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Re: physics-no cheating allowed [message #42855 is a reply to message #42853] Fri, 31 October 2003 03:51 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18792
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

I think the discussion has probably slipped into one of semantics. A horn increases radiating resistance which modifies the parameters of the gyrator transformations. There are a handful of things that result from this. You'll definitely get more output from a horn, and it is definitely more efficient. It also has higher impedance, so all of these things combine to allow a higher voltage input and a higher output as well. But you still can't exceed thermal limits from long-term double and quadruple over-current conditions and expect it to survive.

Simple (very) math [message #42858 is a reply to message #42855] Fri, 31 October 2003 11:18 Go to previous messageGo to next message
JLapaire is currently offline  JLapaire
Messages: 156
Registered: May 2009
Master
I'm going to hop in with a thought. Because the impedance of the driver loaded in a horn is higher than nominal, the amp can output a higher voltage without the driver actually seeing more power. If power dissipated = voltage squared over resistance, than an increase in resistance results in lower power. Is that about right?

John

Re: Simple (very) math [message #42865 is a reply to message #42858] Fri, 31 October 2003 14:13 Go to previous message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18792
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

Power is directly proportional to the reciprocal of impedance and to the square of voltage, so a small increase in impedance requires a larger increase in voltage to develop the same amount of power across the load. Large power amplifiers are typically good current sources, and can be viewed as current multipliers. But still, the output voltage is what is typically constant, not the current.

So if you set two different impedance loads across two amps that are generating the same voltage output, the one with higher impedance will dissipate less power than the one with lower impedance. If you set them so that both are dissipating the same amount of power, then the higher impedance load requires a higher voltage output as described by the formula.

A horn loudspeaker can be described as having an electrical-to-mechanical transformation and a mechanical-to-acoustic transformation. The acoustic load generated by the horn is reflected back through the mechanico-acoustic transformation to modify the diaphragm's reactive and resistive properties. It acts to modify the primary resonant frequency and adds a few more, which is described by its reactance. It also impedes motion of the diaphragm as a damping force. This resistive component is more linear at higher frequencies, but is present to some degree at all frequencies in its passband.

These mechanical transformations are reflected back through the electro-mechanical transformation to modify the electrical impedance curve. It has both a resistive and reactive component, and the increased resistance is an indication of the horn's increased efficiency. It also means that less electrical power is transferred at a given voltage, even though the horn's efficiency increase may have made the acoustic output greater. So a horn loaded driver can be expected to operate safely at a higher voltage, because its impedance is higher. But that is what we're really talking about here, and not the electrical power transferred to the load.

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