Audio systems are no doubt, one of the most important inventions of our time. There’s no life to a video, without an audio. Everything depends, on what we hear. And that is only possible due to the audio systems that we now have, all around us, at our homes, offices, cars etc.
Before we jump onto the technicalities that are involved in an audio visual system, elaborating a little about the basic concepts of sound itself, will be needed. The sound is basically an energy that is created due to a vibration through a medium for e.g. air or water. It has different frequencies and at a given range of frequency, it can be heard by the human ear and hence, be interpreted as a sound. Three things make up a sound:
- Frequency: The rate at which vibrations are occurring.
- Intensity: The loudness of the sound.
- Timbre: The quality of the sound.
The human ear can catch sounds from a frequency range of 20 to 20,000 Hz.
In an audio system, the main component is the Speaker. Speakers are responsible for converting the electrical signals into audible sound signals. The most common type of speakers used today are the dynamic speakers. When a varying electrical signal (current) is passed through a movable coil, enveloped by a magnet, the coil moves in a back and forth motion. Cones, that are attached to the moving coil are then allowed to produce variations in the sound waves. All the speakers have normal resistance, that is why they can behave like resistors if placed in series or parallel. The speaker can produce sound waves at a specific frequency range and that is called the Frequency Response, one of the most important characteristics of a speaker. Speakers can further be categorized according to the frequency that they have been designed for:
- Woofers: They mostly cover the low-frequency sounds (less than 200 Hz).
- Midrange: Frequencies ranging from 500 to 3000 Hz, fall into the production capability of these speakers.
- Tweeter: An specially designed, dedicated speaker, responsible for handling frequencies above the level of the Midrange speakers.
- Full-range: These speakers are capable of handling frequencies ranging from as low as 100 Hz to as high as 15,000 Hz.
Next, to speakers come the Amplifiers. A ‘low-power amplifier’ is a signal manipulator used for volume and frequency stabilization and equalization. These amplifiers are basically used to remove or minimize any kinds of distortions that might occur, in the sound. On the other hand, an ‘audio power amplifier’ is used to increase the signal power, for speakers. For smaller speakers, amplifiers are built-in, but for bigger ones, separate amplifiers have installed that cater to the high-end systems.
Audiovisual systems, therefore, vary a lot, depending on how much you’ve invested and what kinds of components you have installed.
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