How to connect a Power Amplifier to a passive Loudspeaker

in this video i'll be showing how to connect a power amplifier to a passive loudspeaker now this is a follow-up to the previous video i just uploaded titled how to connect a mixing console to a power amplifier you should definitely check that one out i've put a link in the description as you probably already know there are two types of loudspeakers used in sound reinforcement systems active and passive active loudspeakers do not require external power amplifiers because they have their own power amplifier built into them passive loudspeakers on the other hand requires the use of external power amplifiers for them to operate now the easiest way to tell them apart is that active loudspeakers have ac connectors similar to the one you find in your mixing console these ac connectors are used to power the amplifier that is built into them now if the loudspeaker have speak-on connectors like the ones you find at the output of your power amplifiers then the last speaker is a passive loudspeaker the first step to connecting a power amplifier to a passive loudspeaker is to ensure that the amplifier and the loudspeaker are correctly matched now this is a bit technical and i've decided to talk about it in a separate video so you have to subscribe and turn on post notifications to see that as soon as i upload it moving on the next step is to connect the mixing console to the power amplifier and for demonstration purposes i have the mg 24 14 fx mixer placed on top of this power amplifier i have given a detailed explanation of this process as well as the different operating most of the power amplifier in my previous video please check it out again link is in the description here i've configured the amplifier to operate in stereo mode and i'll connect the left main output of the mixing console to the input of channel 1 on the amplifier using an xlr cable i'll also connect the right main output of the mixing console to the input of channel 2 on the power amplifier to connect the power amplifier to the loudspeaker you will need a good set of speakon cables a speaker cable will have one of these picon connectors on either end of the cable as you can see here it says new trick speak on nl4 fc there are three types of speaking connectors we have the nl2 nl4 and nl8 all differentiated by the number of pins they have now the most common type used is the nl4 personally i've never used the nl2 or nl8 type neither arrivals physically seen where they are being used the nl4 speaker has four connecting pins labeled plus one minus one plus two and minus two you can't actually see the pins at first glance but they are in there shrouded in this outer covering this is what makes this picon very safe and reliable to use the speak on cable is wired using the plus one pin as positive and minus one pin as negative now this is the standard of doing this and only when you're configuring the amplifier to operate in bridge mono mode that's only when you can change this um method of connecting it but we'll talk about that now i'll talk about all of that in a later video which i will link in the description the speak on is a locking connector and to only go into the amplifier's output one way if you check out the connector you'll see that it has two bumps one slightly smaller than the other these have to be aligned to much a similar cutout on the amplifier's output or speaker's impulse connector when it's in you just turn clockwise to lock and it's secured to release you have to pull back on this latch turn anticlockwise and then pull out to the cable now let's connect the output of channel 1 to the loudspeaker the way you connect it speak onto the loudspeaker is the exact same way you connect it to the amplifier's output you can use any of the connectors here on the loudspeaker they are all connected internally in parallel if you need to connect multiple speakers from a single amplifier channel here's how to go about it now first you can take another speak on cable connect one end to the first last speaker like so and then connect the other end to the other loudspeaker alternatively you can connect from the binding post of the amplifier's output to the other loudspeaker you're using this type of cable that has a speaker on one end which blocks the loudspeaker and then bare wires on the other end which connects to the amplifier remember the positive wire goes to plus one pin on the speakon connector while the negative wire goes to the minus one pin if you need to connect the output of channel two in the power amplifier the process is exactly the same let's talk about setting amplifier level controls i'm talking about the rotary controls on knobs at the front panel of the amplifier for clarity on how to set sperm default level controls i think a good understanding of how they work is necessary and the good folks at crown can help us with that crown makes some really good power amplifiers and i have with me a printout of the crown amplifier application guide it's quite a technical document but i recommend it um i've put it download link to it in the description if i liked had some sentences here that i'd like us to check out so let's take a look amplifier level controls are typically not gain controls they do not control the amount of gain the amplifier produces power amplifiers are designed to produce a set amount of gain the function of the level control knob typically is to adjust the signal level coming into the amplifier's input stage where to set the level controls on the amp depends on the system and how much gain you have available prior to the amplifier with a level control stones down the amplifier can still reach full rated output power it just takes more drive level from your mixer to achieve it you should treat the amplifier level control as the overall volume control for your entire system especially in small to medium sized setups now this should determine how loud you want your sounds to be everything before the amplifier should be running at optimum signal to noise ratio using the proper gain setting procedure what i mean is this when setting system gain start at the front of the system and work your way toward the amplifier this involves accurately placing microphones to capture the best sound as opposed to noise at turning up the volume of your electronic impulse like your keyboards and your music playback devices and setting gain correctly for all these inputs in your mixer you can check out my video on how to set gain on a missing console i've put a link to it in the description the second thing we need to talk about is the amplifier sensitivity switch for some amplifiers it may not be present at all it's internal and not user adjustable again let's refer to the crowned amplifier application guide because i think the explanation given here is pretty straightforward first check to make sure your mixer or console is being operated at optimum signal to noise without clipping the output then with your amplifier's input sensitivity set to the 26 db position if equipped that's the least sensitive position turn up your arms level controls until you achieve the desired level or loudness if you turn the level controls all the way up and it's still not loud enough turn them far level controls all the way down then change the sensitivity switch to the 1.4 volts position that's the second uh least sensitive sensitive position this will include increase the gain of the amplifier rather now carefully turn the empire level controls up to the desired level or loudness if it's still not loud enough and your amplifier has a 0.775 volt sensitivity setting or a higher sensitivity level then repeat the entire process using a higher sensitivity settings now for some power amplifiers your sensitivity settings might be in db maybe you might have 26 or 30 and 32 db sensitivity start at 26 db and then increase to 32 db if necessary for some underprivileged you have it involves 1.4 volts like this amplifier here 1.4 volts 1 volts and then 0.775 start 1.4 and then gradually increase down to 0.775 volts just a word of caution take care when increasing the amplifier level controls at very high input sensitivity settings because you might cause your imputes to overload well that's it for this video if you got any form of value please give this video a thumbs up subscribe to the channel and turn on post notifications if you have any question go ahead and leave me a comment in the comment section and i'll be more than happy to respond to it i'm kelvin i'll see you in the next video [Music] you

Channel: Kelvin Eriaganoma

Views: 12,113

Keywords: Amplifiers, Mixer, Mixing console, amp, amplifier, amps, audio board, audio mixer, audio mixer tutorial, audio mixing console, loudspeaker, loudspeakers, mixer tutorial, mixing board, passive loudspeaker, power amp, power amplifier, power amplifiers, power amps, sound mixer, speaker, speakers

Id: LxV0PTI1kFc

Length: 8min 6sec (486 seconds)

Published: Sat May 07 2022