari*con Series 8016), carries 28 shielded pairs of audio channels, allowing 3-wires per channel (positive, negative & shield) for a true balanced system interconnect.
Euroblocks - Shortened form of European style terminal blocks, a specialized disconnectable, or plugable terminal block consisting of two pieces. The receptacle is permanently mounted on the equipment and the plug is used to terminate both balanced and unbalanced audio connections using screw terminals. Differs from regular terminal strips in its plugability, allowing removal of the equipment by disconnecting the plug section rather than having to unscrew each wire terminal. Unofficial, but popularly followed, is the color-code convention where green is used for inputs and orange is used for outputs.
RCA (aka phono jack or pin jack) - The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) originally developed this type of unbalanced pin connector for internal chassis connections in radios and televisions during the '30s. It became popular for use in the cables that connected phonograph cartridges to preamplifiers because it was inexpensive and easily fitted to the rather small diameter shielded cables used for the cartridge leads (then they were mono cartridges so single conductor shielded cables were adequate -- now you know). The standard connector used in line-level consumer and project studio sound equipment, and most recently to interconnect composite video signals. The controlling standard is IEC Specification 60603-14.
Speakon® - A registered trademark of Neutrik for their original design loudspeaker connector, now considered an industry de facto standard.
terminal strips or terminal blocks - Also called barrier strips, a type of wiring connector provided with screwdown posts separated by insulating barrier strips. Used for balanced and unbalanced wiring connections, where each wire is usually terminated with a crimped-on spade- or ring-connector and screwed in place; not disconnectable, or plugable. Has become known as the U.S. style terminal blocks.
1/4" TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) - (1) Stereo 1/4" connector consisting of tip (T), ring (R), and sleeve (S) sections, with T = left, R = right, and S = ground/shield. (2) Balanced interconnect with the positive & negative signal lines tied to T and R respectively and S acting as an overall shield. (3) Insert loop interconnect with T = send, R = return, and S = ground/shield. The international standard is IEC 60603-11.
1/4" TS (tip-sleeve) - Mono 1/4" connector consisting of tip (T) [signal] and sleeve (S) [ground & shield] for unbalanced wiring.
Other popular TRS versions are the mini (3.5 mm) and the sub-mini (2.5 mm) found on cell phones, , iPods, MP 3 players, etc. [Note that the 3.5 mm and 2.5 mm sizes are often mistakenly referred to as 1/8" and 3/32″ respectively, but these dimensions are only approximations since 1/8" = 3.18 mm and 3/32" = 2.29 mm.].
Another interesting variant is the TRRS (tip-ring-ring-sleeve) connector commonly found on iPhones, newer model iPods, cell phones and other media players. The extra ring connection is used for microphone audio on cell phone headsets, as well as video on digital cameras, camcorders, and portable DVD players.
XLD - A proposed version (by Neutrik) of the standard XLR connector (shown below) that is keyed to prevent digital cables from being connected to analog connectors and vice versa. The original application is for AES3-MIC digital mics, to make them incapable with standard analog mic inputs.
XLR - (1) Originally a registered trademark of ITT-Cannon in 1958. The original model number series for Cannon's 3-pin circular connectors - invented by them - now an industry generic term. [Ray A. Rayburn tells the whole story: "At one time Cannon made a large circular connector series that was popular for microphones called the P series (now known as the EP series). Mics used the 3-pin P3 version. Some loudspeakers use the P4 or P8 versions of this connector to this day (Neutrik Speakon NL4MPR 4-pole chassis mount and all Speakon 8-pole chassis mount connectors are made to fit the same mounting holes as the Cannon EP series). In an attempt to make a smaller connector for the microphone market, Cannon came out with the UA series. These were 'D' shaped instead of circular and were used on such mics as the Electro-Voice 666 and 654. There was a desire for a smaller yet connector. Someone pointed out the small circular Cannon X series. The problem with this was it had no latch. Cannon rearranged the pins and added a latch, and the XL (X series with Latch) was born. This is the connector others have copied. Later Cannon modified the female end only to put the contacts in a resilient rubber compound. They called this new version the XLR series. No other company has copied this feature."] (2) The standard connector for digital and analog balanced line interconnect between audio equipment.
