ECE 515 FL

Digital Signal Processing Laboratory Activity 2: Characteristic of Digital Audio Signal

Activity No. 2
Characteristics of Digital Audio Signal

I. OBJECTIVES

At the end of the activity, the student must be able to:

1. Demonstrate the different characteristics of digital audio signal.
2. Demonstrate the effects of the different characteristics of an audio signal to the quality of the
audio signal as perceived by a listener.

II. BACKGROUND

Digital audio signals are digital files that contain numbers representing the samples of an
audio signal. The samples are obtained by recording an analog audio signal using an analog-to-
digital converter. Also, the samples may not be obtained by recording but generated by a computer.
To reconstruct the analog audio signal, the samples are used as input to a digital-to-analog converter.
Most PCs are equipped with ADC and DAC in their soundcards.
Digital audio signals are characterized in terms of the sampling frequency (Fs) at which they are
recorded, the number of bits used to represent the samples, and the number of audio channels
recorded. Typical sampling frequencies used are 44100Hz for CD quality, 32000Hz or 22050Hz for
FM broadcast quality, 11050Hz for AM broadcast quality, and 8000Hz for telephone quality. The
samples are typically stored using 8-bit. 16-bit, or 24-bit encoding. In terms of the number of audio
channels, recorded audio signals may have a single channel (mono), 2 channels (stereo) or even 5
channels (surround).

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Digital Signal Processing Laboratory Activity 2: Characteristic of Digital Audio Signal

III. PRACTICE PROBLEMS

1. An analog audio signal has a frequency range of 0 to 20KHz.

(a) Determine the minimum sampling frequency, based on Nyquist sampling theorem, that
should be used in recording the audio signal.
Fs minimum = 40,000 Hz
(b) Determine the highest frequency content of the digital audio signal if it is recorded with a
sampling rate of 11025Hz.
Fmax = 5512.5 Hz

2. A 20-second analog audio signal is digitally recorded with a sampling frequency of

44100Hz and 8-bit encoding.
(a) Determine the output bit rate and memory needed to store the digital audio if it is
recorded as a mono signal.
Bit rate = 352,800 bits/sec
Memory needed = 882000 bytes
(b) Determine the output bit rate and the memory needed to store the digital audio if it is
recorded as a stereo signal.
Bit rate = 705600 bits/sec
Memory needed = 1764000 bytes

3. A digital audio file recorded with a sampling frequency of 44100 Hz and 8-bit encoding
has a file size of 2Mbytes (1Mbytes=220 bytes).
(a) Determine the playback duration of the digital audio signal if it is mono.
Playback duration = 47.5545 seconds
(b) Determine the playback duration of the digital audio signal if it is stereo.
Playback duration = 23.7772 seconds

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Digital Signal Processing Laboratory Activity 2: Characteristic of Digital Audio Signal

IV. LABORATORY ACTIVITIES:

1. Determining the properties of an audio file.
(a) Locate the audio file DINAR_16bit_44100Hz_stereo.wav. This file is a recording of a
portion of the song Do I Need A Reason. The filename indicates that the audio file is a
stereo recording using 44100Hz sampling frequency and 16-bit sample encoding. Right-
click the file and display the file properties.

List the displayed file properties.

Sampling rate: 44100 Hz
File size: 8934064 bytes
Bits per sample: ______________ bits
Bit rate: 1411 kbps
(b) Open the audio file using Goldwave.
(b.1) How many waveforms are plotted? 2
If yes, are the waveforms identical? NO
(b.2) Note down the audio file properties displayed below the plots.
Sampling rate: _______________ Hz
File size: ____________________ bytes
Bits per sample: ______________ bits
Bit rate: _____________________kbps
Playback duration: ____________ seconds

2. Demonstration on the effects of sampling frequency on the file size and perceived quality
of a tone recording.
(a) The following audio files are mono recordings of a 1KHz tone at different sampling
frequencies.
tone1K_16bit_44100Hz_mono.wav (CD quality)
tone1K_16bit_8000Hz_mono.wav (Telephone quality)
Open and playback the audio files using Goldwave.
Is there a significant difference in the perceived quality of the played back tones?
NO

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ECE 515 FL
Digital Signal Processing Laboratory Activity 2: Characteristic of Digital Audio Signal

(b) Check the file size of the audio files.

