AES London 2011
Tutorial T10
Monday, May 16, 09:00 — 10:30 (Room 4)
T10 - Analog Standards—Why Are There So Many?
Presenter:
Sean Davies
Abstract:
"We like standards, that’s why we have so many.” ( variously attributed ).
Although most current audio work is in the digital domain there remains a vast legacy of recordings made in analog, access to which will be required for some considerable time to come. Knowledge is therefore required of the standards applicable to each recording, also the relevant technical literature.
This tutorial will seek to explain how and why the seemingly perverse plurality of standards arose. Fields covered will be: (1) Impedances; why 30 ohms (“R”), 200R, 300R, 600R; (2) Levels; the TU, the Neper, the Decibel; (3) Metering, the VU versus the PPM; (4) Disc recordings; speeds, equalization curves; (5) Tape recordings, speeds, equalization curves; (6) A bag of miscellaneous horrors such as color codes, connectors, and so on.
