← Music Tech Studio2.4 Digital and AnalogueADC Explorer
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20 kHz · 16 bitBeside the samples, the paper's two numbers: the highest frequency kept, and the dynamic range.
Presets
The song at 20 kHz: half the rate, 10 kHz, is the highest frequency kept, under the 20 kHz a person can hear.AO3 A lower sample rate reduces the high-frequency content: the filter cuts everything above 10 kHz, the hi-hats (6 to 12 kHz) included, so it sounds duller. 44.1 kHz keeps up to 22.05 kHz.AO4 Rate runs across: frequency. Bits run up: noise.
Level
Play plays the source through the converter, a phrase at a time. Hold: analogue plays the sound as it went in, before sampling and rounding, while you hold it. The space bar plays and stops.
SourceSong
its hi-hats: 6 to 12 kHz
Three real recordings. The song's hi-hats sit high, so a low sample rate takes them first; the vocal's quiet tail shows what few bits do.
Sample rate20kHz
10 kHz highest kept
half the rate: 10 kHz
How many times a second the converter measures the voltage. Half this number is the highest frequency it can keep; the bracket on the stage is one sample's time, and dragging its end sets the rate.
Bit depth16bit
65,536 levels
about 96 dB of range
How many bits each sample is stored with. n bits give 2^n levels, and each dot is rounded to the nearest; each bit adds about 6 dB of dynamic range.
What you should hear
dullerwhat comes back
10 kHzhighest frequency kept
65,536levels
≈ 96 dBdynamic range
Privacy
Every number here comes from the two dials: half the sample rate is the highest frequency kept; 2 to the power of the bit depth is the levels; about 6 dB a bit is the dynamic range.