Calista Home Theaters

The excess or deficiency of electrons in a given area. Horn 1) The part of the speaker that emits midrange and higher range frequencies. 2) A speaker or speaker enclosure where sound waves are put into a narrow opening (by a speaker cone or driver) and the narrow opening flairs out to a larger opening. Calista C2-88 Projector Charge The electrical energy of electrons. The energy is in the form of a force that is considered negative and repels other like forces (other electrons) and attracts opposite (positive) forces. Cancellation A shortening of the term Phase Cancellation (the energy of one waveform significantly decreasing the energy of another waveform because of phase relationships at or close to 180 degrees). Calista C1-9 Home Theater High Impedance Impedance of 5000 or more ohms. Keying Input (Key Input) An input on a dynamics processing device to control the device by an external audio signal. Amplifier Sound equipment that converts the l...

Electrical current (the amount of electron charge passing a point in a conductor per unit of time) or voltage (the force pushing electrons to obtain electrical current). Hertz The unit of frequency. Equivalent to cycles per second. Abbreviation: Hz. Calista C1-9 Home Theater Cut-Off Frequency (Turnover Frequency) 1) The highest or lowest frequency in the pass band of a filter. 2) The highest or lowest frequency passed by an audio device (the cut-off frequency is usually considered to be the first frequency to be 3 dB lower than a reference frequency in the middle of the bandwidth of the device) ADAT A trademark of Alesis Corporation designating its modular digital multitrack recording system released in early 1993. Calista C3-S Security System Cascade To set and interconnect two mixers so that the stereo mixing buss(es) of the first mixer feeds the stereo buss(es) of a second mixer. Crossover Frequency 1) The frequency that is the outer limit of one of...

1) A technician in charge of a recording session; Also called Recording Engineer. 2) A person with an engineering degree. 3) A person with sufficient experience in the field to be equivalent to the education one would receive earning an engineering degree. Lead Sheet A written chart showing the melody, lyrics and chords of a tune with full musical notation. Calista C3-S Security System High Impedance Mic A microphone designed to be fed into an amplifier with input impedance greater than 20 k ohms. Horn 1) The part of the speaker that emits midrange and higher range frequencies. 2) A speaker or speaker enclosure where sound waves are put into a narrow opening (by a speaker cone or driver) and the narrow opening flairs out to a larger opening. Calista C1-9 Home Theater Compander Outboard sound equipment. Combination of a Compressor and an Expander. Insert 1) A punch in of the all of the tracks being recorded in a recording session. 2) On Solid Stat...

A speaker cabinet where the speaker faces out toward the front. Headroom 1) The level difference (in dB) between normal operating level and clipping level in an amplifier or audio device. 2) A similar level difference between normal tape operating level and the level where the distortion would be 3%. 3) The difference, in decibels, between the peak and RMS levels in program material. Calista C3-S Security System Condenser Mic (Capacitor Mic) A microphone that uses the varying capacitance between two plates with a voltage applied across them to convert sound to electrical pulses. Condenser microphones need a power supply to provide the voltage across the plates, which may be provided by a battery within the case of the microphone, or it may be provided from an external phantom power supply. A condenser mic is more sensitive and has a faster reaction to percussive sounds than a Dynamic mic and produces a more even response. See Electret Mic. Channels These are div...

The presence of harmonics in the output signal of a device which were not present in the input signal. Baffles Sound absorbing panels used to prevent sound waves from entering or leaving a certain space Calista C3-S Security System Dry Describes a sound coming from the PA with no effects on it. Condenser An older term meaning the same thing as Capacitor (an electronic device which is composed of two plates separated by an insulator and can store charge) but sill in common use when referring to a microphone's active element. Calista C2-88 Projector High Impedance Mic A microphone designed to be fed into an amplifier with input impedance greater than 20 k ohms. Capacitance The property of being able to oppose a change in voltage or store an electrical charge. Frequency Shift Key / FSK The full name for FSK (A simple clock signal that can be used to run a sequencer in time with an audio tape). Calista Reviews High Impedance Cord (High Z) A b...

A microphone mounted on a flat plate that acts as a reflective surface directing sound into the mic capsule. Used for general pick-up over a large area. See PCC, PZM. Boost To increase gain, especially to increase gain at specific frequencies with an equalizer. Calista C1-9 Home Theater Impedance Matching Having or converting the output impedance of a device so that it matches the impedance of the input it will feed. Amplifier A device which increases the amplitude (level) of an electrical signal (making it louder). Calista C2-88 Projector Figure Eight Pattern Another name for Bi-directional Pattern (microphone pickup pattern picking up best from the front and back of the diaphragm and not picking up from the side of the diaphragm). Initialize To prepare a digital storage medium (like a floppy disk) so that it will accept and store digital information bits. Action In guitar playing, action refers to how far the strings sit off of the guitar neck. W...

An older term meaning the same thing as Capacitor (an electronic device which is composed of two plates separated by an insulator and can store charge) but sill in common use when referring to a microphone's active element. Capacitor 1) A device consisting of two or more conducting plates separated from one another by an insulating material and used for storing an electrical charge. Sometimes called a condenser. 2) An electronic device that is composed of two plates separated by an insulator. Calista C1-9 Home Theater Ground Lift A switch that breaks the connection between the ground point in one circuit and the ground point in another circuit. Line 1) Short for line level. 2) A cable. Calista C2-88 Projector Fat Having more than a normal amount of signal strength at low frequencies or having more sound than normal (by use of compression or delay). Fidelity The recording or reproduction quality. Beats Per Minute BPM The number of steady eve...

