The Audio Masterclass Music Production and Sound Engineering Course

MODULE 01 MODEL ANSWERS

Describe compression and rarefaction.

In a sound wave, a compression is where the air molecules are more tightly gathered
together than normal, hence there is a region of higher pressure than normal. A
rarefaction is where the air molecules are more widely spaced than normal, hence there
is a region of lower pressure than normal.

Describe the direction of particle motion in a transverse wave.

The direction of particle motion in a transverse wave is at right angles to the direction of
wave motion.

Describe the direction of particle motion in a longitudinal wave.

The direction of particle motion in a longitudinal wave is parallel to the direction of wave
motion.

Do air molecules move from place to place under the influence of a sound
wave?
No, they oscillate back and forth around their normal resting positions.

Comment on point source.

A point source is a source of sound that is physically smaller than the wavelength of
sound it is producing. Sound radiates equally in all directions and its sound pressure
decays at a rate of 6 decibels for every doubling of distance from the source, thus
obeying the inverse square law.

What is the accepted range of frequency of human hearing?

From 20 Hz to 20 kHz (20,000 Hz).

What is the mathematical relationship between sound velocity, frequency and

wavelength?
Velocity = Frequency x Wavelength

If a sound wave travelling in air has frequency 20 kHz, what is its wavelength?
(Take the velocity of sound in air to be 340 m/s).
17 millimetres

If a sound wave travelling in air has frequency 20 Hz, what is its wavelength?
(Take the velocity of sound in air to be 340 m/s).
17 metres

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Describe the convenience aspect of decibels.
No matter what medium is used to transmit or store a sound signal, a change of for
instance 6 decibels in level always sounds the same. If level were expressed in
different units for each of the different media used for transmission and storage, then
the comparison of levels in different media would be very difficult.

Describe the logarithmic nature of the ears perception of sound levels.

There are several ways this can be described. One is to say that a doubling of sound
pressure subjectively only sounds like a slight increase. It takes a tenfold increase in
pressure to make a significant change (20 dB). Another useful comparison is to say that
$10 would be a significant amount of money to a beggar, but it would be almost nothing
to a millionaire. So an increase in sound pressure of a hundred micronewtons per square
metre would be a significant change to a low-level sound, but it would be hardly any
change at all if there sound were already loud.

If sound pressure is doubled, by how many decibels does it increase?

6 dB

If sound pressure is quadrupled, by how many decibels does it increase?

12 dB

If a sound has a level of 100 dB SPL, what does this mean?

It means that the sound is 100 decibels louder than a sound that is at the threshold of
hearing.

Why are acoustic sounds more complex than electrical signals?

An electrical signal travels in the one-dimensional medium of a wire. An acoustic sound
travels in three-dimensional space. An electrical signal does not incur reflections unless
the cable length is of the order of kilometres. Acoustic sounds create complex reflections
from surfaces.

Is acoustics a completely understood science?

It is well-understood, but real-world acoustics are so complex that they can never be
predicted with 100% certainty.

What are the three main factors that determine the acoustics of a room?
The timing of reflections, the relative levels of reflections and the frequency balance of
reflections.

What is the effect of air motion on acoustics?

Air motion can cause subtle pitch changing of reflections.

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Why do reflections arriving later than 40 ms after the direct sound reduce the
intelligibility of speech?
The phonemes, which are the individual sound components of speech, will overlap.

What is meant by RT60 ?

RT60 is the time taken for the reverberation in a room to die away by 60 decibels,
compared to the level of the sound that caused the reverberation.

What is a standing wave?

A wave that reflects between parallel surfaces such that the regions of high pressure and
low pressure caused by the wave remain static.

Comparing wavelength and room dimensions, what is the requirement for a

standing wave to be created?
The wavelength must be twice the distance between the pair of parallel surfaces causing
the reflection. Standing waves will also occur at integer multiples of the frequency of this
wave.

Is the pressure of a standing wave high or low close to a boundary?

High.

Can standing waves occur other than between parallel surfaces?

Standing waves are most problematical when caused by parallel surfaces. However,
more complex patterns of reflection are possible.

What is a flutter echo?

Flutter echo occurs between pairs of parallel surfaces, but should not be confused with
standing waves. The entire range of frequencies reflects back and forth and each pass is
clearly audible.

What is the worst shape for a room, acoustically?

A cube is the worst shape for a room as each pair of parallel surfaces would create
standing waves of the same frequencies. It is better to have many weak standing wave
frequencies than just a few strong ones.

What is the function of acoustic treatment?

The function of acoustic treatment is to control reverberation time and also to reduce the
effect of standing waves.

