Glossary

Note: Additional glossary words can be found online at the following web address: http://solutionsnetwork.yamaha.com

A/D Converter: Analog to Digital converter — An electronic device for converting analog signals to digital signals. The analog signal is sampled every few milliseconds and its level is quantized into a digital word. The larger the digital word, the more accurate the representation of the analog value.

Balanced Cable: A cable that has dual (two) wire conductors. XLR and TRS cables are examples of balanced cables.

BPM: Beats Per Minute — The number of steady even pulses in music occurring in one minute and therefore defining the tempo.

CD: Compact Disc- Trademark term for the Sony-Phillips digital audio optical disc storage system.

CDR: Compact Disc Recordable — A CD that can be record CD-ROMs and audio CDs. Data written on a CDR cannot be erased.

CDRW: Compact Disk ReWritable — used to refer to a disc or CD technology that enables a disc to be recorded, erased, and recorded multiple times.

Compressor: A signal processing device that is used to reduce the dynamic range of the signal passing through it.

Condenser Microphone: A microphone that has a gold-coated plastic diaphragm mounted above a conductive back plate. The diaphragm and back plate, separated by a small volume of air, form an electrical component called a capacitor (or condenser). A voltage between 9 and 48 volts (also known as phantom power) is applied to the diaphragm by an external power supply, charging it with a fixed, static voltage.

As the diaphragm vibrates in response to sound waves an electrical charge is induced that is an electrical representation of the acoustic sound wave.

Dynamic Microphone: A microphone that is made up of a flexibly mounted diaphragm that is coupled to a coil of fine wire. The coil is mounted in the air gap of a magnet so that it is free to move back and forth within the gap. When sound waves strike the diaphragm, the diaphragm will vibrate. As the diaphragm vibrates it will in turn cause the coil to move back in forth in the field of the magnet. As the coil cuts through the lines of magnetic force in the gap, a small electrical current is induced in the wire, which is an electrical representation of the sound wave. The dynamic microphone is the most common type of microphone.