Understanding Audio

Speaker impedance changes amplifier power output. In fact, your amplifier power could be nearly half or double its capacity - depending on the impedance of your speakers. But how much should this concern you? Impedance...

Distributed speaker systems are also known as "100 volt line" or "70 volt line" speaker systems. They are used extensively where multiple speakers are required. Distributed speaker systems are commonly used in airports, shopping...

Speaker impedance is often presented as a complex subject and therefore is either ignored or misunderstood. A basic understanding of speaker impedance is not difficult, and is useful when connecting multiple speakers to an...

A basic understanding of the general audio levels mentioned in this article will help you avoid the common mistakes often made when connecting audio devices together. We are going to talk about three different...

Speaker sensitivity is a measurement of how well a speaker converts the amplifier power to acoustic energy. In others words, how loud the speaker will be for a given amplifier power.How Speaker Sensitivity is...

This article logically shows the relationship between amplifier power, SPL and loudness. It includes a level difference exercise and a gain calculator.

What do you understand about microphone sensitivity? Of late I have seen a number of people miss-interpret the specifications of microphones, especially when it comes to microphone sensitivity. For instance when comparing two microphones,...

Often people are wanting to add speakers to their amplifier to increase power. However, in most cases, adding speakers will reduce the power in any one speaker. This article looks at how multiple speakers...

Amplifier power is probably the most misunderstood and abused parameter of amplifiers and speakers. Yet, it is often the first (and possibly only) parameter people look at when buying an amplifier or speakers.Marketing managers...

Decibels are widely used in audio, and often misunderstood. These articles give a practical understanding on using decibels in audio work.  But first, some basic questions and answers about decibels. What is a decibel? A decibel...

In the first article we saw that a decibel is not a fixed unit, rather, it is a ratio between two levels.  A decibel reading on its own is meaningless if it isn't referenced...

Every sound we hear is at a certain frequency. When we say someone has a deep voice, we are describing a voice producing low frequencies. Similarly if we say someone has a high pitched...

Acoustic feedback it that annoying loud continuous tone you get when the sound system is not set up or operated properly. Acoustic feedback can normally be reduced or eliminated if you understand and follow...