What Is Analog Audio?

Analog audio is a representation of a sound

that is analogous to the air pressure waves
of the sound. That may sound complicated,
but it is actually very easy to understand.
Sound is waves of air molecules. Analog
audio is a representation of the intensities of
those waves in a different form, such as
voltages on a wire or magnetized particles
on a cassette tape.
The Basics of Sound
Sound is nothing more than the movement of air.
For example, the sound of a firecracker going
off is actually an experience of shock waves that
move through the air due to the rapid expansion
of the firecracker. The firecracker expands, the
molecules of air get pushed towards you, your
ears sense the movement of the air molecules
and your brain interprets that as sound. When
the air molecules move, there are points in the
wave when they are all bunched up together
(this is high pressure) and there are points when
there are relatively few air molecules (this is low
pressure).
HOW SOUND WAVES ARE
RECORDED
To record analog audio of a sound today, we use
a microphone, which has a diaphragm.The
diaphragm in a microphone is connected to a
device called a transducer. When the diaphragm
is vibrated by the sound of a voice, the
transducer converts those vibrations into
electrical energy. The portions of the sound that
are high pressure cause the transducer to create
positive voltage, and the portions of the sound
that are low pressure cause the transducer to
create negative voltage.
TRANSDUCER
IT IS A DEVICE WHICH CONVERTS
ONE FORM OF ENERGY INTO
ANOTHER FORM.
A MICROPHONE CONVERTS SOUND
PRESSURE WAVES INTO AN
ELECTRICAL SIGNAL.
A SPEAKER CONVERTS ELECTRICAL
SIGNAL INTO SOUND PRESSURE
WAVES.
MICROPHONE INVENTION
When people wish to communicate to a
large crowd or when they want to record
sound, a microphone is a valuable piece of
equipment. The microphone (sometimes
called a "mike") was first invented by Emile
Berliner in 1877. However, Alexander
Graham Bell was the first person to develop
it and make it useful. Today,
microphones are used in telephones,
hearing aids, radios, tape recorders, and
television broadcasting.
What is a microphone?
A device for turning acoustic power into
electric power is called a microphone.
Acoustic power is real sound waves. In
other words, it changes sound into an
electric signal. These signals are usually
sent to an amplifier or recording device.
There are many different brands and also
different types. Still, they all have one thing
in common: they all use a diaphragm.

This diaphragm is a thin part, sometimes made
of metal, that vibrates when sound goes to the
microphone. When the diaphragm shakes, it
causes the other parts of the microphone to
create signals.
TYPES OF MICROPHONES
DYNAMIC MICROPHONE
CARBON MICROPHONE
CONDENSER MICROPHONE
ELECTRET MICROPHONES
RIBBON MICROPHONE
GUN MICROPHONE
LIP MICROPHONE
LAPEL MICROPHONE
WIRED AND RF