(b.1) Which audio file is larger? How many times is it larger?
The CD quality (44100 Hz). 55.125
(b.2) How is ratio of the file sizes of the audio files related to their sampling rates.
𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝑨 𝑭𝒔𝒂
= 𝑭𝒔𝒃
𝒔𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝑩

(b.3) Which is a more practical sampling rate for recording the 1KHz signal, 8000Hz or
44100Hz? Explain your answer.
Voice quality is more practical, as the file size will be smaller; it results to a
lower file size.

3. Demonstration on the effects of sampling frequency on the file size and perceived quality
of a voice recording.
(a) The following audio files are recordings of a voice signal at different sampling frequencies.
voice_16bit_44100Hz_mono.wav
voice_16bit_22050Hz_mono.wav
voice_16bit_11025Hz_mono.wav
voice_16bit_8000Hz_mono.wav
Open and playback the audio files using Goldwave.
(a.1) Is there a significant difference in the perceived quality of the played back voice
signals? YES
(b) Check the file size of the audio files.
(b.1) Which audio file is largest? CD quality
(b.2) Is there is a trade-off between quality and file size in the voice recordings? Explain.
Yes, since CQ quality has the largest file size, it has the ability to sample at a higher
rate.
(c) Which is the more appropriate sampling rate for recording voice signal, 8000Hz or
44100Hz? Explain your answer.
This depends where we’ll use the voice signal. For a telephone system, 8000 Hz is
practical. But if the voice signal is for music, 44100 Hz is more practical.

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Digital Signal Processing Laboratory Activity 2: Characteristic of Digital Audio Signal

4. Demonstrate the effects of sampling frequency on the file size and perceived quality of a
music recording.
(a) The following audio files are recordings of music at different sampling frequencies.
DINAR_16bit_44100Hz_stereo.wav
DINAR_16bit_22050Hz_stereo.wav
DINAR_16bit_11025Hz_stereo.wav
DINAR_16bit_8000Hz_stereo.wav
DINAR_16bit_4000Hz_stereo.wav
Open and playback the audio files using Goldwave.
(a.1) Is there a significant difference in the perceived quality of the played back music?
If yes, which has the best quality?
Yes, the CD quality has the best quality.
(b) Check the file size of the audio files.
(b.1) Which audio file is largest? CD Quality
(b.2) Is there a trade-off between quality and file size in the music recordings? Yes. The
better the quality the bigger the file size.
(b.3) Which is the most appropriate sampling rate for music recording: 4000Hz, 8000Hz,
11025Hz, 22050Hz, or 44100Hz? Explain your answer.
44,100 Hz as it captures all the signals, including the high frequency signals that
we can hear.

5. Demonstrate the effect of the number of bits used for encoding samples on the file size and
perceived quality of music recording.
(a) The following audio files are music recordings that use different number of bits for
encoding.
DINAR_16bit_44100Hz_stereo.wav
DINAR_8bit_44100Hz_stereo.wav
Open and playback the audio files using Goldwave.
(a.1) Is there a significant difference in the perceived quality of the played back music?

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Digital Signal Processing Laboratory Activity 2: Characteristic of Digital Audio Signal

NONE
(b) Check the size of the audio files.
(b.1) Which audio file is larger? How many times is it larger?
16 bit has a larger file size. It is twice bigger than the 8 bit file.
(b.2) Which is the more practical number of bits for encoding music, 8 bits or 16bits?
Explain your answer.
8 bits as the human ear cannot notice any specific changes in the 16 bits audio
file.

6. Demonstrate the difference between a mono audio file and a stereo audio file.
(a) The following audio files are recordings of the same audio signal. One is recorded as mono
and the other as stereo.
multiplex_16bit_44100Hz_mono.wav
multiplex_16bit_44100Hz_stereo.wav
Open the audio files using Goldwave.
(a.1) How many waveforms are displayed for the mono signal? one
(a.2) Is the mono audio signal reproduced on both earpieces when played back? yes
Are the signals on the left and right earpieces identical? yes
(a.3) Are there two waveform displayed for the stereo signal? yes
(a.4) Is the stereo signal reproduced on both earpieces when played back? yes
Are the signals on both earpieces identical? no
(b) Check the file size of the audio files.
(b.1) Which audio file is larger? How many times is it larger?
The stereo. Twice larger.

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