ACOUSTICS & ULTRASONIC

‫الصوتيات وفوق السمعيات‬

ASSOC. PROF. SAMEH A. NAPOLEON 2020-2021
SOUND REPRODUCTION
AUDIO DEVICES AND APPLICATIONS
CONTENTS
 Microphone Sensitivity
 Nature of Response and Directional Characteristics
 Measurement Microphones
 Various Types of Microphones
 Various Types of Loudspeakers
 Characteristic Impedance of Loud Speakers
 Headphone Types
 The basics of Magnetic Recording
 Sound Cards, Sound Mixers
 PA Systems & Installations
 Digital Consoles
MICROPHONE WORKING
MICROPHONE
SENSITIVITY
 Sensitivity is an important characteristic of
microphone
 It tells that how much electrical output a microphone
has produced for a certain sound pressure level
 For a same sound pressure level input if two
microphones are producing different electrical outputs
then the microphone with higher electrical output is
said to be moresensitive
 Sensitivity is defined as output in millivolts for the
sound pressure of 1 pascal at 1Khz
MEASURING MICROPHONE SENSITIVITY
MICROPHONE
SENSITIVITY
 Select a measuring point (about 5 to 6 ft) in front of
the loudspeakerand place the SLM there
 Adjust the system until the SLM reads 94 dB (a band
of pink noise from250 to 5000 Hz is excellent for this
purpose)
 Now substitute the microphone to be tested for the
SLM
 Take the microphone open circuit voltage reading on
the micro-voltmeter
NATURE OF RESPONSE AND DIRECTIONAL
CHARACTERISTICS
 A controlled directional response can be obtained by
employing a sensing diaphragm, both faces of which
are exposed to the sound fieldof interest
 Such diaphragms experience a driving force that
depends on the spatial rate of change of pressure
rather than on the pressure itself
 The diaphragm may be circular as in a capacitor or
moving coil microphone or rectangular as in a ribbon
microphone
 The principal axis of the microphone is directed
perpendicular to the plane containing the diaphragm
 NATURE OF RESPONSE AND DIRECTIONAL
CHARACTERISTICS

 This axis makes anangle θ

with the direction of the
incident sound
 When θ has the value π /2,
both faces of the
diaphragm experience
identical pressures and the
net driving force on the
diaphragm is zero
 NATURE OF RESPONSE AND DIRECTIONAL
CHARACTERISTICS

