Loudspeakers and Monitoring

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Loudspeakers and Monitoring

• Loudspeakers are transducers that convert
  electric energy into sound energy.
• Available in moving-coil, ribbon, and capacitor
  designs.

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Loudspeakers

• Powered externally are called passive speakers.
• Powered internally are called active speakers.

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Loudspeakers

• A single midsized speaker cannot reproduce high
  and low frequencies very well.

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Loudspeakers

• For improved response, loudspeakers have drivers
  large enough to handle the bass frequencies and
  drivers small enough to handle the treble
  frequencies.

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Loudspeakers

• These drivers are called woofers and tweeters.

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Loudspeakers

• A crossover network separates the bass and the
  treble frequencies at the crossover frequency,
  and directs them to their particular driver.

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Evaluating a Loudspeaker

• In evaluating a monitor loudspeaker, frequency
  response, linearity, amplifier power, distortion,
  and output level capability need to be considered.

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Evaluating a Loudspeaker

• Frequency response should be as wide as possible,
  from at least 40 to 20,000 Hz, especially with
  digital sound.

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Evaluating a Loudspeaker

• Linearity means that frequencies being fed to the
  loudspeaker at a particular loudness are
  reproduced at the same loudness.

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Evaluating a Loudspeaker

• Amplifier power must be sufficient to drive the
  loudspeaker system, or distortion will result.

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Evaluating a Loudspeaker

• Distortion is the appearance of a signal in the
  reproduced sound that was not in the original
  sound.

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Evaluating a Loudspeaker

• Overly loud signals give a false impression of
  program quality and balance.
• A loudspeaker should be capable of reproducing
  sound levels of 110 db without damaging its
  components.

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Monitoring Stereo

• Stereo sound is two-dimensional. It has depth
  and width. It requires two discrete loudspeakers
  for monitoring.

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Monitoring Stereo
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Monitoring Surround Sound

• Surround sound expands the dimension of depth.
  Places the listener in the center of the aural
  image rather than in front of it.

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Monitoring Surround Sound

• The most common surround sound format uses six
  discrete audio channels. Five full range and one
  just for low frequencies called a subwoofer.
  This format is known as 5.1

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Monitoring Surround Sound
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Evaluating Monitoring Sound

• It is helpful to use material with which you are
  very familiar with to test various loudspeaker
  responses with different types of speech and
  music.