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In the case of sound pressure ratios, the auditory threshold is used, having a value of 20 μPa. Because there is a
de ned reference value, in this case ‘SPL’ is appended to the unit ‘dB’. Nowadays, however, it has become
common to omit the ‘SPL’ when discussing sound pressure levels. Other references:
The following table shows a few relationships governing the calculation of physical values and decibel values, and
the conversion between these types of values:
Example 1: An ampli er ampli es an input signal of 1 mV (millivolts) to an output signal of 1,000 mV. The gain is
thus 1000-fold (1000: 1), or 20 x log (1,000 / 1) = +60 dB.
Example 2: An attenuator attenuates a voltage to one-tenth. The ratio between output and input is 0.1/1 = 0.1.
Expressed in dB: 20 x log (0.1 / 1) = -20 dB.
Example 3: The attenuator (example 2) is connected to the output of the ampli er (example 1). The gain is thus:
1,000 x 0.1 = 100. Stated in dB: 60 dB + (-20 dB) = 60 dB – 20 dB = 40 dB.
If the sound pressure level is stated in dB, this information can be used in calculations. For instance, a
loudspeaker datasheet provides us with information for the characteristic sound pressure level (1 W/1 m): 95 dB.
This means that at 1 watt of power, the loudspeaker generates a sound pressure level of 95 dB at a distance of 1
meter. The following table indicates by how many decibels the sound pressure level of the loudspeakers
increases at a given power.
Increase in the
sound pressure 0 3 7 8 10 12 13 15 17 20
level (dB)
The table shows that at 6 watts, you need to add 8 dB to the 95 dB. Consequently, at 6 watts of power we obtain
103 dB SPL at a distance of 1 metre. There is also a mathematical formula for this calculation that yields the same
result.
p1 = pn + 10 x log (P)
p1: Sound pressure level (dB) pn: Characteristic sound pressure level (dB) P: supplied power (W)
Based on the same example, we will have to subtract an amount, corresponding to the distance, from the
calculated gure of 103 dB. The reduction resulting from a distance of 5 metres from the loudspeakers is 14 dB –
which corresponds to a sound pressure level of 89 dB. The formula for the calculation is as follows: p = p1 - 20 x
log (d)
With each doubling in distance, the sound pressure level drops by 6 dB SPL.
Sound pressure level at a given power and distance from the loudspeaker
The formulas for sound pressure at a de ned power and at a de ned distance are combined. The sound
pressure level at a given power and distance is calculated as follows: p = pn + 10 x log (P) - 20 x log (d)
p: Sound pressure level (dB SPL) pn: Characteristic sound pressure level of the loudspeaker (dB)
d: Distance from the loudspeaker (m) (m) P: supplied power (W)
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1/20/2020 Calculations with loudspeakers - TOA Electronics
Example: We want to install a loudspeaker in a room. The greatest distance to the audience is 8 m. The
loudspeaker has a characteristic sound pressure level of 90 dB 1 W/1 m and an input power of 30 watts. How
high is the sound pressure level at the maximum distance?
If you use the values from the two tables provided above (the distance is composed of 4 m x 2m = 8 m, physical
multiplication turns into addition of the decibel values) this yields:
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