Glossary
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Figure 461: Cross-section of a Coaxial Cable
Cut
To decrease gain.
D
DAC
Digital to Analog Converter. The integrated circuit that receives digital
data at its input and outputs an analog representation of it.
DB25
A D-sub connector with 25 pins. These are becoming more common in au-
dio devices, since you can connect eight balanced channels of audio with
one DB25. Two devices with DB25 connectors can be directly patched
together with a DB25 to DB25 cable, or you may use a DB25 fan-out to
interface with other types of connectors, such as XLR or TRS.
dB
Decibel; a logarithmic unit of measurement used to describe sound levels
relative to a reference level, both acoustically and electrically. There are
several suffixes added to dB to indicate the reference quantity or weight-
ing function used:
• dBFS: Decibels relative to full scale; 0 dBFS is the maximum level
in a digital audio system, since the level cannot go over 0.
• dBu: Decibels relative to 0.775 volts, across a 600 Ω load.
• dBV: Decibels relative to 1 volt, with no impedance specification.
DI
Direct Inject. Used to connect a high impedance, low level unbalanced
signal to a low impedance balanced input. The DI input provides a high-
impedance to the source keeping the input from loading down or filtering
the source. DI inputs are used to connect guitar, bass and keyboards to
the interface. Sometimes also called Direct Input.
Direct out
An output that allows you to route a signal without going through a bus. In
MIOConsole3d’s Mixer, input strips have both pre-insert and post-insert
direct outs that allow you to send audio to the Host computer, USB or
physical analog/digital outputs.
Dither
The process of intentionally adding low-level noise to a signal to remove
quantization distortion. Dither is most commonly used when preparing 24
bit material for CD delivery (which is 16 bit) and should be the last step
in the process.
