Audio Production 1

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Audio Production Theory I
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What is sound? Sound is a form of energy, just like electricity and light. Sound is made when air
molecules vibrate and move in a pattern called waves, or sound waves. Think of when you clap
your hands, or when you slam the car door shut. That action produces sound waves, which travel
to your ears and then to your brain, which says, "I recognize that sound." Sound is defined as a
disturbance in an elastic medium that can be detected by the human ear. The medium can be gas,
liquid or solid
Sounds are produced by mechanical vibrations. Vibrating object disturbs the molecules of air
surround it causing periodic variations in the air pressure. As the object vibrates back and forth the
pressure becomes alternately more and then less dense.
Variations in Air Pressure and Corresponding Waveform
The image shows a speaker creating sound waves to reaches an ear
The loudspeaker moves and pushes the air particles on its right (phase a) causing compression to
take place. These particles then push their adjacent particles and transfer the energy they have
received from the loudspeaker to them. The loudspeaker then moves back again and carries out a
compression in the opposite direction, in other words dilation towards the left takes place (phase
b) and in doing so forms an air gap that gets filled up by the air particles that are immediately close
by. These particles in turn create other gaps to their right, and so on and so forth. This process
allows the particles to transfer their energy to each other by oscillating without physically moving
in the sound's direction.
Compression (C= compression) and dilation (R = rarefaction) of particles in the air
The normal range of frequencies audible to humans is 20 to 20,000 Hz (the number of vibration
per second). A range of 200 to 2000 Hz is required to understand speech the speed of sound is
approximately 343 m/s
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Decibel
(Sound) Db meter
History of decibel
Alexander Graham Bell. Before Mr. Bell started to experiment with audio transmission and
reproduction, there was no scale to measure acoustic energy, so Bell came up with his own scale
to measure how loud a given sound was. He called his scale the Bell scale. His instruments were
crude and his 1-10 scale was not very fine or accurate. We still use his scale today, but we have
increased the sensitivity tenfold (that’s where the deci part of decibel comes from); in other words,
what Bell would have measured to be 7 bells, we now call 70 decibels. In fact, Bell would have
measured any sound between about 65 and 75 decibels at 7 bells, Definition for decibel the
measuring of sound level ..
NdB =10 log (P/Pr)

NdB = Number of decibels
P = The power being measured
Pr = A reference power level
A decibel is a unit of measurement which is used to indicate how loud a sound is. Continuous
exposure to sound above 80 decibels could be harmful. a unit for measuring the loudness of sound
(deci + bel unit of sound power (20-21 centuries), from Alexander Graham Bell (1847- 1922), US
inventor). Unit for measuring the relative intensities of sounds or the relative amounts of acoustic
or electric power.
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FUNDAMENTALS OF ACOUSTICS
Sound Wave Properties
All waves have certain properties. The three most important ones for audio work are shown here:
Wavelength: Wavelength is the distance between two

corresponding points (for example two successive maxima)
along the waveform. Literally, the length of the one wave.
Amplitude: Amplitude is the unit that measures the distance

between the equilibrium point and the maximum point of the
waveform. Greater amplitudes correspond to higher volumes..
The strength or power of a wave signal. The "height" of a

wave when viewed as a graph.
Frequency:
Frequency is literally the number of cycles made by a wave in

one second. A cycle is composed of a positive half wave and
a negative half wave. It is measured in Hz (1/sec). A 1Hz
frequency wave completes one cycle every second.
Higher frequencies are interpreted as a higher pitch. For

example, when you sing in a high-pitched voice you are
forcing your vocal chords to vibrate quickly.
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LOW-FREQUENCY
The range of low frequency 30 Hz to 800

Hz
Long wave form
MID-FREQUENCY
The range of low frequency 800 Hz to 2200

Hz
Medium wave form
HIGH-FREQUENCY
The range of low frequency 2200 Hz to

8000Hz
Short wave form
Very high frequency range is 8000 Hz to 18000 Hz
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Threshold of Hearing
The measured threshold of hearing curve shows that the sound intensity required to be heard is
quite different for different frequencies. The standard threshold of hearing at 1000 Hz is nominally
taken to be 0 dB, but the actual curves show the measured threshold at 1000 Hz to be about 4 dB.
There is marked discrimination against low frequencies so that about 60 dB is required to be heard
at 30 Hz.
Psycho-acoustics
1. The frequency range of the voice is typically only from about 500 Hz to 4 kHz
2. The normal range of frequencies audible to humans is 20 to 20,000 Hz.
Threshold of hearing range chart
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Echo
(A repetition of sound) Echo's, one or a few at most repetitions of an audio signal. Not all sound
that hits matter is absorbed. Some of it is reflected. That means sound bounces off the solid matter
the way a tennis ball bounces off a wall. Sound reflected back to its source is an echo.
1. One repetitions of an audio signals called as echo
Reverberation
Reverberation is the collection of reflected sounds from the surfaces in an enclosure like an
auditorium. It is a desirable property of auditoriums to the extent that it helps to overcome the
inverse square law drop-off of sound intensity in the enclosure. However, if it is excessive, it makes
the sounds run together with loss of articulation - the sound becomes muddy, garbled. To
quantitatively characterize the reverberation, the parameter called the reverberation time is used.
2. Many repetitions becoming more closely speed (denser) with time
(Reverberation sound is the collection of all the reflected sounds in an auditorium)
Delay
3. The time interval between a direct signal and its echoes
Decay
4. The time it takes for the echoes and reverberation to die away (Progressive decline.)

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Audio Production Theory I

Variations in Air Pressure and Corresponding Waveform

The image shows a speaker creating sound waves to reaches an ear

Compression (C= compression) and dilation (R = rarefaction) of particles in the air

NdB =10 log (P/Pr)

Sound Wave Properties

Wavelength: Wavelength is the distance between two

Amplitude: Amplitude is the unit that measures the distance

The strength or power of a wave signal. The "height" of a

Frequency is literally the number of cycles made by a wave in

Higher frequencies are interpreted as a higher pitch. For

The range of low frequency 30 Hz to 800

The range of low frequency 800 Hz to 2200

The range of low frequency 2200 Hz to

Very high frequency range is 8000 Hz to 18000 Hz

2. The normal range of frequencies audible to humans is 20 to 20,000 Hz.

Threshold of hearing range chart

1. One repetitions of an audio signals called as echo

2. Many repetitions becoming more closely speed (denser) with time

(Reverberation sound is the collection of all the reflected sounds in an auditorium)

3. The time interval between a direct signal and its echoes

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