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mixer
An electronic device used to combine various
audio signals into a common output. Different
from a blender, which combines various fruits
into a common libation.
monaural
Long for
mono
. Literally, pertaining to or hav-
ing the use of only one ear.
In the audio field, monaural describes a signal
or system which carries audio information on a
single channel with the intent of reproducing it
from a single source. One microphone is a
mono source; many microphones mixed to one
channel is a mono mix; a stereo (or, to be picky,
a two-channel) mix of many microphones
panned left and right is a stereo mix of mono
sources.
Monaural listening, and therefore mono com-
patibility of a stereo mix, is more important
than you may realize. Most people hear televi-
sion audio in mono. Most clock radios are
mono.
monitor
In sound reinforcement, monitor speakers (or
monitor headphones or in-the-ear monitors) are
those speakers used by the performers to hear
themselves. In the video and broadcast world,
monitor speakers are often called foldback
speakers. In recording, the monitor speakers are
those used by the engineer and production staff
to listen to the recording as it progresses. In
zoology, the monitor lizard is the lizard that
observes the production staff as the recording
progresses. Keep the lizard out of the mixer.
mono
Short for
monaural
.
mult
Short for
multiple
. In audio work, a mult is a
parallel connection (in a patch bay or with spe-
cially built cables or wiring) used to feed an
output to more than one input. A “Y” cable is a
type of mult connection. Also used a verb, as in
“Why did you mult the flanger into every input
in the board?”
N
noise
Whatever you don’t want to hear. Could be
hum, buzz or hiss; could be crosstalk or digital
hash or your neighbor’s stereo; could be white
noise or pink noise or brown noise; or it could
be your mother-in-law reliving the day she had
her gallstone removed.
noise floor
The residual level of noise in any system. In a
well designed mixer, the noise floor will be a
quiet hiss, which is the thermal noise generated
by electrons bouncing around in resistors and
semiconductor junctions. The lower the noise
floor and the higher the headroom, the more
usable dynamic range a system has.
normal
A wiring method which electrically ties together
two jacks or two poles of one jack so that in
nor-
mal
operation, there is signal flow between
them. Inserting a plug breaks this connection,
allowing the signal path to be modified.
Normal
wiring is common in patchbays and
insert jacks
.
Nyquist sampling theorem
This theorem states that, when an analog signal
is converted to a digital signal, it must be sam-
pled at a frequency that is at least twice the
highest audio frequency present in the analog
signal. If the audio frequency should exceed
one-half the sampling frequency, aliasing can
result. Thus, if an analog-to-digital converter is
sampling at 44.1 kHz, the audio signal should
not exceed 22.05 kHz.
