Pro Audio Reference

Concepts, terminology, standards, history, and assorted surprises

What is the PAR?

The Pro Audio Reference attempts to explain all the various terms commonly used by engineers in the pro audio field. (Scroll down for the full history.) You can either search for a term in the search box above, or click on the first letter of the word in the alphabet shown above. You can use that clickable alphabet to quickly jump around from page to page.
Pro Audio Reference was created by Dennis A. Bohn

Pro Audio Reference

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About Dennis A. Bohn:

Creator of Pro Audio Reference
dennisbohn

Dennis Bohn received BSEE and MSEE degrees from UC Berkeley in 1972 and 1974, respectively. After completing his MSEE, he accepted a position with National Semiconductor Corporation as a linear application engineer specializing in audio, where he created the renowned Audio Handbook, acting as technical editor and contributing author.

In 1976, he joined Phase Linear Corporation as Senior Design Engineer, where he designed several consumer audio products, and managed the launch of the professional audio products division.

In 1982, Mr. Bohn’s joined start-up Rane Corporation as vice president of engineering. He became a principal of Rane, and led the company’s research and development for over 30 years until his retirement in 2016.Bohn designed over 40 consumer and professional audio products, and authored over 100 articles, including papers published in the AES E-Library and Journal of the Audio Engineering Society. Mr. Bohn is a Fellow of the AES, holds three U.S. patents, is listed in Who's Who In America and authored the entry on "Equalizers" for the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, 7th edition.

Fulfilling a life-long passion for technical writing, Bohn began his Professional Audio Reference (PAR) project in the mid 1990s. With his html partner Jeff Davies, Bohn created an online audio encyclopedia that has been hailed by educators and professionals all over the world as one of the best audio references available. A printed book version of the PAR was self-published in 2002.

Mr. Bohn retired in 2016 and donated the PAR to AES so that it can be maintained by future generations of audio engineers, as a living resource. The AES is extremely grateful to Mr. Bohn for his significant contributions to the science, practice, and knowledge of audio.

Copyright, Trademarks, Disclaimers & Acknowledgements

Copyright by AES. All rights reserved. This publication in whole or in part may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the AES unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law.

Trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners. No definition in this document is to be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark. Any word included within this document is not an expression of AES's opinion as to whether or not it is subject to proprietary rights.

AES believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date; such information is subject to change without notice. AES is not responsible for any inadvertent errors. AES has obtained information contained in this work from sources believed to be reliable. However, neither AES nor its authors guarantees the accuracy or completeness of any information published herein and neither AES nor its authors shall be responsible for any errors, omissions, or damages arising out of use of this information. This work is made available with the understanding that AES and its authors are supplying information but are not attempting to render engineering or other professional services. If such services are required, the assistance of an appropriate professional should be sought.

AES gratefully acknowledges the Houghton Mifflin Company publication, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition (credit shown "AHD"), and the IEEE publication, IEEE 100: The Authoritative Dictionary of IEEE Standards Terms, Seventh Edition (credit shown "IEEE"), in the preparation of this revision of AES's Professional Audio Reference.

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