Digital audio sample

Digital audio samples are discrete values (numbers) which represent the amplitude of an audio signal taken at different points in time.

A continuous signal can be sampled at some sampling rate and thus be converted into a digital representation using samples. A series of digital audio samples can be converted back (reconstructed) into an analog audio signal, which may or may not be identical to the original signal. The study and theory behind sampling and reconstruction is based on the sampling theory.

A Device that generates samples using a microphone is called sampler.

See also

• Nyquist frequency
• Audio bit depth
• The Freesound Project