I am creating a 2 way active studio monitor for a school project and was wondering what I need to consider when deciding on the power output.
Also if anybody knows the math behind calculating the power output that would be great.
Thanks!
Also if anybody knows the math behind calculating the power output that would be great.
Thanks!
In the audio world, generally, power amplifier capacity exceeds (sometimes by a large margin) the capacity of the speaker system to handle it.
If your objective is to design something that matches your speaker system then you need to fully analyze the woofer system design (driver and box) and determine what amount of power it requires for full excursion in a range of frequencies.
So, start with the speaker design first and then you'll have a baseline to work with when analyzing required amplifier power.
Cheers,
Dave.
If your objective is to design something that matches your speaker system then you need to fully analyze the woofer system design (driver and box) and determine what amount of power it requires for full excursion in a range of frequencies.
So, start with the speaker design first and then you'll have a baseline to work with when analyzing required amplifier power.
Cheers,
Dave.
today's nanny state schools won't want you to make more than 80 dB at the listening spot, expose any student on the campus to more in the course of official educational activities due to liability, OSHA, human experimentation standards
85dB SPL is the recommended maximum listening level in pro audio monitoring. Of course that is an average figure and you will want some headroom to reproduce peaks cleanly.
Typical mid-sized and mid-priced active monitor speakers might use a 30-50W tweeter amp and a woofer amp of 50 to 150W. They might manage about 100 to 110dB SPL at 1 meter when maxed out.
The math: Start with the SPL you want to produce. Say 100dB at 1 meter. Subtract the sensitivity of the driver, say 85dB. The number left is the required amplifier power in dB relative to 1 watt. In this case, 15dBW which is about 32W.
(Caveat: Speaker sensitivity figures can be optimistic. One common trick is to quote the sensitivity for a 2.83 volt input, this being the voltage that would give 1 watt into an 8 ohm load, then make the speaker's impedance much lower than 8 ohms.)
Typical mid-sized and mid-priced active monitor speakers might use a 30-50W tweeter amp and a woofer amp of 50 to 150W. They might manage about 100 to 110dB SPL at 1 meter when maxed out.
The math: Start with the SPL you want to produce. Say 100dB at 1 meter. Subtract the sensitivity of the driver, say 85dB. The number left is the required amplifier power in dB relative to 1 watt. In this case, 15dBW which is about 32W.
(Caveat: Speaker sensitivity figures can be optimistic. One common trick is to quote the sensitivity for a 2.83 volt input, this being the voltage that would give 1 watt into an 8 ohm load, then make the speaker's impedance much lower than 8 ohms.)
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