Educational

What are the differences between passive, active and powered loudspeakers?

Whether you’re listening to live music in a club, to a film soundtrack at the movie theater, or enjoying some tunes while wearing headphones, the sound you’re listening to is reproduced by loudspeakers. Everyone understands that. Now, designing loudspeakers, which produce sounds that are accurate and enjoyable, can be done in a few different ways. … Read More

What is Play Out Loud and Why Does it Matter?

I’ve been blessed to have been around some incredible musicians throughout the years. I’ve stood in awe and amazement at their skill, talent and total command of their craft, and on many occasions, struggled with the little demons on my shoulders whispering, “you need to practice more” in one ear and “you should just hang … Read More

What is Haas Effect and how to take advantage of it

Early 50’s audio researchers made key findings related to the human perception of sound, reflections and echoes. Their fundamental work is not only interesting, but can be used to our advantage in audio mixing and live sound applications. Let’s go through details and further insights here. To start with, our hearing mechanism integrates sound intensities … Read More

What is Comb Filtering and how to avoid it

Have you ever had an experience at a live event, like a concert or a show, where the sound seemed thin, lacking in punch and dynamics, or with a disturbing phasing effect as you moved around? If the sound system was comprised of a number of loudspeakers either stacked or placed side by side, or … Read More

Auditory Masking and its Effect on our Perception of Sound

What we hear is the complex combination of sound sources and their inherent audio characteristics interacting with the surrounding environment (in a room or outdoor), being decoded by our ears and brain. A number of loudspeakers and room-related topics have already been discussed in previous blogs (‘How to Best Setup Your Loudspeakers in Your Home … Read More

How to ready Your Gear for the First Gig Back

In these times, many of us have found ourselves off the road and unable to perform at live events. While we may have been using this time to sharpen our skills or pursue new interests, for the most part, our audio gear has been silent. As surprising as it may sound, your audio equipment is … Read More

What does Subwoofers Mutual Coupling Mean

You will have noticed that in a large number of live events, sound engineers place subwoofers close together either on the floor, on the side of the stage, or at the top of the line-array rig. Are there any benefits in doing so, and what exactly happens? Before exploring the answer, let’s first recall some … Read More

Heard about QSC FAST Power Amplifiers

Every so often, a new technology comes along that causes you to reconsider the concepts you knew and change the way you specify or design systems. A few years ago, QSC introduced a new amplifier platform of four-channel DSP power amplifiers featuring Flexible Amplifier Summing Technology™ (FAST). Today this technology can be found in PLD, … Read More