AAC
Advanced Audio Coding. Type of lossy audio compression based on MPEG-4 format. Superior to MP3 due to its smaller file size while maintaining audio quality. AAC format is compatible with Apple iPods and iTunes software.

Acoustics
The study of how sound is produced and reacts within an environment.

AIFF
Audio Interchange File Format. Based on an uncompressed, high-quality format used for audio files.

Amplitude
The measure of power or voltage given to a speaker to magnify the decibels.

Audio Frequency (AF)
Range of sound that can be detected by human hearing that measures between 20Hz to 20,000Hz.

Bass
Audio frequencies produced by low signals measuring under 300Hz.

Bandwidth
The number of bytes that can be transmitted per second.

Clipping
Distorted sound created when a speaker is amplified beyond its ability.

Decibel (dB)
Unit of sound measured by the intensity of sound pressure.

Driver
Speaker component that contains two opposite-polarized magnets to control the speaker coil. The more powerful the magnet is the better the sound quality.

Dynamic Range
The difference of the loudest and softest sound produced by a speaker maintaining its sound quality without distortion.

Encoder
A program that converts audio files into various formats such as AIFF to MP3.

Equalizer (EQ)
Hardware or software that controls the audio frequencies to enhance or diminish sound qualities.

Frequency
The number of cycles produced by a signal and indicated by Hertz (Hz).

Frequency Response
The range of a speaker's response to high and low frequencies and denoted by Hz to Hz +/-dB.

Hertz (Hz)
A single component of frequency that is determined by the cycles per second.

Kilohertz (kHz)
Equal to 1000 Hertz.

MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface. Process of integrating music instruments with computers.

MPEG-3 (MP3)
MPEG Layer 3. Standard of MPEG format that has an audio compression ratio of 10:1 compared to that of MPEG-1 (ratio 4:1) and MPEG-2 (ratio 8:1). Most popular format used on the internet for music or voice recordings.

Playlist
Custom music selection that can be created by a music management program such as iTunes or Windows® Media Player.

Rip
Term used to describe the process of copying or digitizing music files.

Subwoofer
A bass speaker designed to produce sound below 80Hz.

Tweeter
A speaker engineered to create high frequency sounds from 5,000Hz to 20,000Hz.

WAV
WAVE. Lossless audio format used for high-quality recordings.

WMA
Windows® Media Audio. Audio compression format designed to work with Windows® Media Player and Winamp software.

Woofer
Bass speaker that produces low frequency sounds from 40-20Hz.

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