Turbosound TL-1550, TL-1201 Amplifier considerations, Equalisation, TL series, user manual

user manual

TL series

Amplifier considerations

Turbosound speaker enclosures should be driven by high quality power amplifiers designed for true professional use. Such amplifiers will have balanced inputs, DC and RF fault protection, and well-designed cooling systems for reliability. Turbosound power amplifiers such as the TMC- T1000 are available and recommended for this purpose.

The program power listed in the loudspeaker’s technical specification is the best guide to the size of amplifier required for general-purpose applications. The amplifier should therefore be capable of delivering long term broadband power equal to the loudspeaker’s program power rating at the loudspeaker’s stated nominal impedance. This approach allows sufficient headroom to generate good dynamic range.

RECOMMENDED AMPLIFIER POWER RATINGS:

The amplifier's rated r.m.s. continuous power output (20Hz – 20kHz, per channel) should be equal to the program power handling of the loudspeaker at its nominal impedance.

In general, the more powerful the amplifier the better it will sound, provided that it is not driven into sustained clipping. It should be understood that overdriving an insufficiently powered amplifier is more likely to cause loudspeaker damage – the total energy in a heavily clipped signal is far higher than in an unclipped signal – than operating a more powerful amplifier within its ratings.

Equalisation

TL series enclosures are designed to provide smooth and even frequency response. They do not need excessive amounts of external equalisation to overcome the sonic deficiencies often found in many lesser designs.

In order to compensate for the room acoustics, TL series enclosures require only minimal equalisation. As in any system, over-equalisation introduces phase shifts, distortion and a reduction in headroom, usually causing more problems than it cures. Under most circumstances a 1/3 or 1/2 octave graphic equaliser will generally be adequate, with the fader settings applied smoothly and as little as possible for the required room compensation. Most rooms will have resonances that will be excited at particular frequencies needing some cut to help tame the sound. These problems are most pronounced at the lower frequencies where loudspeakers generally exhibit very little directional control. If you find that the system needs a lot of boost at lower frequencies you may need additional sub-bass units. It is good practice to use as little equalisation as possible, aiming to cut frequencies rather than adding large amounts of boost.

TL series manual page 9