I’m currently trying to get the hang of electronics and sound production and I come acrosse “impedance issues” from time to time… For instance, “a preamplifier might load the microphone with low impedance, forcing the microphone to work harder and so change its tone quality” or a contact mike having a low amount of bass because its impedance doesn’t suit the amplifier…
Can anyone help me?
In: Physics
Impedance is simply resistance in an AC circuit.
In a DC circuit, resistance is cut and dry. You put in a 1000 ohm resister and it’s 1000 ohms.
In the AC stuff you’re looking at, it’s not as clear. Inductors (coils, mics, speakers, chokes) generate a magnetic field that resists different frequencies. Capacitors likewise store power and resist changes to current but generally at higher frequencies.
Impedance mismatch means the circuit is expecting a component that resists so many ohms and you’ve used something too big or too small. This means you’re going to end up with a voltage too high and current too low for the circuit or the opposite of a voltage too low and current too high.
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