Entries by Pat Brown

Musician’s Ear Plugs Comparison Study

Can sound be attenuated and the fidelity preserved using musician’s ear plugs?

As the population ages, hearing damage has moved to the forefront of public consciousness. Many older folks are realizing (often too late) that they had some bad listening … Read more

Amplifier Sensitivity – Is Yours Optimized?

The amplifier’s gain/sensitivity switch allows you to minimize the noise floor of your sound system. Learn how to properly set it.

An amplifier has an input and an output. The output power rating gets a lot of attention, but this … Read more

Loudspeaker Maximums – Part 1

Have you ever tried to find the loudspeaker’s “maximums?” Here’s how you do it.

by Pat Brown

How does one know when a loudspeaker is “all the way up?” There’s some science behind it.

Whether we are selecting an amplifier … Read more

Why 8 Ohms?

Anyone who has messed with audio gear of any kind has run across “8 ohms.” Where did it come from and what does it mean?

“8 ohms” is found in loudspeaker specifications, amplifier specifications, and on wire gauge charts. Amplifier’s

Read more

Line Array Realities


Line arrays are often stereotyped by how they behave at high frequencies. When full-range sound is considered, the reality is much different.

Source Types
A point source emits sound waves that are spherical in shape. The physicist’s theoretical point source … Read more

Jabra Headset Microphone Comparison

In this audio demonstration, I am wearing two headset microphones. The Jabra Engage 50 II is recorded to the left channel. The Jabra Evolve2 40 is connected to the right channel.

1. Stereo Version – Alternately mute your Left and Read more

Learn How to Simplify the EQ Workflow

The EQ Workflow is like painting with increasingly finer brush strokes until the desired level of detail is reached.

Technical equalization is the process of “making equal.” The objective is to neutralize the loudspeaker’s response. For some system types this … Read more