What is a porous absorber?

An absorber made out of soft material. Unless it is really thick, it is only effective at mid
and high frequencies.

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What is a panel absorber?
A panel absorber consists of a thin sheet of wood (usually) with a sealed air space
between it and the wall on which it is mounted. Panel absorbers are effective at low
frequencies and can be tuned to specific problem frequencies.

Are materials that are good reflectors of sound also good sound insulators?
Yes. That is how soundproofing is done in studios.

Are materials that are good absorbers of sound also good sound insulators?
No. This is a commonly-held belief, but it is not correct.

How is sound absorbing material used in conjunction with sound reflecting

material to improve insulation?
Absorbing material can reduce the sound level within a room, so there is less sound to
leak out. However, there must be reflecting material because absorbent materials cannot
provide enough insulation in themselves.

With reference to the question above, when is this not effective?

Absorbent material can reduce the sound level in the room, but then the engineer might
turn up the level to compensate.

What property of a material controls its sound insulating ability?

Primarily its mass. Low stiffness provides a little extra benefit at low frequencies.

What are the three requirements for good soundproofing?

Mass, continuity of structure and no defects.

What is flanking transmission?

Where sound is obstructed by a well-constructed partition but finds a way to go around
the partition, usually either above or below.

What is pugging?
Where there is a cable duct in a soundproofed partition, then the space in the duct,
where it passes through the partition, that is not taken up by cables must be filled with
pugging material. This would typically be tightly compressed mineral wool.

What is a dry partition?

A partition made from timber and plasterboard (drywall) rather than concrete or bricks
and cement.

What is the disadvantage of proprietary flexible soundproofing materials?

They are generally more expensive than materials that are also very suitable that can be
bought from builders merchants.

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What should be avoided when building a double-leaf partition?
The two leaves should preferably be entirely independent with no physical connection
between them. Some ties will be necessary, but care should be taken not to allow any
materials, whether intentional or not, to bridge the gap between the leaves.

What is a floating floor?

A floating floor consists of a floor surface that has a high mass that is flexibly supported.

Describe the construction of a window between a studio and control room.

There should be two or more panes of thick glass, of dissimilar thickness. The panes
should not be parallel in order to reduce internal standing waves and visual reflections.

What types of seals would a soundproof door have?

Seals where a rubber-like material is compressed. Brush seals are only useful against
draughts.

What is a box within a box?

This is where the studio consists of a floor, walls and ceiling that are constructed entirely
independently within a larger shell. The studio should be suspended on rubber pads or
on springs.

What problem does soundproofing cause with regard to ventilation?

A room that is well soundproofed has none of the sources of ventilation a room would
normally have. Ventilation must therefore be provided.

What problems do ventilation and air conditioning cause for soundproofing?

A air-path to the outside world of noise, fan noise, turbulence, mechanical coupling to
other parts of the building.

With regard to the above question, describe some of the solutions.

A plenum chamber with absorbent material can reduce noise travelling through ducting.
The fan can be mounted on a heavy slab, resiliently supported, reduce the coupling of
motor noise to the structure of the building. Ducts of large cross-sectional area allow a
slower rate of air flow, which reduces turbulence. Ducts can be flexibly suspended to
reduce transmission to and from the structure of the building.

What is voltage?
Voltage is electrical pressure, necessary to initiate an electric current.

How many microvolts (V) are there in one volt (1 V)?

1,000,000

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Describe the difference between conventional current and real current.
When electricity was first discovered, it was thought to flow from positive to negative. In
fact it flows the other way. We still do however think in terms of conventional current
that we imagine flows from positive to negative.

What is the voltage of electrical earth?

Zero volts

Describe electrical current.

Electrical current is the flow of electrons within a conductor. Current is initiated by a
voltage applied to a conductor.

Describe resistance.
Resistance is the property of a material to restrict the flow of current. The higher the
resistance, the greater the current necessary to cause a certain flow of current.

If voltage is divided by resistance, what is the result?

Voltage divided by resistance equals current.

Compare resistance with reactance.

Resistance is a property of a resistor, where the voltage and current are in phase (i.e.
during a cycle of the alternating waveform, when the voltage is high, the current is also
high; when the voltage is low, the current is also low).
Reactance is a property of capacitors and inductors. Reactance also reduces the flow of
current, but the voltage and current are not in phase.

Compare resistance with impedance.

The term impedance covers resistance, reactance, and a combination of resistance and
reactance. So resistance is a special form of impedance.

In what units do we measure impedance, resistance and reactance?

Impedance, resistance and reactance are all measured in ohms.

Describe electrical power.

