Tech Notes
by Peavey Electronics
on Mar 15 2026
In the 1970s, Hartley Peavey’s commitment to excellence and building the best possible sound reinforcement equipment led to the creation of a division dedicated to revolutionizing professional speaker design. Known internally as “The Spider Works,” Hartley led this team to develop numerous patented speaker designs, the most popular of which was Peavey’s legendary Black Widow™.
2-Track Recording with Peavey Mixers
by Aubrey Fulton
on Mar 09 2026
Sometimes hooking up cassette recorders to our mixers can seem confusing, especially if we are familiar with home stereo equipment but are just getting into the sound reinforcement or home studio business. A home stereo receiver has a monitor switch,
Noise and Stuff in Consoles: More About Specifications
by John Roberts
on Feb 27 2026
Last time I suggested how to interpret power-amplifier specifications. This issue, I'd like to delve into mixers. Since mixers are usually marketed by features rather than specifications, there is a little less hype-but still enough to shed some light on. Before I get into the actual discussion of mixer specifications, I'd like to review what a mixer does, and what, from a design point of view, the hard parts are.
by Tom Stuckman, Steve Marks
on Feb 24 2026
The use of sound reinforcement systems is common place in today’s churches, boardrooms, meeting rooms, auditoriums and other facilities. In fact, it is hard to imagine what it was like before their widespread use. With advances in the sound quality in the entertainment industry, television, CDs and home theatre for example, the expectation of quality sound reinforcement has risen as well.
How Much Power for My Speakers
by Peavey Electronics
on Feb 01 2026
It seems like one of the most frequent questions asked in Pro Audio forums and in music stores is “how big of an amp should I be using for my speakers?” It also seems to have the biggest number of confusing answers…1X–1.5x - 2X RMS?, program?, peak?…augggh!
Biamplification vs. Bridging Power Amplifiers
by Jon M. Risch
on Jan 31 2026
When seeking more output from a sound system, it is common to bridge the power amplifier to increase the power available and generate more output from the system. In some cases, this is the best thing to do, especially if it is a subwoofer being used with a medium to low output power amp.Bridging the amp will give the usual 6 dB more power output, or 4 times the single channel power output into the same load impedance.
Class Act: The Pros and Cons of Amplifier Design
by John Roberts
on Jan 01 2026
Many manufacturers would like you to believe that there is only one "best" way to design a power amp. These companies usually make only one type of amplifier. Perhaps they believe their own hype, or more likely, they are limited to a single in-house technology or by a specific target market. In the course of designing power amplifiers for the different markets we serve, Peavey has developed products using radically different technologies. I will attempt to give an overview with specific pros and cons of the different approaches.
by John Roberts
on Dec 21 2025
Over the last several years we've seen a number of power amp ads purporting to educate the market about heat sink technology. More often than not, the chosen approach is neither novel nor superior. The advertisement is more creative than the design being pitched. The following description of Peavey's new heat sink approach will describe a real advance on the state of the art.
Power Amplifiers in Bridge Mode
by Peavey Electronics
on Dec 10 2025
The maximum positive- and negative-voltage capability of a power amp is limited by the power supply's limits, i.e., its voltage rails. The amplifier can produce so many volts positive and negative at its output. The audio signal essentially swings between the positive and negative supplies within the power amplifier.
by Peavey Electronics
on Dec 01 2025
A crossover is a filtering device that separates the audio frequency spectrum and directs portions of that spectrum to a specific audio device. As an example, all sound reinforcement quality two-way loudspeaker enclosures have a passive crossover as part of the design that separates the audio spectrum into two bands of frequencies. This passive crossover is a bit like a traffic cop that directs the lows to the woofer and the highs to the horn.
by Peavey Electronics
on Dec 01 2025
The electronic crossover is an external electronic signal processor that takes the place of the passive crossover that is in a full range loudspeaker enclosure. In the world of today's high performance sound systems, the electronic crossover minimizes the distortion associated with full range passive crossovers, when the sound reinforcement application includes the complete micing up of the entire backline of stage musical instruments. The Electronic crossover allows for increased performance from the sound system by enabling the loudspeaker system to be run as an active Bi-amped two-way,
by Jack Sondermeyer
on Nov 17 2025
The power supply cord used on most modern electronic equipment has a three pin plug. This article will explain why the separate ground pin is used and why shock hazards will result if the ground system is defeated. The power distribution system used in the United States is 120 volts "alternating current" at 60 cycles. For many years this standard AC (mains) system was a two prong plug and socket combination wired with one side "hot" (usually the black wire at 120 volts) and the other side neutral (usually the white wire at 0 volts or ground). However, in the early days there were no true standards. Often there was no color code and sometimes no hot or neutral wires (in this case, both wires were hot). Unfortunately, this two wire system is still found in many older buildings throughout the country.
