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Audio interface

An audio interface connects microphones, instruments, headphones, and speakers to a computer for recording and playback.

Level relevance: introduced at Nat 3; tagged for every later level where the same concept remains useful.

Explanation

An audio interface converts analogue sound into digital information for the computer, and digital information back into sound for monitoring. It usually provides microphone inputs, instrument inputs, headphone outputs, and speaker connections. The quality of the interface and its settings can affect recording quality, latency, and monitoring reliability.

Topics

HardwareRecordingSignal path
Curriculum statussupporting vocabulary
Review statusdraft

Related terms

Microphone

A microphone converts sound waves in the air into an electrical signal.

View term

Signal path

The signal path is the route audio takes from the source to the recording or playback system.

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Latency

Latency is the delay between an action and when the sound is heard or recorded.

View term

Multitrack recording

Multitrack recording captures separate parts onto separate tracks so they can be edited and mixed independently.

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