constant directivity (CD) horn (also known as uniform coverage or constant coverage horns) - A horn-loaded high frequency driver that exhibits more or less constant distribution (or directivity) of high-frequency sound in the horizontal direction (and vertical, but horizontal is considered more important). The ideal is a broadband directional loudspeaker producing a beam pattern essentially constant for all frequencies above a certain cutoff frequency (i.e., the crossover point) over a 90, 60 or 40 degree horizontal arc depending upon design (termed long-, medium- and short-throw respectively), and around 40 degree vertical spread. This is done by using one of several special dual shaped horn designs created to solve the traditional problem of horn-loaded driver output varying with frequency. All CD horns exhibit a high frequency roll-off of approximately 6 dB/octave beginning somewhere in the 2 kHz to 4 kHz area. Fixed EQ boost networks that compensate for this are known as CD horn EQ circuits. Well designed CD horns can produce uniform coverage over a wide frequency range of 600 Hz to 16 kHz.
constant group delay or group delay - The rate of change of phase shift with respect to frequency. Mathematically, the first derivative of phase verses frequency. The rate of change is just a measure of the slope of the phase shift verses linear (not log) frequency plot. If this plot is a straight line, it is said to have a "constant" (i.e., not changing) phase shift, or a "linear phase" (or "phase linear" -European) characteristic. Hence, constant group delay, or linear group delay, describes circuits or systems exhibiting constant delay for all frequencies, i.e., all frequencies experience the same delay. Note that pure signal delay causes a phase shift proportional to frequency, and is said to be "linear phase," or "phase linear." In acoustics, such a system is commonly referred to as a "minimum phase" system.
constant-Q equalizer (also constant-bandwidth) - Term applied to graphic and rotary equalizers describing bandwidth behavior as a function of boost/cut levels. Since Q and bandwidth are inverse sides of the same coin, the terms are interchangeable. The bandwidth remains constant for all boost/cut levels. For constant-Q designs, the skirts vary directly proportional to boost/cut amounts. Small boost/cut levels produce narrow skirts and large boost/cut levels produce wide skirts.
constant splay array - Line array which forms a smooth arc by tilting each box the same amount (pitch) resulting in a wider beamwidth popular in concert hall settings, particularly those with balconies.
constant-voltage - The common name given to the general practices begun in the 1920s and 1930s (becoming a U.S. standard in 1949) governing the interface between power amplifiers and loudspeakers used in distributed sound systems. Installations employing ceiling-mounted loudspeakers, such as offices, factories and schools are examples of distributed sound systems. The standard was derived from the need to minimize cost and to simplify the design of complex audio systems. One way to minimize cost is to minimize the use of copper, and one way to do that is to devise a scheme that allows the use of smaller gauge wire than normal 8 ohm loudspeakers require. Borrowing from the cross-country power distribution practices of the electric companies, this was done by using a transformer to step-up the amplifier's output voltage (with a corresponding decrease in output current); use this higher voltage to drive the (now smaller gauge due to smaller current) long lines to the loudspeakers; and then use another transformer to step-down the voltage at each loudspeaker.This scheme became known as the constant-voltage distribution method.
content-based identification (CBID) - The method of establishing intellectual property through a system that does not embed digital watermarks into the audio data but instead uses algorithms to analyze an audio segment to determine its unique characteristics (e.g., loudness, pitch, brightness and harmonicity).
contour control - A control found on professional DJ performance mixers used to change the shape or taper (contour) of the fader action. Thus at, say, 50 % of travel, a fader may allow 50 %, or 10 %, or 90% of the audio signal to pass depending on the taper of the control. The contour control (switched, continuous or stepped variable) changes this amount.
control voltage - In audio electronic circuits using voltage-controlled amplifiers, or other gain-controllable devices, a DC voltage proportional to the audio input signal amplitude, sometimes frequency dependent, used to set the instantaneous gain of a VCA or other device. It is normally developed in the side-chain of the electronic circuit.
convolution - A mathematical operation producing a function from a certain kind of summation or integral of two other functions. In the time domain, one function may be the input signal, and the other the impulse response. The convolution than yields the result of applying that input to a system with the given impulse response. In DSP, the convolution of a signal with FIR filter coefficients results in the filtering of that signal.
convolution reverb - Digital simulation of reverberation based on convolution mathematical operations.
