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Is Your Impedance Matched?

Is Your Impedance Matched?

In the early days of audio, the “power matching” technique of creating 600-ohm source impedances to drive 600-ohm load impedances was a standard design practice. The topic of impedance matching used to be a prime teaching topic in decades past. The reason for learning impedance matching was that many sound sources, signal processors, consoles, and amplifiers were borrowed from fields other than sound reinforcement, and the necessity of knowing the input and output impedances was critical to get the system to play nicely together.

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To Pre or Not To Pre

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I am a microphone freak, so any activity involving microphones is at the top of the gear lust chart for me. There are three thing you cannot have enough of: money, microphones and well, you can guess what else.

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Who Will Speak for Our Industry?

It’s a cold, hard winter for the meetings and events business.  Things are just plain rough out there. According to a survey by the industry trade group Meeting Professionals International (MPI) and American Express that was released last month, seven percent of business meetings already scheduled for 2009 have been canceled, and that number may be an underestimate. We are hearing from our clients and vendors that cancellations often outnumber actual shows, and the recent economic indicators show no sign of relief.

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Are We Loud Enough?

In this month’s “The Biz” column, FOH reader and guest contributor Floyd Dilman pens a piece titled “Who Will Speak For the Live Event Industry?” It’s a good question and one that becomes more crucial to find an answer to by the day.

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FOH at the Grammy Awards

Asked to sum up the role of FOH mixer at the Grammy Awards, Mike Abbott, the long-time audio coordinator for the show, characteristically first quantifies it, then wraps it in a neat aphorism. “Twenty-four bands, 24 guest mixers, 24 managers, 24 agents — you have to be the Henry Kissinger of pro audio,” he says.

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You’ve Gotta Love the Work

To quote Gordon Gekko from the 1987 Oliver Stone movie, Wall Street: “The richest one percent of this country owns half our country’s wealth, five trillion dollars. One third of that comes from hard work, two thirds comes from inheritance, interest on interest accumulating to widows and idiot sons and what I do, stock and real estate speculation. It’s bullshit. You got 90 percent of the American public out there with little or no net worth. I create nothing. I own. We make the rules, pal. The news, war, peace, famine, upheaval, the price per paper clip. We pick that rabbit out of the hat while everybody sits out there wondering how the hell we did it. Now you’re not naive enough to think we’re living in a democracy, are you buddy? It’s the free market. And you’re a part of it. You’ve got that killer instinct. Stick around, pal, I’ve still got a lot to teach you.”

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Production Intercom Blazon

One of PI’s most recognizable products in the market has always been the Blazon.  From its creation in 1986, it has undergone many changes.  The extrusion and lamp have been reduced to less than 25 percent of the original size, and it has gone from a plastic extrusion to a more rugged aluminum construction.

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Sabine SWM6000 System

With the 700 mHz band largely off limits and 2.4 mHz more and more congested by Wi-Fi, at least a couple of manufacturers are looking to the all-but-forgotten 900 mHz range for some relief. The new DTV-free SWM6000 Smart Spectrum wireless microphone system from Sabine is one of those.

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