I'm back with another newbie question. When measuring frequency response & impedance on a set of drivers, is there a certain output level that the amp should be set to? If so - How do you determine said level? I assume that it should be the same for all of the drivers in order to compare the sensitivity of each.
My amp is rated at approximately 160 watts per channel so I'm a little apprehensive about hooking up a 1" dome tweeter directly to it.
Thanks.
My amp is rated at approximately 160 watts per channel so I'm a little apprehensive about hooking up a 1" dome tweeter directly to it.
Thanks.
You definitely must know the RELATIVE SPL levels for all drivers in the system. The exact output voltage from the amp is not as important.
If you want to know the system sensitivity, then you need to know both the amplifier output voltage (set typically to 2.83V to give 1W into an 8 ohm load) AND then you need to be able to measure the SPL of the driver at 1m, or at some distance and measure that distance as well. I usually just skip these measurements and if I want to know the sensitivity later I just do this for the system as a whole. But it has nothing to do with crossover design.
If you are DIYing your own setup for measuring impedance, just keep in mind that the voltage level of whatever you are using to measure the impedance (computer soundcard perhaps) can not exceed some maximum level or damage will result. I just use a woofer tester that is made for this purpose and makes many types of impedance measurements very easy.
Don't worry about connecting your amp directly to your tweeter, e.g. the power rating of the amp is not of concern. Even a small amp can blow a tweeter if it has a fault. Instead you want to make sure that no damaging signals are sent to the tweeter. These include pops and thumps, and that the DC offset of the amp is below 20mV. You can measure that simply using a voltmeter in place of the tweeter with no input signal on the amp but the preamp and other electronics turned on.
If you want to know the system sensitivity, then you need to know both the amplifier output voltage (set typically to 2.83V to give 1W into an 8 ohm load) AND then you need to be able to measure the SPL of the driver at 1m, or at some distance and measure that distance as well. I usually just skip these measurements and if I want to know the sensitivity later I just do this for the system as a whole. But it has nothing to do with crossover design.
If you are DIYing your own setup for measuring impedance, just keep in mind that the voltage level of whatever you are using to measure the impedance (computer soundcard perhaps) can not exceed some maximum level or damage will result. I just use a woofer tester that is made for this purpose and makes many types of impedance measurements very easy.
Don't worry about connecting your amp directly to your tweeter, e.g. the power rating of the amp is not of concern. Even a small amp can blow a tweeter if it has a fault. Instead you want to make sure that no damaging signals are sent to the tweeter. These include pops and thumps, and that the DC offset of the amp is below 20mV. You can measure that simply using a voltmeter in place of the tweeter with no input signal on the amp but the preamp and other electronics turned on.
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