Jan 10, 2008 01:47 pm Rob, just wanted to give you a shout out for throwing around some excellent information in your posts. Definitely appreciate the insights!!!
SPL (Sound Pressure Level)
Posted on Jan 09, 2008 08:52 pm
Rob Stemple
The Czar of BS
Member Since: Dec 31, 2007
Since I was posting relevant information about our industry. I figured I should continue a little. I wanted to give some information on one of the most important pieces of information about speaker I know. SPL (Sound Pressure Level) SPL is how loud a speaker can get. SPL is measured in DB's. Now, if your not familure with DB's. DB always refers to a ratio. In SPL it's ambiant to High pressure. In electronics. It's the input voltage to output voltage. (Anyone who tells you that they measured the volume using a volt meter that has a DB scale. Smack them, they have no idea of what they are talking about!) When you are looking to purchase a speaker. Take a look at the SPL or DB rating first. All manufactures will list them. This is important for your application of your speaker. If you are doing rock or hip hop shows, you usually want a speaker that can produce an SPL of at least 115 db's to 120 db's. Speaking engagements. Somewhere around 92 db to 100 db. One thing you need to know about the DB scale, is that every 3 db doubles the volume. Let's look at how this works. If you have a speaker that is rated at 100 db, and you add another speaker that is rated at 100 db. Does that mean the two of them will produce 200 db? No! This means the total volume is 103 db. You doubled the 2 100 db speakers to get double the SPL. So, if your speakers are rated at 100 db. And you want to get to 120 db (typical rock show). You will need at least 8 of them to get to 120 db. Hopefully, this information will help you make an informed purchase for your part in this industry. And this is only one part of information you need. The other is the range of the speaker. From what hz to what Khz. That information will tell you if you need sub's, or other cabniets. Added to your system.
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Jan 10, 2008 01:47 pm Rob, just wanted to give you a shout out for throwing around some excellent information in your posts. Definitely appreciate the insights!!!
Jan 10, 2008 01:51 pm Hey Rob, you should write up an article for the Tip section on this kinda stuff. It's good info to have on hand :)
5 Kudos
1 Digg
Jan 10, 2008 02:01 pm Ya, I was looking for the "recommend" button but it appears to be gone now - dB??
Jan 10, 2008 02:02 pm I dumped "recommend" a while back, it was gay (not that there's anything wrong with that) and never used...
I opted for the social bookmarking links instead.
Jan 10, 2008 02:04 pm Sexual preference for software features is always hard to predict.
I used the recommend feature when you first added it, but soon fell out of the habit of recommending posts that I thought captured the spirit of this forum/site.
Jan 10, 2008 02:08 pm Quote:
Sexual preference for software features is always hard to predict.
oh wow...
Jan 10, 2008 02:11 pm The 2 x 100 dB speakers = 103 dB thing is cool.
Didn't know that.
Jan 10, 2008 02:36 pm Yeah, I was going to try and recommend this thread as well, but now that I learned the recommend function was gay, I'm going to go take a shower and pretend the thought never crossed my mind.
Jan 10, 2008 02:47 pm make sure it's a cold shower.
Jan 12, 2008 12:39 am Indeed, thanx Rob. Some great info yo are passing along. Your a welcome addition to the forum that is for sure. The live sound thing was never my strong suite.
I agree though, you should submit an article or two if you have time.
Jan 12, 2008 01:24 am This was one of the very first things I learnt at school last night. It was cool to be in class and already have an understanding of SPL.
Thx Rob.
Oh ya, just to show I actually learnt something...
deci - bell
Alexander Graham Bell
74 dB conversation level
118 dB threshold of feeling
135 dB threshold of pain
...actually I already had a bit of an idea about this stuff as I work in a manufacturing plant and we have to deal with hearing testing etc.
The double the energy for every 3 dB formula will come in handy
Jan 12, 2008 12:28 pm I am pleased to hear that everyone is finding the information usefull. I will be happy to continue posting information pertinent to our field. If you are interseted in finding a more indeepth look, buy Yamaha's sound reinforcment handbook. This book is our Bible! Everything you need to know is in it. The latest cost I found for it was on Amazon's web site. $23.07 is what there are listing it for. Which is a heck of a lot cheaper than I paid for it. Make sure it's version 2. Version 2 will cover Line array as well. It cover application to. So you can tell when Line array is apropreate and when it is not. (something I wish the big companies would pay attention to!)
Jan 12, 2008 01:06 pm Yay Yamaha. I got one of their small mixers, and their manual explained all sorts of stuff. More of a guide, than a manual. Good stuff.
Jan 12, 2008 01:50 pm Yamaha makes great snowmobiles as well - lol
At less than $25 it seems like a bargain to me (for the book that is). I'm ordering mine today.
Jan 12, 2008 10:01 pm Thanx for that as well Rob.
Jan 12, 2008 10:23 pm Rob, you are obviously very learned, and your information is quite valuable. I offer only one suggestion:
Try separating your tips and thoughts using the Enter key. It will make your posts much more readable. I'm old, and clarity matters.
Az for speling, forgitit.
Jan 12, 2008 10:31 pm Sorry about that Herb. It's hard to see how it is going to come out on the screen for me. Since the area your typing in does not match the area it is posted in. As for my spelling, like I said in my post A little about me. I'm a sound engineer, not an English teacher. Just got the HTML spell checker. Hopefully things will get better!
Jan 12, 2008 11:24 pm If it were not for the automatic spell checking thingy in Firefox I would be completely lost as spelling goes. My punctuation is horrible as well. And Firefox can't fix that.
And I agree, that is one cool looking avatar.
Jan 12, 2008 11:38 pm Thanks, I found it on the web awhile ago. Had no idea what I was going to with it until now!
Jan 12, 2008 11:43 pm Noize, punctuation is pretty simple. You get it right most of the time, except for the apostrophe. They are used in plurals only when leaving the apostrophe out would cause confusion with another word, such as in the case of pluralizing letters.
Example: A's, I's, U's, and M's. Otherwise, they're only used for contractions (e.g. didn't) and possessives (e.g. Steve's). Using them for pluralizing acronyms such as DVD is also incorrect.
I know these things only because I work in education, and my lovely wife has a masters degree in curriculum and instruction.
Jan 12, 2008 11:52 pm Whats a plural?
I know what a possessive is, I think.
Jan 13, 2008 12:28 am You are going to make me learn something aren't you?
Jan 13, 2008 12:50 am Just trying to get those cracks off your monitor.
Jan 13, 2008 01:30 pm Well it worked, they are off for now. I'll bet they'll be back though.
Butt they'll still be in the picture here, wont they?
Jan 23, 2008 09:41 am I received a Borders Books gift certificate for X-mas from a friend and went out and got Yamaha's Sound Reinforcement Handbook 2nd Edition as stated by Rob. This book is totally awesome so far, I just have to read through some of it slowly and a couple of times, but damn by the time I am finished with this I will definitely be much wiser about Sound Reinforcement thats for sure.
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