AS APPLIED TO ELECTRONIC MUSICAL

PRODUCTION AND PERFORMANCE

Part One Basic training
JIM DuBARR INSTRUCTOR
MICHAEL FUSON COURSE CONSULTANT
CREATED BY JIM DuBARR ENTERTAINMENT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. USE OF ALL MATERIALS CONTAINED HERIN IS
AUTHOIZED TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE SAINT JOSEPH MUSIC FOUNDATION FOR PURPOSES OF EDUCATION ONLY.

DEFINITIONS
OHMS LAW
SOLVING EQUATIONS USING OHMS LAW
WHAT IS FREQUENCY
MORE ABOUT FREQUENCY
THE FREQUENCY SPECTRUM
SPEAKER CONSTRUCTION
FREQUENCY AND SPEAKERS
CROSSOVERS
EQUALIZERS

IMPEDANCE
IMPEDANCE MATCHING
SERIES AND PARALLEL CONNECTIONS
POWER HANDLING CAPABILITIES
RMS vs. PEAK WATTAGE
TOTAL HARMONIC DISTORTION
READING SIMPLE SPECIFICATION SHEETS
(Specs)

CURRENT

RESISTANCE

The flow of electrons

within an electronic
circuit.

Opposition to the flow

of electrons in an
electronic circuit.

Measured in Amperes

Measured in Ohms

Electronic symbol I

Electronic symbol R

Also known as amps.

Also represented by
Omega

VOLTAGE

POWER

The potential, or
pushing power, of
electricity available
to a circuit.

The measure of the

ability of an
electronic circuit to
accomplish a task.

Measured in Volts

Measured in Watts

Electronic symbol E

Electronic symbol P

Also symbolized as V

Also symbolized as W

CURRENT AMPS - I
VOLTAGE VOLTS - E
RESISTANCE OHMS -

R
POWER WATTS - W
I

With any two variables, the third may be found

by using the following simple formulas;
E (Voltage) = I (Current) x R (Resistance)
I (Current) = E (Voltage)
R (Resistance)
R (Resistance) = E (Voltage)
I (Current)

Frequency is the essence of Sound

Frequency is defined as the time between the
reoccurrence of the same event
Sound waves create pressure waves in the air that
vibrate the ear drum, causing us to hear. These
sound waves are sinuodal, or modulate from zero to
a positive level, then to an equal negative level,
then back to zero again. The period of time it takes
for this cycle to occur is called the frequency. In
electronics, this is measured by what is called a
sine wave, which resembles a sideways S.
Frequency is measured in units called Hertz,
abbreviated as Hz, also called Cycles per Second.

LOW FREQUENCY

HIGH FREQUENCY

Low frequency sound

waves are long, and
repeat less
frequently. Low
frequency sounds ,
like that of a bass,
vibrate the ear drum
less often, so we
hear low sounds.

High frequency sound

waves are short, and
repeat more often.
High frequency
sounds, such as lead
guitar, vibrate the
ear drums more
often, so we hear a
higher sound.

Low Frequencies

20 Hz to 250 Hz
Midrange Frequencies

250 Hz to 2 kHz (2000 Hz)

High Frequencies

Above 2 kHz to extent of hearing capabilities.

PLACEHOLDER FOR PICTURE OF SPEAKER

Low Frequency
Larger magnets and coils

are necessary to produce

low frequencies.
More power is necessary
to energize these large
coils, which are actually
resistors by nature.
Power is measured in
watts, low frequency
speakers require more
wattage to produce
sound.

High Frequency
Smaller magnets and

coils are needed to

produce high frequency
sound waves.
Less power is needed to
energize the smaller coils
of these speakers,
consequently there is
less resistance in this
circuit.
Less wattage is necessary
to power these speakers,
a smaller Power amp can
be used.

 Crossovers are adjustable frequency dividers which

allow selected frequencies to pass, or be blocked

from passing, to speakers.
In simple terms, crossovers provide a means of
allowing only lower frequencies access to larger
bass speakers while blocking higher frequencies.
At the same time they allow only higher
frequencies to pass through to the smaller speakers
and horns, while blocking the lower frequencies,
which could damage the smaller speakers.
Crossovers can be two way, or three way which
additionally allows control over frequency
distribution to Midrange speakers .

Equalizers allow the user to control the volume of

individual frequencies distributed to speakers.

Equalizers allow for fine tuning of the force of
sound waves produced by the speaker for each
of the adjustable frequency ranges by providing
resistance to the chosen frequency being
adjusted.
Using Ohms Law, we can see that more
resistance means less voltage.
Understanding speaker construction, the speaker
will vibrate less, producing less powerful sound
waves in the adjusted frequency range.

Typical 32 Band Equalizer

Two-Way Crossover

Please take this time to jot down any questions you may
have.

