What is Speaker Management System?

Expert Guide on What is Speaker Management and Choice of Speaker Management.

SMS stands Speaker Management System (SMS), it can also mean a speaker or a Public Address (PA) Loudspeaker Management System (LMS) and is essentially a multi-function digital cross-over, a signal processor connected between the Mixer and the amplifiers of a PA Loudspeakers.

The SMS or Loudspeaker Management automatically keeps the final mix sounding good and the speakers safe from damage once properly setup. The PA or Speaker Management possesses great features that ensure and enhances perfect sound production.

Main Loudspeaker or PA management system functions

The function of the Speaker Management includes:

• Equalization (EQ) – As an Equalizer
• As a crossover
• As a limiter
• As delay
• As a compressor
• Act as a gate etc.
• As digital controller
• Also, a typical signal processor

Crossover Filters

As an active crossover, speaker management is needed when using different speakers. Let’s say, you are using mid/top speakers with a bass combo. The active crossover split the frequency and ensures that each speaker is just delivering at the optimum frequency range. The crossover slope ranges from 1st Order (6dB/Octave) to 8th Order (48dB/Octave). So the higher the order the more effective the crossover is at blocking frequencies. This operation directs bands of frequencies to specific speakers. We can have two, three, or even four-way, indicating the number of “splits”. If you are using a two-way crossover, you can direct only the low-end of your music to the subwoofer(s), and everything above goes into the main loudspeaker. In the case of three and four-way crossovers, your lows go into your subwoofers, your mids (low and high-mids in the case of four-way) to your loudspeaker, and your highs only to your tweeters.

With the crossover properly connected, you will direct the full power of your amplifiers to specific speakers thereby giving you better-performing well-managed speakers, cleaner sound, and more loudness.

Speaker Management as a Compressor

The speaker management system also gives digital control over the equalization, delay, and peak limiting. Speaker management has the ability to suppress unwanted frequencies which gives off its ability to function as a compressor. The compressor has the ability to stop or block different interruptions in sound from occurring and not allowing the frequency to go into another range.

Speaker Management as a Signal Processor

A digital processor is a specialized microprocessor chip, with its architecture optimized for the operational needs of processing. The goal of a digital signal processor is usually to measure, filter, or compress continuous real-world analog signals.

Speaker Management as an Equalizer

The equalizer or EQ allows the sound system to have a flat frequency response in any venue.  Equalization operation decides how much of each frequency get sent to the speaker. Getting the EQ right is something that our sound engineers really do spend a lot of time doing during our installations and it has to be done properly.

Speaker Management as Delay

The speaker management times multi-speaker systems to get the sound to the same location at the same time. The delays ensure that the speaker cabinets are working in time and phase with each other even if they are placed differently. Pointing two or more speakers at each other will give off a “phase cancellation”, and that actually makes your music quieter. With speaker management, you can properly set a delay on the sound for each speaker which results in a wider coverage than two-loudspeaker systems and sets your sub-woofer to be in sync with the rest of your music.

Speaker Management as Limiter

The peak limiters in the speaker management system help protect your sound system by stopping the amplifiers from clipping. Clipping is a form of waveform distortion that occurs when an amplifier is overdriven and attempts to deliver an output voltage or current beyond its maximum capability. Driving an amplifier into clipping may cause it to output power in excess of its power rating.

Optional Loudspeaker management system functions

Aside from the main functions listed above for the loudspeaker management system, optionally DJ and Sound Engineers can use LMS:

Auto-feedback Suppression

This operation ensures the active cancellation of any spike on the EQ curve. When turned on, your LMS runs an active EQ process and quickly cancel any squeal you get when your mics are resonated by your speakers (bass and/or loudspeakers). It’s good to have this on whenever you feel people might be reckless about operating the mic anywhere near a loudspeaker.

Temperature and humidity compensation

Humidity does introduce some changes to the sound, (because of the changes to sound due to air density), LMS is also designed to correct that. So sound engineers will have to stay up all night tuning, as you have people on the dance floor, moving bodies the room temperature or humidity will obviously go up.

Subharmonic synthesis

Loudspeaker management extends low-end frequencies, this time the really deep ones. By extending the low-end in this way, it’s possible to produce true tummy-churning sub-bass, but this comes at the cost of power for the rest of the low-end. Your subwoofers must be ready to engage and produce the low-end. Extending the bass when the speaker cabinet cannot deal won be a good idea.

What is Your Choice of Speaker Management System?

There are different LMS more suitable for different applications, such as touring and fixed installation. For touring purposes, Speaker or PA Management systems tend to have access to settings on the front panel. For installation, units often do not have front panel controls and instead are controlled from a PC or a remote control to stop unqualified people and sound engineers from unauthorized access and tampering with their settings.

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In conclusion

As we have highlighted above, the expert guide provides information about Loudspeaker, PA Management system. In the article above, we also present to you the basic and main functions of speaker management systems, we also extend it to the optional functions of speaker management and as a wrap your choice when you decide to shop speaker management system online.

In the next article on the Speaker management system, we are going to discuss setting up an LMS and how a Speaker management system works. So please stay tuned.

Has this article helped you? Do you have anything to add to the information here? Please feel free to let us know in the comments.

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