Examples of low level control (synthesis) of audio ? - speakers, HDMI audio

[Guillaume Piolat]

On Thursday, 22 August 2024 at 16:56:05 UTC, Stephen Tashiro 
wrote:
>
> I visualize the final output as data that stores a waveform as 
> a sequence of values that represent amplitudes.
Yes, they represent sound pressure on your headphones or speakers 
even, at least at the points of sampling. :)

> Is that low level of representation necessary? - or do modern 
> speakers and audio devices have built-in programs that accept 
> more concise formats?

There is no format that would be as expressive for treatment:
- time-domain is as you say a direct access to amplitude
- spectral representations must choose a transform, which is very 
much destructive, it's also harder to understand
- the galaxy of wavelet-like are even harder to use
- encoded spaces, like ADPCM, are even more remote

The problem is the suprising resolution of human hear, routinely 
distinguishing sounds 100 or 110 dB below others, that's a 1e-5 
factor in amplitude.

Now, codecs by themselves are very nice and do not hamper the 
experience very much, often bringing a color of their own just 
like another coloration. It can be a sought after sound, much 
like vinyl or tape.