DYNAMIC MICROPHONE
The dynamic microphone has a thin
diaphragm that is hung by suspension
wires. It can break if the wires become
damaged. One bad thing about this kind is
that because it is less sensitive, it does not
pick up sounds as well. But it is great for
live performances and recordings that want
to sound like live performances.
CARBON MICROPHONE
Carbon is the next kind of microphone. It is
an old fashioned design, used on the first
telephones. It uses carbon dust which is
compressed into the middle of the
diaphragm. It makes electrical signals when
the sound waves pass through the dust. It is
still used on many telephones.
CONDENSER MICROPHONE
Basically, the heart of any capacitor mic is a
pair of conducting plates, one fixed and the
other in the form of a moving diaphragm.
When the spacing between the plates
changes (as it does when the diaphragm
vibrates) the capacitance varies, and if a
fixed electrical charge is applied to the
capacitor, an electrical signal is produced
which faithfully represents the diaphragm
vibration.
ELECTRET MICROPHONES
There is another type of capacitor microphone, known as
the electret mic. Despite inauspicious beginnings, these
have now been developed to the point where they can rival
true capacitor quality for a much lower price. Instead of
applying an electrical charge to the microphone capsule via
an external power source, electret mics use a diaphragm
made from an insulating material that has a permanent
electrical charge. A preamplifier is still needed, but this
can be built very cheaply, and will run from a battery in
some cases.
Electret mics made in this way don't offer any real
advantage over dynamic mics, because the diaphragms
have to be quite heavy in order to carry the permanent
electrical charge .
RIBBON MICROPHONE
The ribbon is another variety of
microphone. Ribbon microphones use a
very thin metal wire that is suspended in a
magnetic field. When the sound waves or
vibrations hit the ribbon, the ribbon vibrates
and sends waves through the magnetic field
creating electric signals. Ribbon
microphones are very sensitive and usually
used for special recordings. They are very
fragile and can break easily when dropped.
GUN MICROPHONE
IT IS SUITABLE FOR OUT DOOR
COVERAGES LIKE REPORTING,
SHOOTINGS ETC.
LIP MICROPHONE
IT IS A HIGHLY DIRECTIONAL
MICROPHONE.IT IS USED IN
MATCH COVERAGES BY
COMMENTRATORS.
LAPEL MICROPHONE
A lapel microphone is a very handy tool for those
speaking in public. It attaches to clothing and
takes the place of a more static-position
microphone. The lapel microphone can amplify a
voice and ensure quality communication with very
little extra equipment.
By its very nature, a lapel microphone is quite
small. It has a powerful reach and yet is small
enough to be held between two fingers. It doesnt
have an unlimited range, however, and must be
attached to clothing within a foot or two of the
mouth. A lapel microphone is most often placed
on the flap of a button-down or Polo Shirt or to the
top part of a blouse or other kind of shirt or top.
What is Impedance?
Impedance is an electronics term which measures
the amount of opposition a device has to an AC
current (such as an audio signal). Technically
speaking, it is the combined effect of capacitance,
inductance, and resistance on a signal. The letter Z
is often used as shorthand for the word impedance,
e.g. Hi-Z or Low-Z.
Impedance is measured in ohms, shown with the
Greek Omega symbol . A microphone with the
specification 600 has an impedance of 600
ohms.
Microphone Impedance
When dealing with microphones, one
consideration which is often misunderstood or
overlooked is the microphone's impedance rating.
Perhaps this is because impedance isn't a "critical"
factor; that is, microphones will still continue to
operate whether or not the best impedance rating
is used. However, in order to ensure the best
quality and most reliable audio, attention should
be paid to getting this factor right.
If you want the short answer, here it is: Low
impedance is better than high impedance.
What is Microphone Impedance?
All microphones have a specification referring to their
impedance. This spec may be written on the mic itself
(perhaps alongside the directional pattern), or you may
need to consult the manual or manufacturer's website.
You will often find that mics with a hard-wired cable
and 1/4" jack are high impedance, and mics with
separate balanced audio cable and XLR connector are
low impedance.
There are three general classifications for microphone
impedance. Different manufacturers use slightly
different guidelines but the classifications are roughly:
Low Impedance (less than 600)
Medium Impedance (600 - 10,000)
High Impedance (greater than 10,000)
Which Impedance to Choose?
High impedance microphones are usually quite
cheap. Their main disadvantage is that they do not
perform well over long distance cables - after
about 5 or 10 metres they begin producing poor
quality audio (in particular a loss of high
frequencies). In any case these mics are not a good
choice for serious work. In fact, although not
completely reliable, one of the clues to a
microphone's overall quality is the impedance
rating.
Low impedance microphones are usually the
preferred choice.
Matching Impedance with Other
Equipment
Microphones aren't the only things with impedance. Other
equipment, such as the input of a Sound Mixer, also has an
ohms rating. Be aware that what one system calls "low
impedance" may not be the same as your low impedance
microphone - you really need to see the ohms value to
know exactly what you're dealing with.
A low impedance microphone should generally be
connected to an input with the same or higher impedance.
If a microphone is connected to an input with lower
impedance, there will be a loss of signal strength.
In some cases you can use a line matching transformer,
which will convert a signal to a different impedance for
matching to other components.
Impedance Matching
In the early days of high fidelity music
systems, it was crucial to pay attention to
the impedance matching of devices since
loudspeakers were driven by output
transformers and the input power of
microphones to preamps was something that
had to be optimized. The integrated solid
state circuits of modern amplifiers have
largely removed that problem, so this
section just seeks to establish some
perspective about when impedance
matching is a valid concern.
As a general rule, the maximum power transfer
from an active device like an amplifier or antenna
driver to an external device occurs when the
impedance of the external device matches that of
the source. That optimum power is 50% of the
total power when the impedance of the amplifier is
matched to that of the speaker. Improper
impedance matching can lead to excessive power
use, distortion, and noise problems. The most
serious problems occur when the impedance of the
load is too low, requiring too much power from
the active device to drive the load at acceptable
levels. On the other hand, the prime consideration
for an audio reproduction circuit is high fidelity
reproduction of the signal, and that does not
require optimum power transfer.
In modern electronics, the integrated
circuits of an amplifier have at their
disposal hundreds to thousands of active
transistor elements which can with
appropriate creative use of feedback make
the performance of the amplifier almost
independent of the impedances of the input
and output devices within a reasonable
range.
On the input side, the amplifier can be made
to have almost arbitrarily high input
impedance, so in practice a microphone sees
