Sound: From microphones to speakers and everything inbetween

The CSC will be hosting a Prof Talk by Richard Mann.

When you hit record on your phone how is the sound recorded? Air pressure changes come to a microphone, which converts electricity to voltage. The analog signal is digitized by an analog to digital converter (ADC), and finally stored as a digital file in memory. For playback, the process is reversed, and output to head phones or a (tiny) speaker.

In a loud room does your phone distort? Can you hear the sound clearly? Phones are getting better. But what is needed to achieve professional quality sound recording?