A prefix meaning two. Error Correct Exact replacement of lost information bits in digital audio. Calista C3-S Security System Expander A device that causes expansion of the audio signal. Beat 1) The steady even pulse in music. 2) The action of two sounds or audio signals mixing together and causing regular rises &.falls in volume. Calista C1-9 Home Theater Ampere The unit of current, abbreviated Amp. First Generation A descriptive term meaning original (as opposed to a copy). CD-ROM An abbreviation of the term Compact Disc, Read Only Memory (A Compact Disc used to store digital data, such as large programs, that can be read by a computer). Bose Linearity The extent to which any signal handling process is accomplished without amplitude distortion.

A switch that does different things depending on the operational mode that the machine is in: 1) If a computer-controlled transport is in "Stop," pushing the "Edit" switch deactivates the computer-controlled tension system and allows the reels to be moved by hand to find the exact spot desired on the tape. 2) If the machine is in "Play", the "Edit" switch makes the take-up reel cease taking up the tape and it falls to the floor. 3) If the machine is in a fast-wind mode, the tape lifters are defeated so the tape is in contact with the reproduce head and the engineer can hear where the selections begin and end. First Generation A descriptive term meaning original (as opposed to a copy). Calista C3-S Security System Console A set of controls and their housing, which control all signals necessary for recording and mixing. House Sync A synchronization signal such as SMPTE time code that is used by all recorders in the control...

An inability of the ear to hear important characteristics of sound under certain conditions. Characteristics that can be affected include pitch, level, clarity, presence and direction. Delay Outboard sound equipment that can momentarily stores a signal being sent to part of a P.A. system so that delayed reinforced sound reaches the audience at the same time as live sound from the stage. Calista C2-88 Projector Dolby Trade name for a series of noise reduction systems that have become standard on many tape playback machines. Many film soundtracks are produced using this process. Different varieties are found from Dolby B on most personal cassette players, to Dolby SR and Digital, the current state of the art for cinema. House Sync A synchronization signal such as SMPTE time code that is used by all recorders in the control room. Calista C3-S Security System Ground Loop A double grounding of a line or electronic device at two different "ground" points o...

Effects devices separate from but working with the recording console. Input Monitor A switch position and operational mode of the electronics of a tape machine where the signal at output of the electronics will be the same as the signal coming into the electronics. In this mode, the tape machine's meter will read the input signal. Calista C1-9 Home Theater Gain Reduction The working of a limiter or compressor reducing gain during high-level passages. Editing 1) Changing the sequence of a recording by cutting the recording tape and putting the pieces together in the new sequence with splicing tape. 2) Punching in and then punching out on one or more tracks of a multitrack tape recorder to replace previously recorded performances. 3) Changing the sequence of a digital recording's playback by computer program. Calista C3-S Security System Crossover, Passive Used inside of full range speaker cabinets to separate highs, mids, and lows and send them to t...

Short for System Exclusive Bulk Dump (a method of transmitting data, such as the internal parameters of a MIDI device to another MIDI device). Compact Disc Recordable CDR A blank Compact Disc that can be recorded on one time. Calista C1-9 Home Theater AC 1) Abbreviation for alternating current. 2) An abbreviation of the term Alternating Current (electric current which flows back and forth in a circuit; all studio signals running through audio lines are AC). Face The front or body of the guitar. Calista C3-S Security System Electrons Negatively charged particles, which revolve around the centre of atoms. The movement of such electrons down a conductor causes electrical current. Consumer Format (Consumer DIF) A standard adopted by IEC for sending and receiving digital audio based on The AES Professional Interface. Chorus 1) The part of The song that is repeated and has the same music and lyrics each time; the chorus will usually give the point of...

An element in the sound of a voice or instrument that does not change frequency as different pitches are sounded. Dry Describes a sound coming from the PA with no effects on it. Calista C3-S Security System House Sync A synchronization signal such as SMPTE time code that is used by all recorders in the control room. Alternating Current Electric current which flows back and forth in a circuit. Calista C2-88 Projector Electrostatic Charge The excess or deficiency of electrons in a given area. Leakage Sounds from other instruments and sources that were not intended to be picked up by the microphone. Icon A visual picture or symbol on a computer screen that represents a file, program or disc that can be used. Bose Headphones Devices that can be worn on the head with small speakers that fit over the ears (or sometimes into the ears).

A switch that does different things depending on the operational mode that the machine is in: 1) If a computer-controlled transport is in "Stop," pushing the "Edit" switch deactivates the computer-controlled tension system and allows the reels to be moved by hand to find the exact spot desired on the tape. 2) If the machine is in "Play", the "Edit" switch makes the take-up reel cease taking up the tape and it falls to the floor. 3) If the machine is in a fast-wind mode, the tape lifters are defeated so the tape is in contact with the reproduce head and the engineer can hear where the selections begin and end. Direct box Used in line to convert a high impedance signal into a low impedance signal. Calista C2-88 Projector Echo Return An input of the console, which brings back the echo (reverberation) signal from the echo chamber or other echo effects device. Ground In electronics, a place (terminal) that has zero volts. ...

An adapter that takes a three prong power cord and plugs into a two prong outlet, used to disconnect the third (ground) pin of the power outlet. WARNING: It can be VERY DANGEROUS to have no ground connection to the case by using a ground lifter and not grounding the unit by other means. Auxiliary Equipment Effects devices separate from but working with the recording console. Calista C3-S Security System Baffles Sound absorbing panels used to prevent sound waves from entering or leaving a certain space Amp 1) An abbreviation of the term Amplifier (A device which increases the level of an electrical signal. 2) An abbreviation of Ampere (the unit of current). 3) An abbreviation of amplitude (the height of a waveform above or below the zero line). Calista C1-9 Home Theater Balls 1) The depth and thickness of a sound, usually on the bottom end of the EQ (as in "needs more balls"). 2) The strength of the voice on the mic (as in "check it like you ...