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"Audio Engine" is terminology frequently used by digital audio software companies to describe their software - eg "superior audio engine.....". Out of pure interests sake - what is this "audio engine"? Can one software app be better than another or does the software just make use of the applicable OS and sound card? Can anyone hear a difference?



While most if not all recording softwares made today utilize the 32-bit audio engine for creating PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) digital audio files, there are many different ways of handling the various maths "under the hood". For example, the methods of handling Floating Point can make a big difference in what we perceive as the analog sound coming out of the speakers or headphones. There are other parameters to consider as well, matter of fact I think they could use up the better part of a book to relate, not a post on a forum.

As to who can hear differences, that may be one of those subjective things as well as having a lot to do with how each person's ears are trained, their experiences in listening, etc. For example, those of us who have done development work in the digital audio field are likely far better equipped to be able to recognize these things when we hear them than those who have not been through that kind of experience. Often it is the case that I could not detect some of these things at first, or couldn't say exactly what was causing them, but after time and experience with the feedback of being able to change parameters and listen to the results, comes ability.

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What also puzzles me is some apps are 3MB and others 100MB or more - not taking loops, realtracks etc into account. Is this a function of the features in the program or just efficient programming?




Again, there could be more than one factor affecting overall program size.

In some cases, a program written in machine code, or one translated from object-oriented or other compilers using automated conversion methods can indeed take up a lot less disk space once converted to the lean and mean machine code status. Sometimes just parts of a program are done like that, sometimes none, so it is difficult to judge things from this perspective.

There can be other reasons for the difference in overall file sizes of the .exe, too. Some programs may call .dll files to do tasks that others include in their coding proper, for various design reasons. The programs that call the .dlls, which live elsewhere on the computer, will almost certainly appear to be smaller in size than those that have the full routine written into their core program. Sometimes a speed or overhead advantage can be realized by doing it either way. Sometimes it is simply a matter of the programmer involved, the programming tools they have at their disposal, or perhaps simply due to their personal programming philosophy.

At the end of the day, we should really judge any program by what it can -- or cannot -- do for you.


--Mac

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