SA-3051/SA-3052 Operation Manual
SA-3051/SA-3052 Applications
The SA-3051/SA-3052 has many applications. Some of these include:
• Sound System Equalization
• Monitor System Feedback Control
• Movie Theater Setup
• Home Theater Equalization and Setup
• Tape Machine Alignment
• Sound and Music Monitoring
• Component Testing
Sound System Equalization
Sound reinforcement systems, large or small benefit even more from carefully applied equalization. While
only dynamite can really cure a really bad case of poor acoustics, equalization comes right after loud-
speaker array design when it comes to getting the most out of any speaker system in any room. If you set
up in different venues night after night, the SA-3051/SA-3052 can be the impartial judge that helps you
make your sound consistent, night after night.
The SA-3051/SA-3052 can work wonders on a home stereo. Most home stereos can benefit from a bit
of carefully applied equalization. Such equalization can go a long way towards enhancing your listening
pleasure. The SA-3051/SA-3052 can also be used to verify the performance of various portions of the
electronics in your system.
Whether you're equalizing a home stereo, or a 100,000 watt concert sound system, the basic technique is
the same:
1. Listen
2. Measure
3. Balance speaker components and equalize
4. Listen
5. Trim equalization settings
Hi-Fi Equalization
Before attempting any corrective equalization, use the SA-3051/SA-3052 to make a preliminary assess-
ment of the situation. Use several microphone positions, finally drawing a curve that represents the
average of a representative sample of the positions. We recommend no less than 3 different positions in a
one to three foot cube around your listening position.
Next, adjust the various level controls on the speakers themselves to smooth out the mid- and high-
frequency response. You can combat peaky bass response by trying various elevations above the floor.
Conversely, you can aid anemic bass response by using floor or corner placement.
The name of the game here is to get things as "right" as possible without equalization.
Now it’s time to use the equalizer. Remember what we discussed in Section 2. It's important to remember
to not try to equalize the dips in the overall response curves unless they are quite shallow. Deeper dips
may be due to a door, window, or other surface acting as a diaphragmatic absorber (the acoustical equiva-
lent of a black hole). If that is the case, then structural modification of the offending surface is the only
real cure. If you get really desperate, there’s always explosives.
If you're using an octave-band equalizer, you've probably noticed that the analyzer has a few more bands
than the equalizer does. With octave-band equalizers and octave-band analyzers, the important thing that
is missing is the response characteristic in-between adjacent bands. The equalizer's controls interact with
each other, allowing you to affect the response in the sidebands. If the EQ controls didn't interact, the
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