an impedance considerably higher than its
own impedance. Although that does not
optimize power transfer from the
microphone, that is no longer a big issue
since the amplifier can take the input
voltage and convert it to a larger voltage -
the term currently used is "bridging" to a
larger image of the input voltage pattern.
On the output side, a loudspeaker may still
have a nominal impedance of something
like 8 ohms, which formerly would have
required having an amplifier output stage
carefully matched to 8 ohms. But now with
the active output circuitry of audio
amplifiers, the effective output impedance
may be very low. The active circuitry
controls the output voltage to the speaker so
that the appropriate power is delivered.
Matching Amplifier to Loudspeaker
The maximum power transfer from an active
device like an amplifier to an external device like
a speaker occurs when the impedance of the
external device matches that of the source. That
optimum power is 50% of the total power when
the impedance of the amplifier is matched to that
of the speaker.
But modern audio amplifiers are active control
devices, and the impedance matching of the
amplifier to the loudspeaker is no longer
considered best practice.
To emphasize the over simplification involved in
the above model, it should be noted that the
loudspeaker is not a simple resistor - it contains a
coil or coils with significant inductance, and is
typically composed of two or three speakers with a
crossover network that has capacitance and
inductance. So the impedance of the loudspeaker
will inevitably vary with frequency.
Note that it is safer in terms of total power to go to
higher impedance speakers (series speakers), but
more typical practice is to put speakers in parallel,
lowering the impedance.
Matching Microphone to Input
While impedance matching of a microphone to an
audio amplifier is not the problem it was in the
early days of high fidelity sound reproduction,
there are some considerations that still apply.
In practical terms, the modern microphone needs
to deliver optimal voltage to the preamplifier, and
not necessarily the optimum power that would
require impedance matching. Considering the
microphone as a voltage source, the voltage
delivered to the input of the preamplifier is given
by
where Vsource is the signal generated by the
microphone mechanism, Ri the impedance of the
microphone and RL the input impedance of the
preamplifier. The actual signal power delivered to
the preamp can be expressed in decibels of loss
compared to the microphone's generated signal .
Assuming a resistive circuit so that the power if
proportional to the square of the voltage:
As long as the microphone has enough signal strength to
provide the minimum signal input to the mixer, it can be
an advantage to connect a low impedance microphone to
a moderately higher impedance input. From this point of
view, current practice for "low impedance" inputs to
audio mixers typically have impedances from 1000 to
2000 ohms.As a rule of thumb, a signal loss of 6dB is
acceptable.
Use of Digital Delay
To maintain the perception that the sound is
coming from the front of the auditorium, it is
necessary to use digital delay to speakers under
balconies, etc., where they are much closer to the
listener than the main speakers. The signal to the
speaker from the microphone travels at the speed
of light, and the sound to the listener would arrive
first from the closest speaker. Precedence has a
strong localizing influence, and all the sound
would seem to be coming from the nearby
speaker. With appropriate delays, the sound to all
listeners seems to come from the main speaker.
PICKUP PATTERNS OF A MICROPHONE
Omnidirectional. This kind of microphone
picks up sound from all directions. These
are used for group vocals and recordings.
Unidirectional microphones pickup sound
from only one direction. They are good for
recording single voices. This makes them
good for interviews in places that are loud.
Because they can pickup from long
distances, they are also great for
surveillance.
Bi-directional. It gets sound from two
places. It is great for recording two voices at
the same time.
Carotid is the last type of pickup pattern. It
is very unusual, because it picks up sound in
a heart shaped pattern. These are actually a
very commonly used microphone. They are
great for talk shows, because the audience
sound will not be picked up as much as the
people on stage. This also makes it very
good for live music performances.
Directional microphones are referred to as
cardioids because a graph of their sensitivity at
different angles looks 'heart-shaped'. The least
sensitive spot of a cardioid microphone is right
behind it, with the most sensitive spot being 'on-
axis'. Cardioids (or the more tightly-focused
hypercardioids -- see below) are used extensively
in live performance, because of the need to
prevent spill and acoustic feedback.
Hypercardioid mics, sometimes also known as
supercardioids, are useful in situations where
sound leakage is a real problem, but in the studio,
they tend not to be used, as relatively small
physical movements by the performer can cause
the sound level to change significantly.
PROXIMITY EFFECT
The proximity effect comes into play when vocalists sing
very close to a mic, and the effect is that the level of bass
in the recorded signal goes up enormously. The proximity
effect is all down to the laws of physics, and may be a
benefit or a problem depending on what you do with it --
experienced live performers can use the proximity effect as
a type of dynamic EQ, allowing them to alter the tone of
their voice as they sing, simply by varying the mic-to-
mouth distance.
In the studio, mics tend to be used at a reasonable distance
from the performer, usually with a pop shield in between,
so the proximity effect doesn't affect the recording of
vocals. When recording electric guitar or bass, the
proximity effect is often deliberately brought into play, to
help create a more punchy sound.
WHAT TO USE: QUICK GUIDES
VOCALS
When it comes to recording vocals, there are no
hard and fast rules about the type of mic to choose,
because all that matters is the end result. For this
reason, some top pop singers record using
relatively inexpensive dynamic mics, rather than
capacitor models, because the dynamic mic gives
them a warmer, thicker, more punchy sound. On
the other hand, a breathy, intimate voice can
benefit from the detailed high-end of a capacitor
mic. Not only do the different types of mic sound
quite different, but you'll also notice that even
similarly-specified mics of the same type but from
different manufacturers will also sound noticeably
different.
DRUMS
For drum work, the most common setup is
to use dynamic mics for all the close mics
(on the individual drums) and then augment
these with capacitor mics for the overhead
mics and the hi-hat. Dedicated kick drum
mics are available (such as the AKG D112,
currently retailing at 216), and these will
produce a more powerful bass drum sound
than general-purpose dynamic models.
Some engineers also prefer to use capacitor
mics on the snare drum for a crisper sound.
GUITAR
Electric guitar is less demanding on mics, because
a typical guitar cab has a very limited high-
frequency output, and in most instances, a
dynamic vocal or drum mic will do fine
Definitions of Wow and Flutter :
A measurement of speed instability in analog
equipment usually applied to cassette transports
and turntables. Wow is slow-speed variations, and
flutter is fast-speed variations. Lower percentages
are better.


