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Exciter
5.7 LIVE CONCERTS & SOUND REINFORCEMENT
The Aural Exciter adds intelligibility without increasing levels, even with speaker systems that have reduced band-
width. It does this through higher harmonics generation which improves vocal articulation through a sound
system. Audio that is processed by the Aural Exciter will more easily penetrate noisy and reverberant environments
by adding brightness and clarity through the addition of harmonics rather than increasing gain of frequency funda-
mentals which may lead to feedback. Any voice or instrument individually processed with the Aural Exciter circuit
will have greater crispness and clarity allowing them to pop out in the mix with its own sonic identity.
Big Bottom inexpensively increases the bass capacity of any sound system. It is as though you’ve added subwoofers
to the system. If you already have subwoofers you’ll think the number of subs in the system was increased.
Equalizers are commonly used for tone control, elimination of feedback, and compensation for both system and
room deficiencies. In some cases the Aural Exciter can replace certain functions of outboard equalizers because
of the uniqueness of the Aural Exciter process. The Exciter can be placed before or after the equalizer in the audio
chain, depending on how you want to use the Exciter in conjunction with equalization. For room equalization, we
recommend placing the Exciter before the equalizer, as shown in the illustration below. For recording and other
applications, we recommend equalizing first, followed by the Aural Exciter.
If you use a compressor for smoothing out dynamics it should go into the audio chain before the Exciter. If you are
using a limiter for system protection it should be the last thing in the audio chain before amplification.
Note: The previous illustration depicts an in-line audio path. Most mixing consoles offer Master Bus Inserts for
processing.
5.8 STAGE MONITORS
Stage monitors are a necessity for performers but can be a source of problems for the sound engineer. For instance,
in rock concert settings the existing high levels on stage are fighting the effectiveness of the stage monitors. The
most common example is when the lead singer yells at you to give him more level in his monitors because he can’t
hear himself over the wall of guitar amplifiers. The volume that is required from the stage monitors is high enough
that you’re usually on the edge of feedback.
Operation & Applications
Optional
Compressor
Exciter
DAT
or Other
Recorder
System
EQ
To Electronic Crossover,
Amplifiers, and Speakers
Optional
Compressor
Exciter
