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Springer Handbook of Acoustics pp 743–781Cite as

Audio and Electroacoustics

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Part of the book series: Springer Handbooks ((SHB))

Abstract

This chapter surveys devices and systems associated with audio and electroacoustics: the acquisition, transmission, storage, and reproduction of audio. The chapter provides an historical overview of the field since before the days of Edison and Bell to the present day, and analyzes performance of audio transducers, components and systems from basic psychoacoustic principles, to arrive at an assessment of the perceptual performance of such elements and an indication of possible directions for future progress.

The first, introductory section is an overall historical review of audio reproduction and spatial audio to establish the context of events. The next section surveys relevant psychoacoustic principles, including performance related to frequency response, amplitude, timing, and spatial acuity. Section 3 examines common audio specifications, with reference to the psychoacoustic limitations discussed in Sect. 2. The specifications include frequency and phase response, distortion, noise, dynamic range and speed accuracy. Section 4 examines some of the common audio components in light of the psychoacoustics and specifications established in the preceding sections. The components in question include microphones, loudspeakers, record players, amplifiers, magnetic recorders, radio, and optical media. Section 5 is concerned with digital audio, including the basics of sampling, digital signal processing, and audio coding. Section 6 is devoted to an examination of complete audio systems and their ability to reproduce an arbitrary acoustic environment. The specific systems include monaural, stereo, binaural, Ambisonics, and 5.1-channel surround sound. The final section provides an overall appraisal of the current state of audio and electroacoustics, and speculates on possible future directions for research and development.

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Abbreviations

AC:

articulation class

ADC:

analog-to-digital converter

AM:

amplitude modulated

DAC:

digital-to-analog converter

DSP:

digital signal processing

DSP:

digital speckle photography

FCC:

Federal Communications Commission

FFT:

fast Fourier transform

FM:

frequency modulated

IAD:

interaural amplitude difference

IF:

intermediate frequency

IM:

intermodulation

ITD:

interaural time difference

JND:

just noticeable difference

MEMS:

microelectromechanical system

MTS:

multichannel television sound

PCM:

pulse code modulation

PSD:

power spectral density

RF:

radio frequency

RIAA:

Recording Industry Association of America

RMS:

root-mean-square

SAC:

spatial audio coding

SNR:

signal-to-noise ratio

SPL:

sound pressure level

SR:

spontaneous discharge rate

TDAC:

time-domain alias cancellation

THD:

total harmonic distortion

VBR:

variable bitrate

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dolby Laboratories, 100 Potrero Ave, 94103, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Mark Davis Dr.

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  1. Mark Davis Dr.
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Correspondence to Mark Davis Dr. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, Stanford University, 94305, Stanford, CA, USA

    Thomas D. Rossing Prof.

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© 2007 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC New York

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Davis, M. (2007). Audio and Electroacoustics. In: Rossing, T. (eds) Springer Handbook of Acoustics. Springer Handbooks. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30425-0_18

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