Signal Generators: What Are They & When To Use Them
Signal generators do exactly as the name implies, they produce electrical signals that create waveforms. These waveforms can take several different shapes to accomplish different goals for electronic equipment testing.
In the past, signal generators were only available as external pieces of hardware that were used to test other hardware devices. Fortunately, now signal generators can be digitized and made available through digital signal processing. This greatly reduces the cost and complexity of working with signal generators.
This is great news for LEA users since this has allowed us to include a built-in signal generator with our CONNECTSERIES amplifiers.
Our CONNECTSERIES’ signal generator offers three different types:
- Pink Noise Generator
- White Noise Generator
- Tone Generator
These three types are beneficial for a wide range of audio system application testing. Let’s dive in to see the individual benefits of each.
Pink Noise Generator
Signal Generators: What Are They & When To Use Them
Pink Noise is the name given to the sound that results from a full spectrum noise that is generated at equal energy per octave from 20Hz to 20kHz. Pink noise is commonly created by applying a low pass filter to white noise.
Pink noise is commonly used for sound system calibration due to it’s sonic characteristics closely matching how the human ear perceives audio frequencies.
White Noise Generator
Signal Generators: What Are They & When To Use Them
White noise is the name given to sound that results from a full spectrum noise that is generated at equal energy per frequency from 20Hz to 20kHz.
You are probably most familiar with white noise being used for sleep aid applications. White noise machines can be purchased at almost any big chain retail store.
White noise is also used for sound masking. Sound masking is a technique that is used commonly in intimate office spaces where a quiet atmosphere might create many distractions.
Imagine trying to concentrate on your work but someone in the office has a bad habit of constantly clicking their pen. By using white noise as a sound mask, you can subtly remove distractions and concentrate on your own work.
Tone Generator (Sine Wave)
Signal Generators: What Are They & When To Use Them
A single-tone generator, also known as a sine wave generator, is a constant tone signal that allows the user to select the frequency desired for their specific test. A sine wave can be used for frequency-specific applications such as rub and buzz testing of speaker components. In these types of tests, the user would move the selected frequency of the signal generator up and down through the speakers’ operational range to check for any distortion artifacts.
For example, if a rub and buzz test were being performed on a subwoofer, the user would want to slide the frequency selection from 20Hz up to 80Hz as this is a common operational range for a subwoofer.
Human Perception
Signal Generators: What Are They & When To Use Them
To further understand the difference between these generator types and why there are specific applications for them we must talk about how humans perceive acoustical energy.
Humans perceive frequency on a logarithmic scale, this means that we don’t perceive individual frequencies with the same sensitivity, we do however perceive them equally in intervals across the frequency spectrum, these intervals are referred to as octaves.
The octaves of the frequency spectrum don’t have an equal number of frequencies in them. For example, the octave of 1kHz to 2kHz contains a rounded number bandwidth of 1000 frequencies, whereas the octave of 8kHz to 16kHz contains a bandwidth of 8000 frequencies.
So, each octave of pink noise is adjusted so that it’s equal. Therefore, pink noise is the most commonly used signal for calibrating sound systems because it most accurately represents how we perceive the frequencies of the audio spectrum in equal energy per octave.
Hopefully, you can see the importance of using signal generators to test audio equipment. We’re glad to be able to offer these tools for our CONNCETSERIES users to help make their system installations go as smoothly as possible. Happy system testing!
If you have any questions or feedback about using signal generators, feel free to leave a comment or reach out to us on our social media channels below.