This presentation will be available online through the Foundations

website. A comprehensive five part course is available through the
Foundation as well. There is no cost for these services, however
donations to the Foundation will be accepted. Questions (and
possibly tutoring) can be addressed to the following links after
tonights presentation. Thank you for attending!
Jim DuBarr jimdubarr@stjoelive.com
Mike Fuson mikefusn@swbell.net

Impedance is simply the combined resistance of all

components of any given circuit.
Since it is resistance, it is measured in ohms.
Multiple speaker enclosures usually contain an internal
crossover to separate frequencies between the
different size speakers in the cabinet.
The resistance of this crossover, combined with the
resistance of the speakers themselves, represents the
impedance.

 To insure proper operation of speakers and power

amplifiers, it is important to match the impedance of

the speakers to the output of the power amplifier used.
Failure to insure proper impedance matching may
damage speakers and power amplifiers, and at a
minimum will shorten the useful life of the items.
Most matching can be done easily by either choosing
the corresponding output on the power amplifier, or in
some cases setting a control on the power amplifier for
the correct output impedance. Many power amplifiers
match impedance automatically through sensing
circuits.
Most speaker enclosures are 4, 8 or 16 ohm
impedance.

How you connect multiple speakers together can

have an effect on total impedance of the circuit.

SERIES one cable connects the power amplifier
to the first speakers input. The second speaker
is connected from the first speakers output to the
input of the second speaker. In this scenario, if
the first speakers impedance is 4 ohms, and the
second is 4 ohms, the total impedance of the
circuit is 8 ohms.
PARALLEL separate cables connect each
speaker to a separate output of the power
amplifier. Each speaker maintains its own
impedance rating.

 Because there are no universally accepted standards, most professional loudspeaker

manufacturers use different test methods to arrive at a power handling specification.

This rating does not necessarily correspond to the best amplifier size to use nor is it a
measure of the "safe" amplifier size to use under actual operating conditions.
There are three separate and very distinct issues regarding selecting amplifier power
for loudspeakers.
1. LOUDSPEAKER POWER HANDLING RATING

SELECTING AN APPROPRIATE AMPLIFIER SIZE

3. PREVENTING LOUDSPEAKER DAMAGE
2.

If an audio system is operated improperly, damage to or failure of a loudspeaker can

occur even with an amplifier sized well below the loudspeakers power rating.

Contrarily, if an audio system is operated properly, damage to or failure of a

loudspeaker can be avoided even with an amplifier sized well in excess of the
loudspeakers continuous (or RMS, average, etc.) power rating.

 RMS, or Root Mean Standard, describes the point in a

signal, or frequency when distortion begins to occur.

This can be heard by turning a radio up to full volume
and listening. Once the volume is decreased, you
hear less unnatural noise other than the sound itself.
RMS is 70.7% of the peak Wattage.
Example: 100 watts peak=70.7 watts RMS. Above
70.7 watts, distortion will increase proportionally to
the maximum allowed by the design of the circuit.
Simply put, a volume knob incremented 1-10 will
begin to produce distortion of the signal when turned
to 8 or above.

 Music is made up of both Fundamental and Harmonic

Frequencies.
A note produced by a musical instrument, A for example,
is producing a fundamental frequency of 440Hz or cycles
per second. It is also reproducing harmonics of that
frequency that are multiples of the fundamental
frequency, such as 880Hz, 1220Hz, 1760Hz and so on.
Each of the harmonic frequencies is lower in level or
volume than the fundamental, but they serve to give each
instrument its unique sound.
When the total harmonic distortion of an amplifier is
measured, the difference in the level of the harmonics at
the output stage of the amp is compared to the level of
the harmonics at the input stage, and the difference is the
extent of the distortion.

 Dispersion

SYSTEM DATA

High-performance woofer

B212XL: 12" (305 mm)

B215XL: 15" (381 mm)

B215XL: 70 x 40

Tweeter compression driver

B212XL and B215XL: 1.75" (44 mm)

Crossover frequency

Frequency range

B212XL: 1.9 kHz

B212XL: 65 Hz to 18 kHz

B215XL: 2.0 kHz

B215XL: 55 Hz to 20 kHz

Power rating

DIMENSIONS/WEIGHT

B212XL: 800 W Peak Power

Dimensions (HxWxD)

200 W Continuous Power

B212XL: approx. 21 23" x 13 58" x 10

(IEC 60268-5)

B215XL: 1000 W Peak Power

250 W Continuous Power

(IEC 60268-5)

Impedance

B212XL and B215XL: 8

Sensitivity (1 W @ 1 m)

B212XL: 95 dB (Full Space)

B215XL: 96 dB (Full Space)

B212XL: 90 x 60

58"
(approx. 550 mm x 345 mm x 270 mm)
B215XL: approx. 27 13" x 17 13" x 13
116"
(approx. 695 mm x 440 mm x 335 mm)
Weight
B212XL: 24.0 lb / 10.9 kg
B215XL: 38.7 lb / 17.6 kg

THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING TONIGHTS

PRESENTATION

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