Sound

S O U N D

Sound Card

The sound card is a device that can be installed into a system to give the computer the ability to play sound files through speakers from CD-ROMS and disks, except audio input through a microphone, and to produce sound audio output through speakers and earphones.

Sound Card or Sound Converter

The digital to analog (D/A) conversion process is rather a simple procedure. The voice that we use is analog and the computer cannot read analog because it is too complex. Even in voice recognition programs the computer only map parts and tones of the target voices. On most multimedia computers today there is a voice recorder on it, a sure sign that there is a D/A on your sound card.

It works by converting the analog of your voice into electrical impulses which is then sent to the D/A which is converted into binary. These impulses are then interpreted by your sound card, which is stored or played by your command. Most digital to analog converters are found on a multimedia center and also on sound interpreters.

Types of Sound Cards

8 Bit: The 8 bit sound card is considered obsolete. It has a lower quality than a 16 bit or 32 bit sound card, but has less requirements for the system's hardware.

16 Bit: The 16 bit sound card is of the next higher quality because of the extended holding capacity. This card creates a more accurate sample of the signal than the 8 bit card. The sample rate, or speed is also another factor in higher resolution sampling. To create a sample that is CD quality, your hardware needs to sample sounds with 16 bit resolution at a sample rate of at least 44.1 kHz.

32 Bit: The 32 bit card is of course the most recent advancement. This card gives the highest quality but also requires more of the system's resources and costs quite a bit more.

Speakers

How well the sound card works depends upon the quality of the speakers. Most multimedia computers come with very low quality speakers. They work well, but they do not give really high quality sound. If you would like to hear really great CDs, then purchase quality speakers. Have you ever heard of subwoofers? They are really great for rich quality sound and a great bass. They can even produce surround sound. One word of advice is to not hook up your speakers from your stereo to your computer directly. The sound card's amplifier is what drives the sound, and it is not powerful enough to produce good sound. Another disadvantage to using your home stereo speakers is that you can warp your motherboard. The home speakers are not magnetically shielded.(There is a giant magnet inside the middle of the speaker.) Your computer's data and hard drive could be erased, or you could loose data.

An important feature of the sound card and speakers is the type of interface found on the computer. One important feature is the MIDI or the Musical Instrumental Digital Interface. MIDI is a set of rules that allow synthesizers, musical instruments, and computers to exchange data. This is an important feature because if a sound cards supports MIDI, then the computer can play the sounds found in games and CD-ROMS.

Two ways sound cards can produce MIDI sounds:

wave table- It uses the actual recordings of musical instruments. (It is really good quality sound, but costs more.)

FM-It imitates the sounds of musical instruments (not as high quality as a wave table).

What is found on the sound card?

PORTS

LINE IN -Allows computer to connect to the cassette or CD player to play music.

MIC IN -Microphone to record voices and other sounds

VOLUME (min-max) volume control-adjust sound volume.

SPK OUT- Connect to home stereo speakers to play music through the sound card.(This is so you can get good quality.)

JOYSTICK -connect joystick for games.

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