What is Digital Audio and Why Should I Care?

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OK, so I hinted earlier that I would explain what digital audio is in a way that regular people could understand it. Here it is: if the audio is in a computer, it’s digital.

Easy, right? Now, you might wonder what I meant when I said “analog” is the opposite of “digital.” Well, here’s the explanation: if the audio is on a physical medium like tape or a record (those black, round, flat things your parents used to listen to music on), it’s analog.

There are some nitpickers out there who would argue that “some audio outside of a computer can still be digital” and that “just because it’s on tape doesn’t mean the audio is analog.” While the nitpickers aren’t wrong, we can ignore those details for now. Yes, the audio on cell phones, iPods (and other mp3 players) is also digital, but the savvy ones among you knew that those devices are basically small computers anyway, right? And it’s not necessary for most people to know that some digital media is recorded to tape because if it’s digital tape, IT WILL SAY SO. It’s rare enough that it would have a label indicating something like DAT (digital audio tape) or something similar with the word “digital” in it.

So now you understand the difference, right? Digital audio is “computerized” audio, and analog audio is recorded in a physical way onto records (those tiny grooves) or tapes (those tiny magnetic particles).

Why should you care if you’ll be recording audio on your computer anyway? It’s digital, right? Well, yes and no. It WILL be digital once it’s in the computer, but if it’s just a voice coming from your mouth, it’s still analog. The physical medium is the air molecules that your voice moves. To make it digital, there needs to be a device that converts analog audio to digital audio. These are called “analog-to-digital” (A-to-D) converters. The quality of the converters plays a significant role in how good the audio sounds. If you’re just using the ones on a standard sound card, the audio quality probably won’t be “high-end.” Audio interface boxes (mostly USB these days) tend to have better A-to-D converters.

Manuel Marino

Manuel Marino is a seasoned Senior Producer, Music Composer, and Artist with over a decade of experience. He specializes in branded entertainment across various mediums, including video games, films, and advertising campaigns. With 20+ years as a game music composer, Manuel has worked on numerous platforms, creating diverse orchestral soundtracks. HIRE ME