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ADOBE AUDITION 1.5
User Guide
S
S/N ratio Signal-to-noise ratio describes the difference between the highest signal level
before distortion and the average level of the noise floor. In most analog systems, such as
microphone preamps, the S/N ratio is around 92 dB.
Sample A digital snapshot of an audio waveform at a particular point in time. In digital
audio, a series of numeric samples reproduces an entire waveform, with higher sample
rates producing increased frequency response. (Note that musical samplers use the term
sample to describe a digital recording, rather than a digital snapshot.)
Sample rate The number of samples per second. Higher sample rates produce increased
frequency response but require more disk space. To reproduce a given audio frequency, the
sample rate must be at least double that frequency. (See “Nyquist Frequency” on
page 284.)
Sampler A musical device that records and plays digital sounds (known as samples in this
context) and lets you edit and store those sounds.
Sequencer A programmable electronic device that can record and play a sequence of
musical events, such as samples, pitches, and rests. Most modern sequencers are MIDI-
based. (See “MIDI” on page 282.)
Session A multitrack project in Adobe Audition. Session files are stored with the
extension .ses and contain details such as mixing and effects settings. Session files don’t
contain audio data; instead they contain pathnames pointing to the sound files used in the
session.
64-bit Doubles See “64-bit doubles (RAW) (.dbl)” on page 232.
SMPTE timecode (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers timecode) A
timing reference used to synchronize two devices. SMPTE timecode is divided into hours,
minutes, seconds, and frames.
Sound card A hardware device that lets your computer play and record audio.
Sound wave A wave of air molecules. Humans can hear sound waves with frequencies of
20 to 20,000 Hz.
Stereo A signal with a left and right channel, allowing for spatial placement of sounds.
Stripe To copy SMPTE timecode to a single track of a multitrack tape so remaining tracks
can be synchronized with other devices.
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