Power is the rate of consumption or transfer of energy. This applies to electricity as it
does to other forms of energy.

What is a potential divider?

A circuit consisting of two resistors that is used to make a smaller voltage out of a larger
one.

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How may a capacitor be used to reduce the level of high frequencies?
The capacitor is connected so that a proportion of the high frequency content of a signal
is allowed to flow to earth.

What is the function of a transformer?

A transformer can convert a high alternating voltage into a lower voltage, or a low
voltage into a higher voltage. It is also used in balanced connections between audio
equipment, and to isolate earth connections between items of equipment.

What causes noise in an analog tape recording?

Noise is caused by irregularities in the magnetic coating of the tape.

If the level of an analog recording is raised to combat noise, what is the

undesirable consequence?
As the level is raised, distortion will increase.

Describe the problems that occur in copying analog recordings.

The noise, distortion and frequency response inaccuracy of the copy is added to the
noise, distortion and frequency response inaccuracy of the original. This occurs on each
generation of copying.

Explain why a digital copy can be an exact clone of the master.

As long as the numbers that describe the signal can be read correctly, then when those
numbers are copied, the copy will be identical to the original.

Briefly describe the advantages of a digital mixing console over an analog

mixing console.
A digital console is less expensive than an analog console with the same set of features.
Also, the settings of a digital console can be stored and reset instantly. Settings of only
very few analog consoles can be stored, and resetting is a very lengthy manual
procedure.

Briefly explain Nyquists theorem.

To reconstruct an analog signal correctly from a digital signal, it must originally have
been sampled at at least twice the highest frequency contained in the signal.

State the two common sampling frequencies that lie between 40 kHz and 50
kHz.
44.1 kHz, 48 kHz

State two other sampling frequencies that are in common professional use.
96 kHz and 192 kHz (88.2 kHz and 176.4 kHz are also acceptable answers)

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Briefly explain why it is better to sample at a higher frequency.
Frequencies higher than half the sample rate must be filtered out of the original analog
signal. If a sampling rate significantly higher than twice the highest frequency of the
analog signal is used, then the filter can be simpler and have less damaging effect on the
audio.

Describe the task of the sample and hold circuit.

The sample part of the circuit detects the voltage of the analog signal at a certain
instant. The hold part of the circuit maintains that voltage while it is measured.

Describe quantization.
Only a certain number of different levels can be described by a digital signal, for
example a 16-bit digital signal can describe 65,536 levels. Levels in the original analog
signal that are between allowable values are described by the nearest allowable value.

What is the relevance of the number 65,536?

A 16-bit signal can describe 65,536 different levels of voltage.

What is quantization error?

Quantization error is the difference between the actual instantaneous level of the signal,
and the level that it is assigned to in the analog-to-digital conversion process.

Roughly, what is the signal-to-noise ratio of a digital system that has 20-bit
resolution?
In theory it should be approximately 6 dB per bit, therefore 120 dB.

What is the purpose of dither?

Dither averages out the quantization error and decorrelates it from the signal, making
the noise even and continuous instead of coming and going with the signal, which is
more noticeable to the ear.

Describe jitter and the problem it can cause.

Jitter is instability of the timing of a digital signal. It can cause significant noise and
distortion.

How can jitter be cured?

Jitter in a digital signal can be completely cured by reclocking the signal with a stable
clock.

Describe error detection.

An error detection system can tell whether data in a digital data stream has been
corrupted or not.

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Describe error correction.
Error correction is where redundant data in the data stream is used to reconstruct the
original signal perfectly.

Describe error concealment.

Where an error is to great to be fully corrected, the system makes a guess as to what
the data should have been.

If an error is detected but can neither be corrected nor concealed, what should
be done, and why?
The signal should be muted otherwise digital glitches will be produced that may be very
high in level.

What is latency?
Latency is a time delay between signal input and signal output in a digital system.

Why is the term latency not relevant to analog systems?

Signal travel so quickly through analog systems that there is never any perceptible
delay.

What causes latency in digital systems?

Time taken for analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversion; also time taken for
any digital processing of the signal.

Describe the flow of the clock signal when a digital recording is copied from one
machine to another.
A digital signal, in commonly used formats, contains its own clock. Therefore the clock
signal travels from the playback machine to the recording machine. The recording
machine must be set to external clock. Often this happens automatically.

What would happen if two digital unsynchronised digital signals were mixed
together?
Because the signals will inevitably have slightly different sample rates, every so often a
sample in one signal will be skipped. This often causes a tick sound.

What is a master clock

A master clock generates a clock signal to which all the digital devices in the studio, or
entire installation, synchronize.

End of model answers.

Module01ModelAnswers