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Author Topic: Amps to Speakers  (Read 7770 times)

Tony Smith

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Amps to Speakers
« on: March 18, 2011, 05:52:02 PM »

Scenario and Question - If you have Subs rated at 900 watts@4 and an amp rated 500@4  - amp gain set below half and you are achieving  the level and sound desired, you should be good right?  As long as you remain within those parameters you should be safe?  Yes or NO.
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Brad Weber

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Re: Amps to Speakers
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2011, 09:24:15 AM »

Scenario and Question - If you have Subs rated at 900 watts@4 and an amp rated 500@4  - amp gain set below half and you are achieving  the level and sound desired, you should be good right?
By "amp gain" do you mean the level controls?  They are really two different things.

As long as you remain within those parameters you should be safe?  Yes or NO.
There is no guarantee but with the caveats that the overall system gain structure is good, that there is no clipping earlier in the signal chain and that no one tries to run the system louder such that it causes clipping, you should be fine.
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Ivan Beaver

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Re: Amps to Speakers
« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2011, 10:21:55 AM »

Scenario and Question - If you have Subs rated at 900 watts@4 and an amp rated 500@4  - amp gain set below half and you are achieving  the level and sound desired, you should be good right?  As long as you remain within those parameters you should be safe?  Yes or NO.
As Brad was hinting at-the level controls are just that-NOT power controls as many people "think" they are.  Even with the controls turned down the amp can still put out full power-if you hit the input with enough signal.

And you are correct, if you are getting the levels you need-without anything clipping-then you are fine and nothing to worry about.  The loudspeakers should live a long healthy life.
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Ivan Beaver
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John Livings

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Re: Amps to Speakers
« Reply #3 on: April 14, 2011, 10:17:09 PM »

As Brad was hinting at-the level controls are just that-NOT power controls as many people "think" they are.  Even with the controls turned down the amp can still put out full power-if you hit the input with enough signal.

Would it be correct, that turning down the input gain on an Amp will cause a "Lower" input signal to produce Maximum output?

Regards,  John
« Last Edit: April 14, 2011, 11:46:38 PM by Mac Kerr »
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Chris Hindle

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Re: Amps to Speakers
« Reply #4 on: April 15, 2011, 08:49:50 AM »

Would it be correct, that turning down the input gain on an Amp will cause a "Lower" input signal to produce Maximum output?

Regards,  John
Other way around.
Lower the gain knob, and more input level is needed to reach full power output.
In most cases, it is called a "Gain Attenuator", as in Turn it up, and there is less attenuation to the input signal.
Chris.
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John Livings

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Re: Amps to Speakers
« Reply #5 on: April 15, 2011, 11:37:39 AM »

Other way around.
Lower the gain knob, and more input level is needed to reach full power output.
In most cases, it is called a "Gain Attenuator", as in Turn it up, and there is less attenuation to the input signal.
Chris.

Thanks Chris,

It sounded counter intuitive when someone who should know informed me (During Sound Check) to try it this way.

His "advice" (unsolicited) was to "Lower the setting of the Amp Input to compensate for the board gain settings.

I thanked him and said when we have time we will try that. (We never have more then 10 minutes, Usually we set things
up during the first act, on the fly for sound levels.

Regards,  John

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Brad Weber

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Re: Amps to Speakers
« Reply #6 on: April 16, 2011, 09:43:36 AM »

His "advice" (unsolicited) was to "Lower the setting of the Amp Input to compensate for the board gain settings.
And he could have been correct.  A typical mixer may have a +24dBu or so maximum output level with 0 on the master output meters representing a +4dBu signal level.  The input sensitivity of an amplifier, which is the input signal level that creates the full rated output, is often around that same +4dBu level, maybe 20dB below the maximum output of the mixer.  So if the board outputs directly feed the amplifier then to allow good gain structure in the mixer it would not be uncommon to want a minimum of somewhere around 20dB or so of attenuation at the amplifier input.  If you were running the mixer at lower than optimal levels for it then what he may have been suggesting was that it would be better to run the board at more optimal levels and turn down (attenuate) the amplifier inputs.
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Ivan Beaver

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Re: Amps to Speakers
« Reply #7 on: April 16, 2011, 10:04:41 AM »

It sounded counter intuitive when someone who should know informed me (During Sound Check) to try it this way.

His "advice" (unsolicited) was to "Lower the setting of the Amp Input to compensate for the board gain settings.

It depends on how you look at what "lower" means.  Does it mean to turn something down?  or to turn something up?

If you lower the input requirements (for full power) on the amplifier-you are actually INCREASING the gain.  ie going from 1V to .5V for full power.

If you are lowering the level control, then you are DECREASING the gain.

Yes it can get confusing-depending on how you look at it.
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John Livings

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Re: Amps to Speakers
« Reply #8 on: April 16, 2011, 11:54:10 PM »

It depends on how you look at what "lower" means.  Does it mean to turn something down?  or to turn something up?

If you lower the input requirements (for full power) on the amplifier-you are actually INCREASING the gain.  ie going from 1V to .5V for full power.

If you are lowering the level control, then you are DECREASING the gain.

Yes it can get confusing-depending on how you look at it.

Hi All,

Thanks for the input.

I will try to be more clear.

I believe What he was suggesting to me was that, If I were to turn the Gain Input Knob on the front of the Amp Counter Clockwise, That would cause a Lower (Weaker) signal from the Mixer to be able to cause the Amp to reach Maximum Output sooner.

In other words, Turning the input gain down (Counter Clockwise) would allow a weaker signal to produce more Amp output.

The main issue I deal with is Weak Vocals, The person using the Mic is not loud enough (we have no control over that).

So we are already having issues prior to the signal reaching the Mic Pre Amp Gain.

I think he was suggesting this to try to raise some of the Vocals.

Regards,  John
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Mac Kerr

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Re: Amps to Speakers
« Reply #9 on: April 17, 2011, 01:11:52 AM »

I believe What he was suggesting to me was that, If I were to turn the Gain Input Knob on the front of the Amp Counter Clockwise, That would cause a Lower (Weaker) signal from the Mixer to be able to cause the Amp to reach Maximum Output sooner.

In other words, Turning the input gain down (Counter Clockwise) would allow a weaker signal to produce more Amp output.

If that is what he was suggesting, he is just plain wrong.

Mac
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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: Amps to Speakers
« Reply #9 on: April 17, 2011, 01:11:52 AM »


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