Research & Development: Total Sound Power

We love saying "Total Sound Power." It's a bold and inspirational phrase! It allows us to use this expressive image of a guy standing defiantly on a high mound during a lightning storm. Which, now that we think about it, is probably not the smartest thing.

What is "Total Sound Power" really?

Total Sound Power is a measurement of all the sound produced by a loudspeaker. This includes, of course, the sound emanating from any front-facing or rear-facing drivers or woofers. Also, sound generated by any ports. Plus, other sounds produced by the enclosure itself: top, bottom, sides, and back. And any external diffraction or internal reflections that may happen as sound leaves the enclosure.

Understanding Total Sound Power helps to eliminate the parts of the equation that interfere with accurate loudspeaker performance.

To find and interpret Total Sound Power, Paradigm engineers turn to their state-of-the-art testing and measurement labs, including the most advanced CAD verification, and the hemisphere's largest privately owned anechoic chamber.

Output measurements are taken via computer simulation, or on actual speaker prototypes. Speaker output is tested in complete isolation, from every angle, all the way around a loudspeaker, in 15° increments. Each precise test and measurement gives engineers a detailed visual picture of the total sound being generated by the speaker, drivers, enclosure and all.

Using these groundbreaking testing methods, deficiencies, anomalies, impediments, and interferences all become immediately apparent. Design and construction elements can be adjusted to eliminate performance issues, long before a loudspeaker is put into production.

This exhaustive analysis of Total Sound Power is another way that Paradigm engineers eliminate extraneous noise to ensure the most accurate loudspeaker performance.