Cook, Emory - (b. 1913-2002) American engineer and audio pioneer best known for his many contributions to vinyl disc technology including the left-right binaural disc. He produced the first audiophile record in 1949 and demonstrated it at the Audio Fair in New York, subsequently founding the company Sounds of Our Times, the first high fidelity record company. He was a founding member of the AES. Said to be the first to record the sound of rain so accurate that it sounded "wet."
cooker wire - A British term for the large gauge solid wire (i.e., not stranded) used for electric cookers. Popularly used in ABX testing to confound and expose the aural hallucinations of those obsessed by exotic loudspeaker wire.
Cooper Time Cube - A device built by UREI in 1971 patterned after the Xophonic artificial reverb unit from the '50s.
Corba (common object request broker architecture) - An ORB (object request broker) standard developed by the OMG (object management group). Corba provides for standard object-oriented interfaces between ORBs, as well as to external applications and application platforms (from Newton's Telecom Dictionary). Not to be confused with CobraNet.
cord Abbr. cd - A unit of quantity for cut fuel wood, equal to a stack measuring 4 × 4 × 8 feet or 128 cubic feet (3.62 cubic meters). [AHD]
core - Shortened form for multicore.
Core Audio - "A set of services that developers use to implement audio and music features in Mac OS X applications." [Website]
Coriolis effect - A pseudo force used mathematically to describe motion, as of aircraft or cloud formations, relative to a noninertial, uniformly rotating frame of reference such as the earth. [AHD] The Coriolis effect is the basis of micromachine gyroscopes.
corner frequency - Same as -3 dB point, or the 3 dB down point.
cornett (also cornet) - A wind instrument of the trumpet class, having three valves operated by pistons. [AHD]
correlation - A mathematical operation that indicates the degree to which two signals are alike.
CORREQTTM (Computer Optimized Room Resonant EQualization Technique) - Acronym created by inventor Ken DeLoria for Apogee Sound International in 1991.
corrido - A Mexican ballad or folksong. [AHD]
CoS (Class of Service) - A 3 bit field within a layer-2 Ethernet frame header defined by IEEE 802.1p
Costello, Elvis - Stage name of Declan MacManus.
COTS (commercial off-the-shelf also commercial off-the-shelf software) - Government procurement term. Most often referencing software but general use is found. Compare with MOTS, GOTS and NOTS.
coulomb Abbr. C - The meter-kilogram-second unit of electrical charge equal to the quantity of charge transferred in one second by a steady current of one ampere. [AHD]
Coulomb, Charles Augustin de. - (b. 1736-1806) French physicist who pioneered research into magnetism and electricity and formulated Coulomb's law. [AHD]
Countryman, Carl - (b. 19??-2006) American engineer, inventor and entrepreneur founder of Countryman Associates, Inc., whose professional headsets are considered the smallest and lightest available.
coupling or mutual coupling - General term describing the combining behavior of two or more drivers reproducing the same frequency. If two or more identical loudspeakers are mounted such that their acoustic centers are close together (i.e., some fraction of a wavelength), their acoustic outputs over some frequency range will combine (couple) and propagate forward as one waveform, thus two smaller drivers behave as one big driver.
cover buzz - "The sensation felt when hearing a cover version of a song one already knows." [A Dictionary of the Near Future by Douglas Coupland, NY Times, September 12, 2010.]
CPC (circuit protective conductor) - Chiefly British abbreviation meaning earth ground, or technically a system of conductors joining together all exposed conductive parts and connecting them to the main earthing terminal.
cps (cycles per second) - Old term for Hz.
