Members AudioVagrant Posted March 16, 2014 Members Share Posted March 16, 2014 ~~What is the benefit of having matched voltage gain on power amplifiers? The reason I ask this is due to reading a tech article on Peavey's website (http://www.peavey.com/support/technotes/soundsystems/Voltage%20Gain.1.pdf). However, all that the article touches on is how to check the voltage gain on an amp. Helpful but not really a good way to give understanding. Let's work with two similar systems. Both consisting of a pair of U15s with a pair of UCS1s and using a dbx DriveRack 260.System A has a Peavey CS2000 for tops and a Peavey CS4080hz for subs. Both have x40(+32dB) voltage gain.System B has a QSC RMX2450 for tops and a QSC RMX5050 for subs. 2450 has 50x(+34dB) and the 5050 has 64x(+36dB) voltage gain. My understanding of the article leads me to believe that System A would be better because the similar voltage gain from the amps works better with DSP. Is there better phase response from the DSP with matched voltage gain vs unmatched? Is it just to make life easier when dealing with crossovers since you don't have to take into account amplifier gain structure??If the DSP is before the amplifiers, does it really matter if the voltage is matched? Thanks. BEFORE WE START: this post is simply for understanding the concept of matching voltage gains. It is not a CS vs RMX post. I am curious about the reasoning behind matching voltage gains between amplifiers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted March 16, 2014 Members Share Posted March 16, 2014 Your understanding is correct. Once you dial-in your DSP you can use any fixed gain amp without having to change your settings. It is also a much easier way to deal with systems when you are constantly changing things around, adding amps, etc. it also allows you to use a single model amp for the entire system without having to redial or to substitute an amp to cover a failure without screwing up the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members agedhorse Posted March 16, 2014 Members Share Posted March 16, 2014 The primary reason for choosing between fixed sensitivity or fixed gain is when running more than 1 model of amp from the same drive signal path. Neither may be ideal compared with identical models but the follwing example highlights the differences: Compare a 1000 watt/chan amp to a 500 watt/chan amp... With fixed gain model, if each amp has the same fixed gain, the levels will be identical until the smaller amp hits the clip/limit point. With a fixed sensitivity model, both amps will hit the clip/limit point at the same time, but the levels will be different (the larger amp will lead the smaller model) until they converge at the clip/limit point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AudioVagrant Posted March 17, 2014 Author Members Share Posted March 17, 2014 Ok. That makes sense. Thanks for the help and clarifications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 17, 2014 CMS Author Share Posted March 17, 2014 If the new forum software evolves to the point we can find and recover the sticky threads, this would be an excellent candidate for the Guide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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