Audiophile Yourself Sound Systems, Digital Music, Gadgets, Downloading and Streaming audio September 14th from 2-3pm live and 4-5 online at: http://bit.ly/16fCjHN Or you can watch it later at: http://bit.ly/1al6sWW With special guest teacher KC Easterwood from Mindfire Academy http://cdn4.openculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/bigstock_Audio_book_14340599-e1330386218724.jpg What is an Audiophile ? • An audiophile is a person enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. • Audiophile values may be applied at all stages of music reproduction: the initial audio recording, the production process, and the playback, which is usually in a home setting. http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/audiophile-main.jpg High End Audio • High-end audio is a class of consumer home audio equipment marketed to audio enthusiasts on the basis of high price or quality, and esoteric or novel sound reproduction technologies. • High-end audio can refer simply to the price, to the build quality of the components, or to the subjective or objective quality of sound reproduction. • The high-end audio movement started in 1962 with the launch of J. Gordon Holt's Stereophile magazine, which departed from advertising-driven commercial publications like Stereo Review and High Fidelity and instead promoted a philosophy of reviewing and comparing audio components solely on the basis of sound quality. http://www.mediander.com/connects/145372/audiophile/#!/1569276/high-end-audio What is Hi-Fi • High fidelity—or hi-fi or hifi —reproduction is a term used by home stereo listeners and home audio enthusiasts (audiophiles) to refer to high-quality reproduction of sound to distinguish it from the poorer quality sound produced by inexpensive audio equipment, or the inferior quality of sound reproduction characteristic of recordings made until the late 1940s. • Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has minimal amounts of noise and distortion and an accurate frequency response http://www.mediander.com/connects/145372/audiophile/#!/13624/high-fidelity Frequency Response • Frequency response is the quantitative measure of the output spectrum of a system or device in response to a stimulus, and is used to characterize the dynamics of the system. It is a measure of magnitude and phase of the output as a function of frequency, in comparison to the input. In simplest terms, if a sine wave is injected into a system at a given frequency, a linear system will respond at that same frequency with a certain magnitude and a certain phase angle relative to the input. Also for a linear system, doubling the amplitude of the input will double the amplitude of the output. In addition, if the system is time-invariant, then the frequency response also will not vary with time. http://www.mediander.com/connects/145372/audiophile/#!/302033/frequency-response Dynamic Range • Dynamic range, abbreviated DR or DNR, is the ratio between the largest and smallest possible values of a changeable quantity, such as in signals like sound and light. It is measured as a ratio, or as a base-10 (decibel) or base-2 (doublings, bits or stops) logarithmic value. http://www.mediander.com/connects/145372/audiophile/#!/ Loud Speaker • A loudspeaker (or "speaker") is an electro-acoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful. • The most common form of loudspeaker uses a paper cone supporting a voice coil electromagnet acting on a permanent magnet, but many other types exist. Where high fidelity reproduction of sound is required, multiple loudspeakers may be used, each reproducing a part of the audible frequency range. • Miniature loudspeakers are found in devices such as radio and TV receivers, and many forms of music players. Larger loudspeaker systems are used for music, sound reinforcement in theatres and concerts, and in public address systems. http://www.mediander.com/connects/145372/audiophile/#!/45871/loudspeaker Subwoofer • A subwoofer (or "sub") is a woofer, or a complete loudspeaker, which is dedicated to the reproduction of low-pitched audio frequencies known as bass. The typical frequency range for a subwoofer is about 20– 200 Hz for consumer products, below 100 Hz for professional live sound, and below 80 Hz in THX-approved systems. Subwoofers are intended to augment the low frequency range of loudspeakers covering higher frequency bands. http://www.mediander.com/connects/145372/audiophile/#!/ Tweeters • A tweeter is a loudspeaker designed to produce high audio frequencies, typically from around 2,000 Hz to 20,000 Hz (generally considered to be the upper limit of human hearing). Specialty tweeters can deliver high frequencies up to 100 kHz. The name is derived from the high pitched sounds made by some birds, especially in contrast to the low woofs made by many dogs, after which low-frequency drivers are named (woofers) http://www.mediander.com/connects/145372/audiophile/#!/191606/tweeter Digital Audio • Digital audio refers to technology that records, stores, and reproduces sound by encoding an audio signal in digital form instead of analog form. Sound is passed through an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), and pulse-code modulation is typically used to encode it as a digital signal. • A digital-to-analog converter performs the reverse process, and converts the digital signal back into an audible sound. Digital audio systems may include compression, storage, processing and transmission components. Conversion to a digital format allows convenient manipulation, storage, transmission and retrieval of an audio signal. http://www.mediander.com/connects/145372/audiophile/#!/53712/digital-audio Amplifier • An electronic amplifier, amplifier, or (informally) amp is an electronic device that increases the power of a signal. It does this by taking energy from a power supply and controlling the output to match the input signal shape but with a larger amplitude. In this sense, an amplifier modulates the output of the power supply. Audio Formats: Gramophone record http://www.in.all.biz/img/in/catalog/481689.png?rrr=1 • A gramophone record, commonly known as ahttp://www.in.all.biz/img/in/catalog/481689.png?rrr=1 phonograph record (in American English), vinyl record (manufactured from polyvinyl chloride, the material which eventually replaced Shellac from around 1950), or colloquially, "a record", is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. • The groove usually starts near the periphery and ends near the center of the disc. • Phonograph records are generally described by their diameter in inches (12-inch, 10-inch, 7-inch, etc.), the 1 rotational speed at which they are played ("33 ⁄3 rpm", "78", "45", etc.), their time capacity ("long playing" or "single"), their reproductive accuracy, or "fidelity" ("high fidelity", "orthophonic", "full-range", etc.), and the number of channels of audio provided ("mono", "stereo", "quadraphonic", etc.). http://www.mediander.com/connects/172121/gramophone-record/#!/ Audio Formats: LP Record http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Vynil_vinil_92837841.png • The LP (Long Play), or 33⅓ rpm microgroove vinyl record, is a format for phonograph (gramophone) records, an analog sound storage medium. • Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry. • Apart from relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound capability, it has remained the standard format for vinyl "albums" http://www.mediander.com/connects/172121/gramophone-record/#!/8975473/lp-record http://www.soundexchangetampabay.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/turntable-parts-record-player-technics-sl1200-sl-1200.jpeg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d7/LearJetStereo8Logo.jpg Audio Formats: Eight Track • Stereo 8, commonly known as the eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, or simply eight-track, is a magnetic tape sound recording technology. • It was popular in the United States from the mid- 1960s through to the early 1980s, but was relatively unknown in many European countries. • Stereo 8 was created in 1964 by a consortium led by Bill Lear of Lear Jet Corporation, along with Ampex, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Motorola, and RCA Victor Records (RCA). April 11th It was a further development of the similar Stereo-Pak four-track cartridge created by Earl "Madman" Muntz. A later quadraphonic version of the format was announced by RCA in April 1970 and first known as Quad-8, then later changed to just Q8. http://living4bliss.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/slide12.png Audio Formats: Compact Cassette http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/40/Compact_Cassette_Logo.svg • The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Compact cassettes come in two forms, either already containing content as a pre-recorded cassette, or as fully recordable "blank" cassette. • It was designed originally for dictation machines, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel tape recording in most non-professional applications. • Its uses ranged from portable audio to home recording to data storage for early microcomputers. • Between the early 1970s and the late 1990s, the cassette