Index

Impedance Matching
Sound
In the early days of high fidelity music systems, it was crucial to pay reproduction
attention to the impedance matching of devices since loudspeakers were concepts
driven by output transformers and the input power of microphones to
preamps was something that had to be optimized. The integrated solid state
circuits of modern amplifiers have largely removed that problem, so this
section just seeks to establish some perspective about when impedance
matching is a valid concern.

As a general rule, the maximum power transfer from an active device like
an amplifier or antenna driver to an external device occurs when the
impedance of the external device matches that of the source. That optimum
power is 50% of the total power when the impedance of the amplifier is
matched to that of the speaker. Improper impedance matching can lead to
excessive power use, distortion, and noise problems. The most serious
problems occur when the impedance of the load is too low, requiring too
much power from the active device to drive the load at acceptable levels.
On the other hand, the prime consideration for an audio reproduction circuit
is high fidelity reproduction of the signal, and that does not require
optimum power transfer.

In modern electronics, the integrated circuits of an amplifier have at their

disposal hundreds to thousands of active transistor elements which can with
appropriate creative use of feedback make the performance of the amplifier
almost independent of the impedances of the input and output devices
within a reasonable range.

On the input side, the amplifier can be made to have almost arbitrarily high
input impedance, so in practice a microphone sees an impedance
considerably higher than its own impedance. Although that does not
optimize power transfer from the microphone, that is no longer a big issue
since the amplifier can take the input voltage and convert it to a larger
voltage - the term currently used is "bridging" to a larger image of the input
voltage pattern.

On the output side, a loudspeaker may still have a nominal impedance of

something like 8 ohms, which formerly would have required having an
amplifier output stage carefully matched to 8 ohms. But now with the
active output circuitry of audio amplifiers, the effective output impedance
may be very low. The active circuitry controls the output voltage to the
speaker so that the appropriate power is delivered.
 Microphone impedance matching Amplifier impedance matching

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Index
Matching Amplifier to
Sound
Loudspeaker reproduction
concepts
The maximum power transfer from an active device like an amplifier to an
external device like a speaker occurs when the impedance of the external
device matches that of the source. That optimum power is 50% of the total
power when the impedance of the amplifier is matched to that of the
speaker.

But modern audio amplifiers are active control devices, and the impedance
matching of the amplifier to the loudspeaker is no longer considered best
practice.

The implications of the simplified model for resistive amplifier outputs and
speakers may nevertheless be instructive as a reference. For example,
assume that the maximum distortion-free voltage from the amplifier is 40
volts:
To emphasize the oversimplification involved in the above model, it should
be noted that the loudspeaker is not a simple resistor - it contains a coil or
coils with significant inductance, and is typically composed of two or three
speakers with a crossover network that has capacitance and inductance. So
the impedance of the loudspeaker will inevitably vary with frequency.

Note that it is safer in terms of total power to go to higher impedance

speakers (series speakers), but more typical practice is to put speakers in
parallel, lowering the impedance.

Discussion of impedance matching

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Speaker Output Power
Sound
reproduction
concepts
 Discussion of amplifier matching Power relationship Voltage divider

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Matching Microphone to Input
Sound
While impedance matching of a microphone to an audio amplifier is not the reproduction
problem it was in the early days of high fidelity sound reproduction, there concepts
are some considerations that still apply.

In practical terms, the modern microphone needs to deliver optimal voltage

to the preamplifier, and not necessarily the optimum power that would
require impedance matching. Considering the microphone as a voltage
source, the voltage delivered to the input of the preamplifier is given by

where Vsource is the signal generated by the microphone mechanism, Ri the

impedance of the microphone and RL the input impedance of the
preamplifier. The actual signal power delivered to the preamp can be
expressed in decibels of loss compared to the microphone's generated signal
. Assuming a resistive circuit so that the power if proportional to the square
of the voltage:

For a microphone impedance Ri = Ω

and a preamp input impedance of RL = Ω
the signal loss would be dB
As long as the microphone has enough signal strength to provide the
minimum signal input to the mixer, it can be an advantage to connect a low
impedance microphone to a moderately higher impedance input. From this
point of view, current practice for "low impedance" inputs to audio mixers
typically have impedances from 1000 to 2000 ohms according to the Shure
Pro Audio website. They comment that as a rule of thumb, a signal loss of
6dB is acceptable.

Discussion of impedance matching Voltage divider

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Move Loudspeaker Closer to Index

Listener Sound
reproduction
concepts
One of the obvious ways to get more amplified sound to the listener is to
move the loudspeaker closer to the listener. The amount of anticipated
improvement in the potential acoustic gain can be modeled for the
simplified amplification system. As a practical matter in larger
auditoriums, this means using additional speakers which are closer to the
listener to add to the sound from a main speaker cluster. A problem which
arises is that the signal from the amplifier to the distant speaker travels at
the speed of light whereas the direct sound from the source travels at the
speed of sound. A sound image problem results from the fact that the sound
from the nearby speaker reaches the listener before the sound from the
visible source in the front of the auditorium - your ear locates a sound
partly by time of arrival and therefore hears it coming from the speaker.
The location conflict between your ears and eyes can be disconcerting. This
is typically overcome by using a digital delay for the sound signal going to
the distant speakers.

Ways to increase P.A.G.

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Use of Digital Delay

To maintain the perception that the sound is coming from the front of the
Index
auditorium, it is necessary to use digital delay to speakers under balconies,
etc., where they are much closer to the listener than the main speakers. The
Sound
signal to the speaker from the microphone travels at the speed of light, and
reproduction
the sound to the listener would arrive first from the closest speaker.
concepts
Precedence has a strong localizing influence, and all the sound would seem
to be coming from the nearby speaker. With appropriate delays, the sound
to all listeners seems to come from the main speaker.
 Ways to increase P.A.G.

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