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Audio Sources/Source devices
These are the components of your HiFi system and
all other appliances, whose sound you want to hear
over the system and are thus connected to the pre-
amplifier, amplifier or receiver. This includes CD
players, DVD players, tuners (radios), cassette play-
ers, DAT recorders, personal computers, record
players, portable audio devices and many more.
dB Level
This is a way of describing any physical quantity; it
is a common measurement for signal voltages and
the volume. It is given in decibels (dB). Alternating
signal voltages below 1V (RMS) are described as
“line level” voltages, which are suitable as music
signals for amplifier inputs. Inputs on amplifiers
(mostly represented by RCA sockets), which are
designed for signals on the CD player, tape re-
corder, DVD player etc. are also referred to as “line
level inputs”. Those signal inputs must not be confu-
sed with inputs that accept preamplified signals.
Dynamic
The volume difference between the quietest and
the loudest sounds possible in audio signals (with-
out distortion or transition to noise). Dolby-Digital
and DTS soundtracks allow very high dynamics
and produce excellent cinema-like effects.
Input sensitivity
Term for the smallest average (RMS) input voltage
which causes the maximum output power at the
maximum volume setting on the amplifier.
Examples: 100 mV to 500 mV (Millivolts) on line
level inputs, 2 mV to 5 mV on the phono MM input
or 0.1 mV to 0.5 mV on the phono MC input.
RCA
RCA is the American name for a type of coaxial
connectors and sockets, originally the abbreviati-
on for “Radio Corporation of America”, the name
of a United States company. Both the plug and
cable consist of a rod-shaped inner lead and a
cylindrical-shaped outer lead. This enables a
mono audio signal or a video signal to be trans-
mitted. Compared to the XLR plug connector, this
type of connection is also called “unbalanced
signal connection”.
GLOSSARY