 Now when θ is 0, the sound wave is incident normally

on the diaphragm and the driving force on the left face
of the diaphragm will be the pressure in the sound
wave at the left face’s location multiplied by the area of
the left face
 The pressure difference can be calculated by taking the
product of the space rate of change of acoustic
pressure, known as the pressure gradient, with the
effective acoustical distance separating the two sides of
diaphragm
NATURE OF RESPONSE AND DIRECTIONAL
CHARACTERISTICS
FREQUENCY RESPONSE OF MICROPHONE
 Frequency response refers to the way a microphone
responds to different frequencies
 It is a characteristic of all microphones that some
frequencies are magnified and others are attenuated
 For example, a frequency response which favors high
frequencies means that the resulting audio output will
sound more trebly than theoriginal sound
 For high quality instrument grade microphones a large
flatrange (20Hz to 20KHz) is required
FREQUENCY RESPONSE OF MICROPHONE
MEASUREMENT
MICROPHONES
 Some microphones are intended for testing speakers,
measuring noise levels and otherwise quantifying an
acoustic experience
 These are calibrated transducers and are usually
supplied with a calibration certificate that states
absolute sensitivity againstfrequency
 Measurement microphones are dominantly air
capacitor or electret capacitor microphones
 While ceramic piezoelectric units may still be
encountered
MEASUREMENT
MICROPHONES
 The standard sizes in terms of capsule diameter are 1
inch, 1/2 inch, 1/4 inch, and 1⁄8 inch
 The larger units have higher sensitivity and lower noise
floors
 The 1-inch unit is favored for making measurementsin
quiet environments at frequencies below about 8 kHz
 The ½ inch unit is a general purpose one but has high
frequency limitations
 Broad frequency band measurements usuallyrequire
the 1/4 or 1⁄8 -inchvariety
MEASUREMENT
MICROPHONES
 When the microphone capsules are smaller than 1/2
inch in diameter it is impossible to incorporate the
necessary circuitry and connector in a uniform
cylinder having a diameter equal to that of the capsule
 In such instances it is necessary to enclose the
circuitry and connector in a larger cylinder that is
joined to the capsule by a smoothly tapered section
matching the larger diameter to the smaller diameter
VARIOUS TYPES OF
MICROPHONES
 Various typesof microphones are available in the
market as listed below
 Moving coil(dynamic microphone)
 Ribbon
 Carbon microphone
 Condenser
 Electret
 Crystal(Piezoelectic microphone)
VARIOUS TYPES OF
MICROPHONES
 Fiber optic microphone
 laser microphone
 Water microphone
 Microelectromechanical systems(MEMS microphone)
MOVING COIL(DYNAMIC MICROPHONE)
 Dynamic microphones work viaelectromagnetic
induction
 They are robust, relatively inexpensive and resistant to
moisture
 With moving coil microphones a smallmovable
induction coil is attached to thediaphragm
 When the diaphragm vibrates, the coil moves in the
magnetic field, producing a varying current in the coil
through electro-magnetic induction
MOVING COIL(DYNAMIC MICROPHONE)
 These are the advantages of this microphone type:
- Relatively robust to mechanical stress
-High SPL capability (useful when singing or playing loud
instruments)
- No supply voltage needed
 Due to the coil mass, moving coil microphones provide a
limited reproduction spectrum and poor pulse behavior
 They are suitable for close miking, because non-linear
distortions are rare with high sound pressure levels
 They are primarily used for live applications, sometimes
also in thestudio.
MOVING COIL(DYNAMIC MICROPHONE)
RIBBON
MICROPHONE
 Ribbon microphones use a thin, usually corrugated
metal ribbon suspended in a magneticfield
 The ribbon is electrically connected to the
microphone's output, and its vibration within the
magnetic field generates the electricalsignal
 Basic ribbon microphones detect sound in a bi-
directional (also called figure-eight) pattern because
the ribbon, which is open to sound both front and
back, responds to the pressure gradient rather than the
sound pressure
RIBBON
MICROPHONE
RIBBON
MICROPHONE
CARBON
MICROPHONE
 A carbon microphone uses a capsule or button containing
carbon granules pressed between two metal plates
 A voltage is applied across the metal plates, causing a small
current to flow through thecarbon
 One of the plates, the diaphragm, vibrates in sympathy
with incident sound waves, applying a varying pressure to
the carbon
 The changing pressure deforms the granules, causing the
contact area between each pair of adjacent granules to
change, and this causes the electrical resistance of the mass
of granules to change
CARBON
MICROPHONE
 The changes in resistance cause a corresponding
change in the current flowing through the
microphone, producing the electrical signal
 Carbon microphones were once commonly used in
telephones; they have extremely low-quality sound
reproduction and a very limited frequencyresponse
range, but are very robust devices
 Unlike other microphone types, the carbon
microphone can also be used as a type of amplifier,
using a small amount of sound energy to control a
larger amount of electricalenergy
CARBON
MICROPHONE
SOUND REPRODUCTION
AUDIO DEVICES AND APPLICATIONS
CONDENSER
MICROPHONE
 The condenser microphone, invented at Bell Labs in
1916 by E. C. Wente is also called a capacitor
microphone or electrostatic microphone — capacitors
were historically calledcondensers
 Here, the diaphragm acts as one plate of a capacitor,
and the vibrations produce changes in the distance
between the plates
 There are two types, depending on the method of
extracting the audio signal from the transducer: DC-
biased and radio frequency (RF) or high frequency
(HF) condenser microphones
CONDENSER
MICROPHONE
 With a DC-biased microphone, the plates are biased
with a fixed charge(Q)
 The voltage maintained across the capacitor plates
changes with the vibrations in the air, according to the
capacitance equation (C = Q⁄V), where Q = charge in
coulombs, C = capacitance in farads and V = potential
difference in volts
 RF condenser microphones use a comparatively low RF
voltage, generated by a low-noiseoscillator.
CONDENSER
MICROPHONE
 Condenser microphones span the range from
telephone transmitters through inexpensive karaoke
microphones to high-fidelity recording microphones
 They generally produce a high-quality audio signal and
are now the popular choice in laboratory and
recording studio applications
 They require a power source, provided either via
microphone inputs on equipment from a small battery
 Power is necessary for establishing the capacitor plate
voltage, and is also needed to power the microphone
electronics
CONDENSER
MICROPHONE
ELECTRET
MICROPHONE
 An electret microphone is a type of capacitor
microphone
 The externally applied charge under condenser
microphones is replaced by a permanent charge in an
electret material
 An electret is a ferroelectric material that has been
permanently electrically charged orpolarized
 Nearly all cell-phone, computer, headsetmicrophones
are electret types
ELECTRET
MICROPHONE
CRYSTAL
MICROPHONE
 A crystal microphone microphone uses the phenomenon
of piezoelectricity — the ability of some materials to
produce a voltage when subjected to pressure — to
convert vibrations into an electrical signal
 The high impedance of the crystal microphone made it
very susceptible to handling noise, both from the
microphone itself and from the connectingcable
 Piezoelectric transducers are often used as contact
microphones to amplify sound from acoustic musical
instruments, to sense drum hits, for triggering electronic
samples, and to record sound in challenging
environments, such as underwater under high pressure