A description of sounds journey

from computer code to your ears

Austin Goewert 3/27/2014

Audience and Scope
The purpose of this document is to describe the process of digital audio playback (i.e. how
music travels from your iPod to your ears). Digital music storage has revolutionized music
listening. Almost everyone today listens to digital music in some form, ranging from the radio in
Walmart to their iPod headphones. It is my belief that a great number of these listeners do not
understand the science behind this process.
The following document will provide the reader with a physical understanding of digital music
playback. This process references various scientific concepts including computer code,
electricity, and magnetism. This document could be used by individuals with a relevant
scientific background as a starting point for further research. Additionally, this document could
be used to satisfy the curiosity of anyone who listens to digital music; no scientific background
is necessary.
Introduction
The digital age revolutionized music listening. The simple language of computer code combined
with mass storage technology enables thousands of songs to be stored on an mp3 player or
streamed online through websites such as SoundCloud and Pandora. The process by which this
music reaches the ears of listeners can be broken up into three stages:
1. Digital audio code is transformed into an electric current.
2. Changing electric current induces a force between two magnets. This force vibrates the
cone of a speaker.
3. The vibrating speaker cone creates a pressure difference in the air. The human ear
observes this pressure difference as sound.








Terminology
- Sample: A sample is a slice of audio. Digital audio uses very small samples to describe
continuous sound waves in binary code. This concept is similar to that of a mathematical
integral describing the area under a curve. (See Figure 1)

- Sample Rate Sample rate is the frequency of bars in an audio file. A typical audio file has
a sample rate of 44.1 kHz (44,100 bars per second). Higher sample rates result in a more
accurate description of the audio; however they require more processing power.

- Bit Rate Bit rate is the number of possible outputs at each sample. Higher bitrates
produce a more accurate description of the sound waves.
o i.e. higher bit rate is higher resolution

- Bit Depth: Conventional means of expressing bit rate. Bit rate = 2
bit depth

o i.e. an audio file with a bit depth of 4 has 2
4
=16 bits per sample.

- Binary code is a series of off (0) and on (1) messages by which all digital audio files are
expressed. Higher bit rates/sample rates require more code.
o i.e. An 16 bit sample contains 16 on/off messages ( 0110001001001000) while a
4 bit sample contains four (0110)

- Channel: A stream of audio. Most audio files have two channels: a right and a left
routed to the right and left speakers. Surround sound systems make use of up to 6
channels.









Figure 1: A sine wave described by 4bit digital code
From Digital to Current
A digital to analog converter (DAC) is a series of resistors which translate binary code into
electric voltage. A DAC contains multiple inputs corresponding to the bit depth of audio it was
designed for. (i.e. A 4bit DAC has 4 inputs as seen in Figure 2). For simplicity, a 4bit DAC is
described below. Higher bit DACs follow the same procedure, however the electronics involved
are much more complex.
1. A four bit digital audio sample is fed into a DAC. One on/off message is delivered to each
of the four resistors.
2. The resistors given an on message (1) produce a current proportional to that of their
voltage. The resistors given an off message (0) do not produce current.
-The resistances are scaled so that every possible amplitude can be expressed (see
Figure 2).
3. The four currents are summed to produce a current proportional to the amplitude of
the digital sample.
4. Steps 1 through 3 are repeated at the interval determined by the sample rate of the
audio file.
1


Figure 2: A 4 bit DAC producing an example voltage

From Current to Vibration

Figure 3: A simple speaker diagram
The current produced by the DAC travels through a wire to the speaker. As shown in Figure 3, a
speaker consists of a cone (1), a coiled magnet (2), and a stationary magnet (3). The cone is
attached to the body of the speaker by a flexible mounting. The coiled magnet is attached to
the speaker cone. A magnetic field is present between the coil and the stationary magnet.
1. Current passes through the center of the coiled magnet.
2. Changing current produces a magnetic force according to Faradays law of induction.
3. This force pushes and pulls the coiled magnet in relation to the stationary magnet,
causing the coiled magnet to vibrate.
4. Since the coiled magnet is attached to the speaker cone, it also vibrates in relation to
the changing current.
2





From Vibration to Sound

Figure 4: Sound waves produced by a vibrating speaker cone
As a speaker cone moves forward, it compresses the surrounding air, creating compressions. As
it moves back the air expands, creating rarefactions. These vibrations are detected by the
human eardrum and perceived as sound. The two characteristics of sound waves are frequency
and amplitude.
- Amplitude determines the
volume of a sound. The distance
the speaker cone moves sets the
volume of the sound.
-Frequency determines the pitch
of a sound. The speed at which
the speaker cone moves back and
forth sets this frequency.
3


Figure 5: Amplitude and frequency
Additional Information
Common Digital File Formats
-
.wav/.aif- Called lossless, .wav (Windows) and .aif (Mac) are the highest quality form
of digital audio. The sample rate can range from 1Hz to 4.3 GHz. They can be up to 4
gigabytes in size, which equates to about 6.8 hours of CD quality audio. Up to 65535
audio channels are possible. Typical CD quality audio contains two channels (mono and
stereo), a sample rate of 44.1kHz, and a bit depth of 16.
4

-
.mp3- Called lossy, an mp3 uses an algorithm based on the limitations of the human
ear to compress .wav/.aif files. A quality assessment between .wav and .mp3 is
referenced in the recommended materials section below. Mp3s are also typically two
channels, 44.1 kHz, and 16 bits.
5

- DVD-A: The conventional audio file for DVDs, DVD audio contains up to 6 channels, a
sample rate of 48, 96, or 192 kHz, and a bit rate of 16, 20, or 24 bits.
6


Recommended Materials
- 8 bit vs 16 bit- The song Idioteque by Radiohead is available on YouTube in 8 bit and 16
bit. The different quality versions of this recording highlight the differences between the
two file types.
o 16 bit (normal) idioteque https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNqv3nHyteM
o 8 bit idioteque https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evK3Quoq4mY

- .wav vs .mp3- Music producers on the forum gearslutz.com conducted a study to test
whether the human ear can tell the difference between a .wav and .mp3 file.
o http://www.gearslutz.com/board/mastering-forum/402758-wav-vs-mp3.html

- Collins Lab: Digital to Analog Converter- This video uses a visual approach to describe
the function of a DAC.
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-vUg7h0lpE



References
Cover Photo 1
http://transmissionsmedia.com/spy-agency-asio-wants-powers-to-hack-into-personal-
computers/206868-binary-code-hacking/
Cover Photo 2
http://www.bhmpics.com/view-abstract_sound_waves-wide.html
Figure 1
http://www.surroundsoundmusic.com/blog/2012/05/16/surround-sound-music-audio-
codecs/
Figure 2
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electronic/dac.html
Figure 3
http://www.physics.org/article-questions.asp?id=54
Figure 4
http://stahlysoundwaves.weebly.com/how-sound-is-made.html
Figure 5
http://stahlysoundwaves.weebly.com/how-sound-is-made.html
1.
http://provideyourown.com/2011/analogwrite-convert-pwm-to-voltage/
2.
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/audio/spk.html
3.
http://stahlysoundwaves.weebly.com/how-sound-is-made.html
4.
http://www-mmsp.ece.mcgill.ca/documents/AudioFormats/WAVE/WAVE.html
5.
http://www.mp3-tech.org/
6.
http://dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#3.6.1