A deep dive into the audio technology world
Audio & Speech Systems
Definition of an AV Audio and Speech system
Audio and Speech systems are used as part of larger AV system installations to provide sound to the visual aspect of AV tech.
Almost every AV system consists of hardware that outputs sound and hardware that shows video or images.
Key aspects of Audio and Speech systems
Audio systems can be roughly divided into two types.
Even though we classify 2 separate types of audio systems in the real world,
there is AV hardware that can perform both tasks at the same time.
1. Program systems
Program systems are used for reproducing sound and audio. In these systems there isn’t a microphone. The audio they produce is pre-recorded and played from a source.
2. Sound Reinforcement systems
Sound reinforcement systems are used for amplifying sounds and music. They are usually used in concerts or during live events and presentations.
What makes a good Audio and Speech system
There are several different factors to take into account for properly gauging the quality
of an Audio Speech system and all of them are highly dependent on use cases.
An audio solution for a live musical event will have different requirements than one for an office space.
Let’s have a look at how the quality of
Audio and Speech systems can be defined
Intelligibility
Intelligibility is an important parameter when we are looking at speech enhancement audio systems. When a speech enhancement system achieves high intelligibility, it means that the listeners are getting clear and undistorted speech that is easy to understand. Words are not muffled & there is no background noise or popping.
Overall the audio should feel like you are talking to someone face to face. Listeners should not feel like they are at a concert, the audio should be natural.
Clarity
Since instruments produce sound at different frequencies (lower/higher), the speakers also need to cover a wide range of frequencies. If that’s not the case, then some instruments may be hard or completely impossible to hear. This happens because the speakers of your headphones simply do not cover the frequencies of some instruments. Music industry pros would refer to the missing frequencies as having bad lows, if the bass is low or bad highs, if the high vocal or instrumental tones are not represented well.
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