Technology / Home Audio Glossary

Nominal Impedance: The minimum impedance a loudspeaker presents to an amplifier, directly related to the power the speaker can extract from the amplifier.

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

Non-Lossy Compression: A form of data compression which seeks out chunks of data which are identical, replacing them with markers called keys. In this way, the file is reduced in size, and when it is decompressed . . . View Full Definition

Notch Filter: A special type of cut-only equalizer used to attenuate ( no boosting ) a narrow band of frequencies. Three controls: frequency, bandwidth and depth, determine the notch. Simplified units pro . . . View Full Definition

Nyquists Theorem: This states that a sound must be sampled at at least twice its highest analog frequency in order to extract all of the information from the bandwidth and accurately represent the original ac . . . View Full Definition

Octave: In audio, the interval between any two frequencies having a ratio of 2 to 1. One octave up from 100 Hz is 200 Hz, where one octave down from 100 Hz is 50 Hz. A harmonic is a doubling (2nd ha . . . View Full Definition

Ohm: The measurement of electrical resistance and system impedance. It is a measure of the degree to which electrons are limited in both velocity and quantity in passing through a circuit. In Imp . . . View Full Definition

Ohms Law: The mathematical relationship between voltage, current, and resistance. It is named after George Ohm, it's discoverer. Ohm's law states that current volume in a conductor is directly proport . . . View Full Definition

Omnidirectional: Literally, from all directions. In audio, microphones are said to be omnidirectional if they can detect sound with equal sensitivity from all directions. Speakers are omnidirectional if they . . . View Full Definition

On Axis: A listening experience which takes place with the ear precisely lined up with the central pressure axis of the emitter. Headphones are a normative example of this effect. Sitting directly in . . . View Full Definition

Op Amp: (operational amplifier) An analog integrated circuit device having two opposite polarity inputs and one output; frequently used as a basic processing unit in the design of analog signal circuits.

Oscillator: A device which produces an alternating current or pulsating current or voltage at varying frequencies, electronically.

Output (Audio): The high level (speaker) or line level (RCA) signals sent from one system component to another, or the high level signal from an amplifier to the system speakers.

Oversampling: A technique where each sample from a data converter is sampled more than once, i.e., oversampled. This multiplication of samples permits digital filtering of the signal, thus reducing the ne . . . View Full Definition

Overtone: Similar in concept to a harmonic. Overtones are sounds produced by an instrument (or sound source) that are higher in frequency than the fundamental frequency. They may or may not coincide w . . . View Full Definition

Pad: An electrical circuit used to attenuate or reduce the amplitude of an audio signal by a fixed amount, e.g a -15db pad reduces the signal by a fixed 15 decibels.

Pan Pot: Short for panoramic potentiometer, this is a knob controlling a voltage divider that can send a signal to a combination of two busses, such as left and right. Always found on mixing consoles . . . View Full Definition

Parallel Wiring: A circuit in which two or more devices are connected to the same source of voltage, sharing a common positive and negative point, so that each device receives the full applied voltage.

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