Digital audio uses digital signals for sound reproduction. This includes analog-to-digital conversion, digital-to-analog conversion, storage, and transmission.

Digital audio has emerged because of its usefulness in the recording, manipulation, mass-production, and distribution of sound. Modern distribution of music across the internet through on-line stores depends on digital recording and digital compression algorithms. Distribution of audio as data files rather than as physical objects has significantly reduced costs of distribution.

From the wax cylinder to the compact cassette, analogue audio music storage and reproduction have been based on the same principles upon which human hearing are based. In an analogue audio system, sounds begin as physical waveforms in the air, are transformed into an electrical representation of the waveform, via a transducer (for example, a microphone), and are stored or transmitted. To be re-created into sound, the process is reversed, through amplification and then conversion back into physical waveforms via a loudspeaker. Although its nature may change, its fundamental wave-like characteristics remain unchanged during its storage, transformation, duplication, and amplification. All analogue audio signals are susceptible to noise and distortion, due to the inherent noise present in electronic circuits.

The digital audio chain begins when an analogue audio signal is converted into binary signals  ‘on/off' pulses  rather than electro-mechanical signals. This signal is then further encoded to combat any errors that might occur in the storage or transmission of the signal. This "channel coding" is essential to the ability of the digital system to recreate the analogue signal upon replay. An example of a channel code is Eight to Fourteen Bit Modulation as used in the audio Compact Disc.

Overview of digital audio

Digital audio is the method of representing audio in digital form.

An analog signal is converted to a digital signal at a given sampling rate and bit resolution; it may contain multiple channels (2 channels for stereo or more for surround sound). Generally speaking: the higher the sampling rate and bit resolution the more fidelity, as well as increase the amount of digital data.

Sound quality

While the goal of both analogue and digital systems is to reproduce audio perfectly, there are several obstacles to achieving this, including:

• Analogue noise floor in the capturing circuitry and have inherent capacitance and inductance that limit the bandwidth of the system, and resistance that limits the amplitude.
• Digital quantization noise in the capturing circuitry, and sampling rate limits the bandwidth and its bit resolution limits the dynamic range (resolution of amplitude creation).

In order to achieve better fidelity, higher quality components are required, which increase overall cost.