Technology / Home Audio Glossary

Polar Response: A plot of the Amplitude measurement of a speaker's output at a given frequency relative to an off-axis angle. In other words, the difference that exists between how a speaker sounds when bei . . . View Full Definition

Pole Piece: The ends or 'Poles' of a magnet from which the magnetic lines of force, measured in Gauss, are at the greatest strength. In a typical speaker, this will be at the gap within which the voice . . . View Full Definition

Polypropylene: A plastic based material used primarily for speaker cones due to its rigidity, damping and resistance against harsh environmental conditions.

Port: An opening, usually a tube, in an enclosure, through which sound is permitted to pass.

Port Diameter: The measurement across the port opening. Measured as internal diameter (not outer diameter .

Port Length: The measurement of the length of the port tube.

Ported (Enclosure): Any enclosure design with ports. In such designs the internal pressure wave is processed to be used either solely, or in conjunction with the woofer front wave in order to produce sound. A p . . . View Full Definition

Potentiometer: A three-terminal variable resistor. Two terminals connect to the ends of a flat resistor, while the third terminal is attached to a moveable contact that interfaces with the resistive elemen . . . View Full Definition

Power: A. The product of applied voltage (potential difference) and current in a direct-current circuit (or the voltage squared divided by the resistance, or the current squared times the resistanc . . . View Full Definition

Power Factor: The ratio of the total power in watts (resistive load) to the total apparent power in voltamperes (VA) (reactive load). The difference between watts and VA is due to reactive load impedance. . . . View Full Definition

Power Handling: A measure of how much amplifier power, in watts, a speaker can take before it is damaged.

Pre-Amp: A circuit unit which takes a small signal and amplifies it sufficiently to be fed into the power amplifier for further amplification. A pre-amp includes all of the controls for regulating to . . . View Full Definition

Preamp Output: Typically found on headunits, a preamp output provides low level, high quality audio signal for use with external amplifiers.

Precedence Effect: Also known as the Haas effect, this phenomenon identifies the tendency for the ear to attribute all perceived sound to the nearest emitter, even if a more distant speaker is actually louder. . . . View Full Definition

Preset: A collection of system settings stored in a memory that is virtually instantly recallable, typically at the touch of a button.

Program Bank: A Custom File feature that allows the user to flag the tracks on a disc, indicating whether they should be played or skipped.

Program Play: A Custom File feature that allows the user to define a sequence of 12 tracks, in a specific order, for customized playback. Up to two banks of 12 track sequences can be recalled, for up to 2 . . . View Full Definition

Proximity Effect: An increase in the bass response of some microphones as the distance between the mike and its sound source is decreased.

Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30