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On 22/04/04, Steven C. Barr wrote: > Don't the bits on a CD actually represent some sort of pulse-code > description > of the digital waveform, as opposed to the actual waveform making up > the music? There is no such thing as the "digital waveform". Each 16-bit number in the sequence represents the voltage that should be present at the output of the CD player at that moment. The next number represents the voltage 1/44100 second later. (And there are two channels of course). It is quite simple. The D to A converter accepts a 16-bit number on its logic inputs and outputs a voltage. Difficult to engineer accurately, but the principles are straightforward. See Watkinson, "Art of Digital Audio" for details. > If so, are .WAV files stored in such a way they use the > same algorithms > rather than being a representation of the signal values themselves? The numbers in an ordinary 16-bit 44.1KHz WAV file are exactly the same as those on an audio CD. The difference is that a WAV file might have a different number of bits, or sampling frequency, so it needs a header to say what these are, and how many channels are present. Most WAV and AIFF files are 2-channel 16-bit 44.1KHz, in my experience. Regards -- Don Cox [log in to unmask]