The Goals and Challenges of Sound Reinforcement

	The Goals of Sound Reinforcement		The Challenges of Sound Reinforcement
	Meyer Sound has always been committed to creating the highest quality loudspeaker system products possible. Over the years there has evolved a core of principles among ourselves and our users. These principles, while not unique to Meyer Sound, serve as the guiding force behind this handbook. These underlying principles are a commitment to: Provide the most accurate reproduction of the input signal's frequency and phase response, free of coloration or distortion. Maximize system intelligibility. Provide a consistent sound pressure level and frequency response over the listening area. Create realistic sonic imaging. Minimize the effects of poor room acoustics and make the best of the good ones. Optimize the power bandwidth of the system for the source signal. Maximize dynamic range. Minimize the noise floor. Make efficient use of limited time and budget resources. Maximize short- and long-term reliability of the system. Maintain compatibility of the system over time. Minimize destructive interference between speaker subsystems. Minimize downtime by efficient troubleshooting and repair. Operate all equipment safely. And last but not least, Make it sound good and have a good time doing it!		It is one thing to list the goals of sound reinforcement. It is quite another to accomplish them. There are tremendous challenges presented by even the most simplistic sound designs once the system is installed in a space. Even if we assume a perfectly designed and manufactured loudspeaker system, the response of the sound system can be degraded by: Distortion Polarity reversals Wiring errors Interaction between speakers Compression Dynamic acoustical conditions Reflections Redundant coverage Delay offset between speakers Rattles and buzzes Component failure Crossover cancellation Gain structure errors Poor impedance matching and termination Improper grounding Insufficient power bandwidth Compromised speaker positions Insufficient time for alignment Lack of proper test equipment This handbook is designed to address all of these challenges, enabling you to achieve the goals of sound reinforcement.

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