CRC (cyclic redundancy check) - An integrity checking process for block data. A CRC character is generated at the transmission end. Its value depends on the hexadecimal value of the number of ones in the data block. The transmitting device calculates the value and appends it to the data block. The receiving end makes a similar calculation and compares its results with the added character. If there is a difference, the recipient requests retransmission.
creepage distance - Shortest path along the surface of insulating material between two conductive parts.
crest factor - The term used to represent the ratio of the peak (crest) value to the rms value of a waveform measured over a specified time interval.
critical band - A range of frequencies that is integrated (summed together) by the neural system, equivalent to a bandpass filter (auditory filter) with approximately 10-20% bandwidth (approximately one-third octave wide).
critical distance - The distance between source and listener where the direct sound level equals the reverberant sound level.
cross-coupled - A type of balanced line driver loosely based on servo-loop technology. Developed to emulate some of the features of a balanced line output transformer, the circuit employs positive feedback taken from each side of the outputs coupled back (cross-coupled) to the opposite input circuitry where it is used to fix the gain of the positive and negative line drivers. Each gain is typically set to unity (one) for normal operation and changes to two whenever either of the output lines is shorted to zero. In this manner, it emulates a transformer in that there is no change in output level if one of the lines becomes short-circuited to ground; however, since the gain of the ungrounded side has increased 6 dB then the headroom of the system has been reduced by 6 dB due to the short. In this sense this circuit does not act like a transformer, which does not change gain when one side is shorted to ground.
crossfade or crossfader - Within the pro audio industry, a term most often associated with DJ mixers and broadcast. DJ mixers usually feature a crossfader slide-type potentiometer control. This control allows the DJ to transition from one stereo program source (located at one travel extreme) to another stereo program source (located at the other travel extreme). It is the crossfader that becomes the main remix tool for turntablists.
cross-framing - A term borrowed from the construction industry (meaning diagonal bracing) by TimeLine Vista, Inc. (now defunct) the original developer and manufacturer of the TASCAM-branded MX-2424 (24-track, 24-bit hard disk recorder) to describe their sync product with "independent cross-framing" capability that allows a longitudinal timecode (LTC) reader and two generators to be set to different frame rates.
crossover - An electrical circuit (passive or active) consisting of a combination of high-pass, low-pass and bandpass filters used to divide the audio frequency spectrum (20 Hz - 20 kHz) into segments suitable for individual loudspeaker use.
crossover cable or Ethernet crossover cable - A connection cable consisting of two pairs crossed plus two pairs uncrossed.
crossover distortion - Term for the distortion products found in class AB amplifiers created by the dead zone between the upper and lower output devices where neither device is fully operating.
crossover frequency - The -3 dB frequency points of the high-pass, low-pass and bandpass filter sections found in a crossover.
crosspoint - Found in matrix-mixers, referring to a device, usually a switch, potentiometer, VCA or DAC, located where two schematic or block diagram lines intersect or cross. Typically this is drawn with the inputs entering from the left and exiting to the top depending upon the setting of the crosspoint device. Crosspoints form the heart of a router.
crosstalk or print-through – In reference to recording, the name for the magnetic tape recording phenomena where the act of layering, or winding layer upon layer of tape causes the flux from one layer to magnetize the adjacent layer, thus printing through from one layer onto another layer.
crosstalk (signal) - (1) Undesired capacitive, inductive, or conductive coupling from one circuit, part of a circuit, or channel, to another. (2) Any phenomenon by which a signal transmitted on one circuit or channel of a transmission system creates an undesired effect in another circuit or channel.
crotchet or quarter-note - A note having one-fourth the time value of a whole note.[AHD] In most popular music, the quarter-note is the value equal to one beat.
Cry Baby - A popular wah-wah pedal. An electric guitar effects foot pedal that alters the sound in a wavering manner sounding somewhat like the human voice saying the word "wah." Made famous by Jimi Hendrix (and others) in the 1960s using an original Cry Baby pedal.
crystal or piezo - Shortened form for piezoelectric, the name given to a class of materials (dielectric crystals) that produce electricity or become polarized when mechanically strained or stressed. In pro audio used to create pickups, microphones and loudspeakers or buzzers, and in digital circuits quartz crystals for stable timing references.
