Technical information

In practice, there is no such noise, so initially it can be hard to see the purpose of
this. Then when you consider that for most music the amplitude of the signal
reduces as the frequency increases at around 6dB per octave, you can see that
the amplitude of the higher frequency components would be very low and,
consequently, subject to increased quantization noise. Boosting the higher
frequencies significantly reduces this noise accordingly. The frequency response
of the signal is pre-emphasised by boosting the signal from 50μs (microseconds --
which is what engineers used to specify frequency in some contexts) or 3,183
hertz and levels out at 15μs, or 10,610 hertz, with a maximum boost of
10.45dB. CDs that actually use this are now very rare.
Ceramic cartridge A cartridge that produces an electrical signal through a
piezoelectric effect. Such cartridges are rarely used in high fidelity applications
because they require a relatively high tracking weight (usually upwards of 10
grams), have a low compliance and produce an uneven frequency response.
However they do have the advantage of producing a rather higher output voltage
than magnetic cartridges, and their frequency response characteristics
approximate the RIAA equalization curve, allowing simpler circuitry to be used with
the signal.
Cinch plug Another name, used by companies that presumably don't like to use
the opposition's brand name in their own literature, for RCA plug.
Class A A power amplifier in which a sufficient DC bias voltage is applied to the
power transistors so that the output signal always operates entirely in the positive
or negative part of the cycle, entirely avoiding crossover distortion. This makes
them quite wasteful of power since even at idle a considerable voltage is being
generated. The DC bias is filtered out before being fed to the speakers. The real
benefit of this design is in the sound qualities. Class A designs have no crossover
distortion, which is audible.
Class A/B A power amplifier in which a certain amount of DC bias voltage is
applied to the power transistors so that, at low power outputs, the output signal
operates entirely in the positive or negative part of the cycle, avoiding crossover
distortion. Thus, at low outputs, a Class A/B amplifier operates in Class A mode.
At higher outputs the signal does cross over the zero point, effectively entering
Class B territory. This design is a compromise between the efficiency of Class B
amplifiers (in which there is no DC bias) and the elimination of crossover distortion
in Class A designs. The DC bias is filtered out before being fed to the speakers.
Class D A very efficient amplifier design. Digital amplifiers use a form of pulse
width modulation (with low pass filtering to reduce ultrasonic noise) to drive the
loudspeakers. There are some interesting amplifier products appearing that