![]() ![]() Amplifier power Sound Pressure Level dB(SPL)įor a 22W amplifier we have to lose roughly -40 dB, 1/16 of the volume, 0.01% of power output. In other words, to power a speaker at 60 dB sound pressure level we need 0.001W of power. The power of the amplifier have to be attenuated down to 0.001 W. To bring a cranked 1W amp to 60 dB we have to lose roughly -30 dB. In other words, 10W amplifier will be twice as loud as 1W amp, and a 100W four times as loud as 1W amp. Cranked 1W amplifier is VERY LOUD.Īmplifier power Sound Pressure Level dB(SPL) Assuming the speaker sensitivity of 90 dB and a single 1x12, a cranked 1 Watt amplifier will be 90 dB at 1m distance.For professional grade, highly efficient cabinets speaker sensitivity is in 100-110 dB range. Generally this value is in the 87-92 dB range. The off-the-shelve speaker cabinets usually don't have this value on the spec-sheet.Speaker sensitivity is expressed in dB(SPL) per 1 Watt measured at a 1m distance. To calculate the sound pressure level of an amplifier you have to know the Speaker Sensitivity.And 70 dB an upper bound for not pissing anyone off. ![]() Reference values for loudness Sound source Sound Pressure Level dB(SPL)įrom thereon to clear any confusion I propose that apartment friendly volume would be in 50-60 dB range. It's important to note that there's much more to subjective perception of loudness than sound pressure alone.The reference value used is threshold of human hearing (sound pressure of air).Sound pressure level is defined as Lp = 20 log10 p1/p0 where p0 is the reference value. The physical quantity is sound pressure measured in Pascals(Pa). The decibel (dB) is a logarithmic unit used to express the ratio between two values of a physical quantity.Cheap sound pressure meters can be bought starting at 20 USD. Sound pressure meter is an instrument used to measure dB(SPL).Sound pressure level (SPL) is used to measure loudness in this case.Typical guitar speakers have a sensitivity of about 94-100 dB, so you see that there are differences of up to 6dB resulting in power differences of a factor 4 (for achieving the same volume)! A difference of 3dB sensitivity between two speakers means that you need twice the electrical power to achieve the same volume with the low sensitivity speaker. The loudspeaker's efficiency is usually described by its "sensitivity", which is its sound pressure level (SPL) in dB at 1 W input power measured at a distance of 1 meter. The efficiency of the loudspeaker(s) plays an important role too. But note that many amps can produce a good overdrive sound at low volumes by saturating the pre-amp instead of the power amp.Īs a final note, it's important to realize that amp power alone does not define the actual volume that will be perceived. If you're after a good overdrive sound and if you can't get that with your amp at low volumes, you might also want to consider getting an overdrive pedal in addition to your amp. And in this case any attenuator that matches the output impedance of your amp will do. ![]() you want the power amp to saturate, then you'll need a power attenuator. However, if you want it to sound as if it were cranked up, i.e. A 22W amp can usually be turned down sufficiently to be played in an apartment. ![]() If you really need a power attenuator depends on what you want to achieve. ![]()
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