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Author Topic: help with amplifier gain and speaker sensitivity  (Read 3603 times)

Victor Pruitt

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help with amplifier gain and speaker sensitivity
« on: January 24, 2013, 06:52:20 PM »

so im running a 5 way system with different amps all of which have varying input control settings. i get lost as to how to configure the input sensitivity / gain structure from the processor.  i feel that you could play pink noise lets say and get everything matched up in level but that cant be all there is to it. i mean if i was to do that then lower the volume by half the varying sensitivities from not only the amp but the speakers them selves would cause the level to fluctuate no?

lets say i have a sub thats 110db at 1w and a hi thats say 104 would there levels not rise at different rates??...  this has been bothering me for years, seems like it would mess with phase and overall clarity
all 5 of my speakers in my system have different 1w/1m ratings making it even harder for me to wrap my head around

sound varies at different levels at different frequencies (music) throughout a track causing me to consider this above issue

would you need all matching amps and matching speaker sensitivities to not have this problem?
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Ivan Beaver

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Re: help with amplifier gain and speaker sensitivity
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2013, 07:20:05 PM »

so im running a 5 way system with different amps all of which have varying input control settings. i get lost as to how to configure the input sensitivity / gain structure from the processor.  i feel that you could play pink noise lets say and get everything matched up in level but that cant be all there is to it. i mean if i was to do that then lower the volume by half the varying sensitivities from not only the amp but the speakers them selves would cause the level to fluctuate no?

lets say i have a sub thats 110db at 1w and a hi thats say 104 would there levels not rise at different rates??...  this has been bothering me for years, seems like it would mess with phase and overall clarity
all 5 of my speakers in my system have different 1w/1m ratings making it even harder for me to wrap my head around

sound varies at different levels at different frequencies (music) throughout a track causing me to consider this above issue

would you need all matching amps and matching speaker sensitivities to not have this problem?
That is the beauty of the dB system.  It doesn't matter what the sensitivities are-when you have them all matched up-and turn up the input level 3dB, they all come up 3dB.

As long as you don't change the output levels in the processor or the level controls on the amps- you are fine.
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Ivan Beaver
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Victor Pruitt

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Re: help with amplifier gain and speaker sensitivity
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2013, 07:51:17 PM »



hmm i here you but your "quote" at the bottom of your message makes me think.. :P

ok but what about the speaker input sensitivity?

so if you had a 2 ch amp ch1 is 1.4v and ch 2 is 32db  powering the same monitor on each channel would they not rice in volume at different rates?

or

2 ch amp , ch 1 powering a 15 thats 100ds at 1
               ch 2 powering a 15 thats 107 at i dont see how you could bring them up in volume exactly at the same rate

That is the beauty of the dB system.  It doesn't matter what the sensitivities are-when you have them all matched up-and turn up the input level 3dB, they all come up 3dB.

As long as you don't change the output levels in the processor or the level controls on the amps- you are fine.
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g'bye, Dick Rees

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Re: help with amplifier gain and speaker sensitivity
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2013, 08:12:59 PM »


hmm i here you but your "quote" at the bottom of your message makes me think.. :P

ok but what about the speaker input sensitivity?

so if you had a 2 ch amp ch1 is 1.4v and ch 2 is 32db  powering the same monitor on each channel would they not rice in volume at different rates?

or

2 ch amp , ch 1 powering a 15 thats 100ds at 1
               ch 2 powering a 15 thats 107 at i dont see how you could bring them up in volume exactly at the same rate

If they start even, they stay even.  You've already compensated for all the differences in sensitivity and input gain, so anything after that is a result of the increase in the signal voltage being delivered from the mixer. 

Start even, stay even. 
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Ivan Beaver

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Re: help with amplifier gain and speaker sensitivity
« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2013, 09:07:53 PM »

If they start even, they stay even.  You've already compensated for all the differences in sensitivity and input gain, so anything after that is a result of the increase in the signal voltage being delivered from the mixer. 

Start even, stay even.
And if you start out at different levels-and turn them up the same amount-the level difference is still the same-in dB.
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Ivan Beaver
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Ivan Beaver

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Re: help with amplifier gain and speaker sensitivity
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2013, 09:10:12 PM »



2 ch amp , ch 1 powering a 15 thats 100ds at 1
               ch 2 powering a 15 thats 107 at i dont see how you could bring them up in volume exactly at the same rate

So the difference is 7dB.  Now rise them both 6dB and you now have 106 and 113dB.  The difference is still the same.
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A complex question is easily answered by a simple-easy to understand WRONG answer!

Ivan Beaver
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Irving A. Hammond Jr.

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Re: help with amplifier gain and speaker sensitivity
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2013, 09:45:53 PM »

I agree until you start to get power compression in one or multiple bandpasses.
So the difference is 7dB.  Now rise them both 6dB and you now have 106 and 113dB.  The difference is still the same.
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Irving A. Hammond Jr.

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Re: help with amplifier gain and speaker sensitivity
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2013, 10:06:37 PM »


sound varies at different levels at different frequencies (music) throughout a track causing me to consider this above issue


That is most likely the effect of Fletcher Munson curve.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher-Munson

and maybe your also hearing the effects of power compression & distortion.

http://www.sweetwater.com/expert-center/glossary/t--PowerCompression


 
« Last Edit: January 24, 2013, 10:10:39 PM by Irving A. Hammond Jr. »
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Ivan Beaver

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Re: help with amplifier gain and speaker sensitivity
« Reply #8 on: January 25, 2013, 07:27:18 AM »

I agree until you start to get power compression in one or multiple bandpasses.
That goes without saying-as it is non linear behavior.

I think that is a bit advanced for the level of this thread.
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Ivan Beaver
Danley Sound Labs

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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: help with amplifier gain and speaker sensitivity
« Reply #8 on: January 25, 2013, 07:27:18 AM »


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