The Audio Dictionary

The Audio Dictionary is a comprehensive resource, including historical, obsolete, and obscure as well as contemporary terms relating to diverse aspects of audio such as film and TV sound, recording, Hi-Fi, and acoustics.

The Third Edition includes four hundred new entries, such as AAC (advanced audio coding), lip synch, metadata, MP3, and satellite radio. Every term from previous editions has been reconsidered and often rewritten. Guest entries are by Dennis Bohn, cofounder and head of research and development at Rane Corporation, and film sound expert Larry Blake, whose credits include Erin Brockovich and Ocean's Eleven. The appendixes--tutorials that gather a lifetime's worth of experience in acoustics--include both new and greatly expanded articles.

Glenn D. White has been a freelance recording engineer for more than thirty years, specializing in instrumentation for acoustic and vibration measurements. His clients include the University of Washington, Vassar College, Rutgers University, and the Boeing Company. Gary J. Louie has been the music recording specialist at the University of Washington School of Music for over twenty-five years. His recordings have been released on labels including Harmonia Mundi, Musical Heritage Society, and Warner Brothers. He is secretary of the Pacific Northwest Section of the Audio Engineering Society.

Preface to the Third Edition

Introduction

The Audio Dictionary

Appendix 1. The Art and Science of Good Acoustics

Appendix 2. Some Frequently Used Symbols and Units

Appendix 3. How to Subdue a Hi-Fi Salesperson

Appendix 4. Good Acoustics in Small Rooms and Auditoria

Appendix 5. Some Notes on Audio Measurements

Appendix 6. The Balanced Line

Appendix 7. Some Notes of Digital Audio

Appendix 8. Musical Scales and the Tuning of Musical Instruments

Appendix 9. Some Notes on the History of High Fidelity

Appendix 10. Some Notes on Decimal and Binary Arithmetic as Used in Computer Terminology

Appendix 11. Some Notes on Impedance and Frequency Response

Bibliography