Audio Editing Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield Audio Editing facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What is the 'fletcher-munson curve' relevant to in mixing? → Human hearing sensitivity varies with frequency at different loudness levels
2. In the course of CD production, you would typically: → All of the above
3. Which audio file format was developed by Apple and is commonly used on macOS and iOS for uncompressed audio? → AIFF
4. What is the standard bit depth for CD-quality audio? → 16-bit
5. What does 'wet/dry ratio' control in an effects plugin? → The blend between the processed (wet) and unprocessed (dry) signal
6. What does the acronym 'WAV' stand for in audio file formats? → Waveform Audio File Format
7. What does 'sample rate' (e.g., 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz) determine in digital audio? → The number of times per second the audio signal is sampled
8. Which audio codec is predominantly used for high-quality audio delivery on major streaming platforms such as YouTube and Apple Music? → AAC
9. What is the purpose of 'markers' or 'locators' in a DAW timeline? → To label and quickly navigate to specific points in a project
10. The filter's cut off point must be less than → Half the sampling rate
11. What type of reverb simulates the sound of a physical space using mathematical algorithms? → Algorithmic reverb
12. What does 'frequency masking' mean in the context of mixing? → When two sounds occupy the same frequency range and obscure each other
13. What is a 'DDP' (Disc Description Protocol) file used for in mastering? → A lossless digital master format sent to CD replication plants instead of a physical CDR
14. What is the standard integrated loudness target for music on Spotify? → -14 LUFS
15. What type of audio compression does Dolby Digital (AC-3) use for multichannel surround sound? → Lossy compression
16. The D/A signal train's initial element is an → Anti aliasing filter
17. What does 'mix bus compression' achieve? → Glues the mix together by gently controlling the overall dynamic range
18. What does 'bit depth dithering' accomplish when exporting audio? → Adds low-level noise to minimize quantization distortion when reducing bit depth
19. According to the Nyquist theorem, what must the sample rate be to accurately capture a given audio frequency? → At least twice the highest frequency being recorded
20. Which of the following is a lossless audio codec? → FLAC
21. What is 'ADR' (Automated Dialogue Replacement) used for in film audio? → Re-recording an actor's dialogue in a studio to replace unusable production audio
22. What is 'tape saturation' emulation used for in audio plugins? → Adding warmth and harmonic distortion reminiscent of analog tape
23. What is the primary role of the OGG file format in audio? → To serve as an open multimedia container that typically wraps Vorbis audio compression
24. What does the 'attack' parameter in a compressor determine? → How quickly the compressor begins to reduce gain after the threshold is crossed
25. What decibel level of sound can harm hearing right away? → 140 DB
26. What is the standard sample rate for CD-quality audio? → 44,100 Hz
27. What is 'MIDI quantization' used for in a DAW? → Snapping MIDI note timing to the nearest rhythmic grid value
28. What does 'bit rate' measure in an audio file? → The amount of data processed or transferred per second
29. What effect causes audio to become louder or quieter? → Amplify
30. What is the role of a 'limiter' on a mix bus? → Prevents the output signal from exceeding 0 dBFS