Testing Voltage

[doncolga]

How and where to I test for voltage? I'm about to finish my first Titan 48 build.

Thanks!

Donny

[Sydney]

I gonna assume you mean amplifier output voltage.
Set a multimeter to AC and scale appropriately.
You can measure voltage from the start to the end of the system -
One probe on + one on - ( or red/black).
At LINE LEVEL; it ranges from .775V and up ( some devices can produce 2 - 10V ).
An amp often expects about 1.5V ( check specs ) and it brings that up to a level that drives speakers. Usually at least 20x.
( Measure across the speaker output jacks of the amp - no speakers attached )
See multimeter tutorial links posted in this thread
http://billfitzmaurice.info/forum/viewt ... =7&t=12114&

Syd

[doncolga]

I gonna assume you mean amplifier output voltage.
Set a multimeter to AC and scale appropriately.
You can measure voltage from the start to the end of the system -
One probe on + one on - ( or red/black).
At LINE LEVEL; it ranges from .775V and up ( some devices can produce 2 - 10V ).
An amp often expects about 1.5V ( check specs ) and it brings that up to a level that drives speakers. Usually at least 20x.
( Measure across the speaker output jacks of the amp - no speakers attached )
See multimeter tutorial links posted in this thread
http://billfitzmaurice.info/forum/viewt ... =7&t=12114&

Syd

So what should I be looking for when I measure voltage...I'm not seeing how this fits into the big picture...

[bzb]

Syd set me straight when I was testing my XTi 1000...

I had connected banana binding posts to my screw connector outputs. That's what I used to set my limiters - red to red, black to black, test for AC voltage and put the limiters at -3, -6, or -12dB to get the voltage under the threshold. Use a test tone generator or Audacity.

[Sydney]

So what should I be looking for when I measure voltage...I'm not seeing how this fits into the big picture...

You calculate the maximum voltage that you want to feed your speakers.
You set a limiter so that regardless of how much voltage is fed into the inputs of the limiter; the limiter will not pass on the increased voltage to the amp to be amplified.

The sound reinforcement handbook By Gary D. Davis, Gary Davis, Ralph Jones
p 172 11.7 Gain staging and Gain structure
p 271 14.3.2 How Compressor/Limiters work
p 37 4.3 Manipulating Dynamic Range in a Practical Sound System

http://www.proaudiosystems.co.uk/docs/h ... llers..pdf
http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/how_ ... structure/
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct08/a ... 1008_5.htm
http://www.communitypro.com/files/liter ... C_TECH.pdf
http://www.communitypro.com/files/liter ... V_TECH.pdf

Syd