AUDIO SIGNAL IMPAIRMENTS
1 AMPLITUDE ERRORS
2 FREQUENCY ERRORS/FREQUENCY
RESPONSE
3 PHASE ERRORS
4 THD+N
5 NOISE OR S/N
6 CROSSTALK
7 INTER MODULATION
8 WOW & FLUTTER
AUDIO PRE-AMPLIFIER:
Audio Input : Microphone /-70dB
Input Impedance : 600 Ohms.
Audio Output: 0dB
SPECIFICATION FOR STEREO
DISTRIBUTION AMPLIFIER:
1. GENERAL
The stereo distribution amplifier will be used for
feeding a stereo high quality programme to
various destinations. The distribution amplifier
should be solid state audio amplifier having one
stereo input and 4 separate individually adjustable
stereo outputs.

2. INPUT IMPEDANCE
Input impedance shall be >=10 k ohm (balanced).
3. INPUT LEVEL
(a) Nominal : 0 dBu
(b) Maximum : +20 dBu
4. GAIN
Shall have adjustable gain of 5 dB with respect to
nominal setting.
5. OUTPUT LEVEL
(a) Nominal : 0 dBu
(b) Maximum ; +20 dBu
6. OUTPUT IMPEDANCE
Output impedance shall be <= 50 ohm (balanced).
7. FREQUENCY RESPONSE
0.5 dB in frequency range of 40 Hz to 20 kHz.
8. TOTAL HARMONIC DISTORTION
Less then 0.3% at nominal level (1 kHz) and less than
0.5% at maximum output level.
(Terminated into a load of 600 ohm) throughout the audio
frequency range of 40 Hz to 20 kHz.
9. SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO AT NOMINAL
INPUT/OUTPUT, RMS UNWEIGHTED (22 Hz-22kHz)
>= 90 dB
10. INTER OUTPUT LOADING
(a) If one of the outputs gets short circuited, the level on
the rest of the outputs shall not fall by more than 0.3 dB,
(b) If two of the outputs got short circuited, the level on
each of the remaining outputs shall not fall by more than
0.6 dB.
11. INTER-CHANNEL PHASE DIFFERENCE
Not more than 5 degree in frequency range of 125
Hz to 10 kHz and 10 degree from 40 Hz to 20
kHz.
12. INTER-CHANNEL LEVEL DIFFERENCE

Within O.5 dB, from 40 Hz to 20 kHz.
13. INTER-CHANNEL CROSS TALK
Equal to or better than 60 dB at 20 kHz at nominal
level.
14. INPUT/OUTPUT CONNECTORS
Input and all outputs shall be on 3-pin XLR
connectors.
15. POWER REQUIREMENT
230 V 10%, 48-52 Hz single phase AC
supply.
16. CONTROLS
Following front panel controls shall be
provided:
(a) ON/OFF switch with ON LED
indicator and power fuse.
(b) Screw driver control for level
adjustment for each output.