Abstract: An audio signal recording and reproducing apparatus can perform realtime processing with a structure having a low cost. The audio signal recording and reproducing apparatus records a series of input audio signals as digital audio data, and reproduces and outputs the input signals using the recorded digital audio data as output audio signals. An input audio signal processing unit converts the series of input audio signals into digital audio data. A data file recording unit records the digital audio data, as digital audio data file information, on a recording medium, the recording medium having a plurality of clusters in which data having a predetermined number of bytes is recorded, the digital audio file information being recorded over a plurality of clusters. A file management information recording unit records on the recording medium file management information representing the reproducing order of the clusters in which the digital audio data file information is recorded.

Abstract: A helical scan type magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus comprises first and second rotary heads which are mounted on a rotary drum at positions separated by an angle of approximately 180.degree. on a rotational plane of the rotary drum and have mutually different height positions along an axial direction of the rotary drum so that a track position on the magnetic tape scanned by the first rotary head is scanned by the second rotary head a predetermined time after the track position is scanned by the first rotary head, where the predetermined time corresponds to a rotary angle 540.degree.+360.degree..times.m of the rotary drum and m=0, 1 or 2.

Abstract: For recording and reproducing analog audio signals by a pulse-code modulation scheme so as to permit effective compensation for dropout errors, an incoming audio signal is sampled, and the analog samples are converted into a sequence of coded pulse groups or words. These words are grouped into successive notional blocks, and the odd and the even words, for example, of each block are divided into sub-blocks, as by sequentially writing the words of each block in successive storage locations in a memory and by retrieving the odd, and then the even, words from the memory. The sub-blocks of the successive word blocks are recorded in different regions on a recording medium such as magnetic tape. After being reconverted into an electrical signal from the recording medium, the words of the sub-blocks of each block are rearranged into the original order, as by use of a second memory, prior to the reconstruction of the analog audio signal.