CTS (Certified Technology Specialist) - A certification program created and controlled by InfoComm for the AV industry.
cuarto - A small guitarlike instrument of Latin America, usually having four or five pairs of strings. [AHD]
cubit - An ancient unit of linear measure, originally equal to the length of the forearm from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow, or about 17 to 22 inches (43 to 56 centimeters). [AHD]
cue - (1) A term found throughout various audio fields meaning to monitor, or listen (via headphones) to a specific source. In mixers (particularly DJ mixers), the term is used interchangeably with solo or PFL as found on recording consoles. (2) In reference to music. (a) A section of music used in film or video ranging from a short piece of background music to a complex score. (b) An extract from the music for another part printed, usually in smaller notes, within a performer's part as a signal to enter after a long rest. (c) A gesture by a conductor signaling the entrance of a performer or part. (3) A signal, such as a word or an action, used to prompt another event in a performance, such as an actor's speech or entrance, a change in lighting, or a sound effect. [AHD]
cumulative spectral decay or waterfall display - A two-dimensional, three-coordinate graph displaying frequency on the horizontal, amplitude on the vertical and time on the third leg, back-to-front. Used to display information about a loudspeaker's impulse response.
Curie, Marie Originally Manja Sklodowska - (b. 1867-1934). Polish-born French chemist. She shared a 1903 Nobel Prize with her husband, Pierre Curie (b. 1859-1906), and Henri Becquerel for fundamental research on radioactivity. In 1911 she won a second Nobel Prize for her discovery and study of radium and polonium.
Curie temperature - The temperature at which magnetic materials demagnetize. Specifically a transition temperature marking a change in the magnetic or ferroelectric properties of a substance, especially the change from ferromagnetism to paramagnetism. Also called Curie point. [AHD]
current Symbol i, I - (a) A flow of electric charge. (b) The amount of electric charge flowing past a specified circuit point per unit time, or the rate of flow of electrons. [AHD]
current intermittor - Antiquated name for a snap-action switch.
current loop - A data transmission scheme that looks for current flow rather than voltage levels. This systems recognizes no current flow as a binary zero, and having current flow as a binary one. Favored for its low sensitivity to cable impedance, and independence of a common ground reference; hence current loops do not introduce ground loops. MIDI is an example of a current loop interconnect system.
cut-only equalizer - Term used to describe graphic equalizers designed only for attenuation. (Also referred to as notch equalizers, or band-reject equalizers). The flat (0 dB) position locates all sliders at the top of the front panel. Comprised only of notch filters (normally spaced at 1/3-octave intervals), all controls start at 0 dB and reduce the signal on a band-by-band basis.
cutoff frequency - The frequency at which the signal falls off by 3 dB (the half power point) from its maximum value. Also referred to as the -3 dB points, or the corner frequencies.
cycles per second Abbr. cps - Old term for Hz.
cymbal - A percussion instrument consisting of a concave brass plate that makes a loud clashing tone when hit with a drumstick or when used in pairs. [AHD]
CWLE (clockwise lead end) - Refers to electric motor rotation viewed from the end where the hook-up wires exit.
Czerwinski, Gene - (b. 1927-2010) American engineer who founded Cerwin-Vega designed the earth shaking subwoofer system for the movie Earthquake earning him an Academy Award.
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HistoryOfRecording.com acknowledges the Elsevier, Inc. publication, Audio Engineering know it all, the University of Washington Press publication, The Audio Dictionary, second edition, the Howard W. Sames & Co., Inc. publication, Audio cyclopedia, the Cambridge University Press publication, The Art of Electronics, Rane Corporation (Dennis A. Bohn, CTO), Houghton Mifflin Company publication, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, the IEEE publication, IEEE 100: The Authoritative Dictionary of IEEE Standards Terms, Seventh Edition and Wikipedia in the preparation of this Dictionary of Audio Terminology.
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