Wayne Parham Messages: 18791 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
Doubling impedance cuts current in half, which is equivalent to a 3dB reduction in power. However, impedance of loudspeakers is complex, in that it isn't a flat value like a resistor. What we did last year was to use the minimum impedance to calculate the voltage level that would be needed to produce the desired power level. So we tested last year using fixed power levels rather than fixed voltage levels. The 100 watt power level at 10 meters corresponds exactly to the 1W/1M SPL level. Last year we also measured response at one fixed voltage level, 28.3v, which then gave the 2.83v/1M SPL value since we measured at 10 meters distance.