The SECRETS Primers Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity

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The SECRETS Primers

When Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity first began publishing in 1994, we organized what eventually became The Primer, which had various sections dedicated to principal areas of audio and video, such as receivers, amplifiers, and speakers.
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Encyclopedia of Words, Terms, and Concepts

amplifier	aspect ratio	auditioning speakers	B/S	cables	cie	class of operation
CLV and CAV	compression	cone	connectors	crossover networks	current	DAC
damping factor	digital sampling	DILA	dolby digital and dts	dot crawl	DVD	DVD-A
ear buds	ear phones	equalizers	Five.1, 5.1, 7.1	flying erase head	harmonic distortion	harmonics
HDCD	HDTV	head phones	high voltage & high current	IDTV	impedance	interlacing
jitter	laserdisc	LCD	LCOS	line conditioner	line doublers, quadruplers, interpolators	media server
monoblock	MP3	multibit dacs vs 1 bit dacs	multichannel	negative feedback	oversampling	overscanning
planar	planar magnetic	plasma	PLB	power conditioner	power supply	projector screens
projectors	push pull amp	quantization error	remote control	resolution	ribbon & electrostatic speakers	SACD
scanning	shakers	single ended amp	slew rate	soundstage, ambience,accuracy	speaker sound coloration	speaker driver
speaker enclosure	speaker placement	speaker sensitivity	subwoofers	surround sound - what is	surround sound 2	surround sound 3
switchersflat panel = tv	THX	transistor amplifiers	tubes	upsampling	VCR	viewing distance

Amplifier

A preamplifier takes the source voltage and. . . Tags: Class \| Transistor \| Tubes
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Auditioning Speakers

When auditioning speakers, listen primarily for detail without... Tags: Speakers \| Subwoofers
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CLV and CAV

There are a number of features on the. . . Tags: CD \| DVD
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Crossover Networks

Inside the speaker cabinet is an additional component called the... Tags: Frequencies \| Speakers \| Tweeter
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DAC

So, as the disc spins along, 44.1 thousand samples... Tags: CD \| DACs
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Digital Sampling

In the audio industry, nothing has revolutionized the way... Tags: CD \| LD
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Dot Crawl

All televisions are subject to a problem called. . . Tags: HDTV \| IDTV \| TV
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Flying Erase Head

VCRs work somewhat differently than an analog audio cassette deck... Tags: VCRs
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High Definition Compatible Digital

High Definition Compatible Digital (HDCD) is a technology... Tags: CD \| HDCD
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High Voltage & High Current

You will find Pure Class A and exceptional quality Class AB equipment. . . Tags: Amplifiers \| Speakers \| Voltage
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Improved Definition Television

Improved Definition Television (IDTV) is a process applicable in our. . . Tags: HDTV \| IDTV \| TV
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Jitter

An artifact called "jitter" remains a difficulty... Tags: CD \| DACs \| Jitter
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Line Doublers, Quadruplers & Interpolators

Line doublers are very high tech, very. . . Tags: HDTV \| IDTV \| TV
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Negative Feedback

Natural sounds (not recorded) contain many harmonics... Tags: Amplifiers \| Harmonics
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Overscanning

To complicate matters even more, there is a third choice... Tags: DVD \| TV
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Push Pull Amp

To get more power out of a tube amplifier, tetrode and pentode . . . Tags: Amplifiers \| Tubes \| Watts
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Remote Control

Let's say that you have decided on about a 50 inch... Tags: TV \| VCRs
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Ribbon & Electrostatic Speakers

There are a handful of special design speakers which don't use cones . . . Tags: Speakers \| Voltage
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Single Ended Amp

The function of all the grids is to modify the current flowing between. . . Tags: Amplifiers \| Tubes \| Watts
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Soundstage, Ambience & Accuracy

The three basic characteristics of what you hear when you use your high... Tags: Accuracy \| Ambience \| Soundstage \| Speakers
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Speaker Sound Coloration

Speakers represent one of the most. . . Tags: Driver \| Speakers
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Surround Sound - Part I

Surround sound in movie theaters has been around much longer than most people realize. . . Tags: Speakers \| Surround Sound \| Technical Articles
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Surround Sound - Part III

If you buy separate processor, then you will need power amplifiers to go with it. . . Tags: Amplifiers \| Connectors \| Surround Sound
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Transistor Amplifiers

Solid state (transistor - semiconductor) amplifiers are manufactured in the millions . . . Tags: Amplifiers \| Transistor \| Tubes
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Upsampling

Because moderns DACs can handle 24 bit - 192 kHz samples... Tags: DACs \| DVD A
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Viewing Distance

The distance from your television to where you will be sitting is... Tags: Television \| TV
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Aspect Ratio

With High Definition Television (HDTV) upon us... Tags: HDTV \| Television \| TV
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Class of Operation

High Fidelity Amplifiers operate in what is known as Class A... Tags: Amplifiers \| Current \| Speakers
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Connectors

Input jacks (sockets) are very important... Tags: Connectors \| DVD \| S Video \| TV \| VCRs
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Current

In order to understand what the various parts in an amplifier do... Tags: Amplifiers \| Current
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Damping Factor

The impedance of the speaker will also affect... Tags: Impedance \| Speakers
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Dolby Digital (DD) and DTS

Dolby Digital (DD) is available on the later laserdiscs... Tags: DD \| DTS \| DVD
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DVD

Digital Video Disc (DVD) used to be called... Tags: DVD \| Television \| TV
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Harmonics

In the world of acoustics, there are discussions of "harmonics"... Tags: Amplifiers \| Harmonics
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High Definition Television (HDTV)

High Definition Television (HDTV) began broadcasting in... Tags: HDTV \| IDTV \| TV
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Impedance

Every speaker model has an electrical specification called the "nominal impedance"... Tags: Current \| Impedance \| Speakers
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Interlacing

Lines 1 - 525 are not scanned in sequence, but rather... Tags: TV
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Laserdisc (LD)

Laserdiscs (LD) use much of the same technology. . . Tags: CD \| DACs \| DVD \| LD
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Multibit DACs vs. 1 Bit DACs

Some CD players use multibit DACs (the bits are read in groups), and some use 1 bit DACs . . . Tags: CD \| DACs \| DVD \| Jitter
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Oversampling

Many audio engineers feel that a higher sampling rate would... Tags: CD \| DACs \| DSP \| DVD A
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Power Supply

Some of the newer design preamplifiers, power amplifiers, and... Tags: Amplifiers \| CD \| Connectors \| DSP \| Preamplifiers
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Quantization Error

One stream of 16 on or off bits constitutes one of the samples of musical information. . . Tags: CD \| DACs \| DVD \| DVD A
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Resolution

There is also the choice of Super-VHS, Hi-8, and DV... Tags: DV \| DVD \| HDTV \| Hi 8 \| Super VHS \| TV
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Scanning

Although we see the image as occupying the full face... Tags: HDTV \| IDTV \| Resolution \| Scanning \| Television \| TV
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Slew Rate

The "slew rate" is an interesting factor that is sometimes... Tags: Amplifiers \| Tubes \| V/microsec. \| Volts
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Speaker Sensitivity

Sensitivity is measured in terms of dB/watt/meter or dB/2.83 volts/meter... Tags: Amplifiers \| dB \| Ohms \| Sensitivity \| Speakers \| Volts \| Watts
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