Adding the word professional to anything to do with technology may not have an absolute meaning but certain assumptions can usually be made. This is certainly true of professional audio systems. The first and most obvious one is that the build quality is superior. Stronger, better engineered materials, stricter quality control and a more rigorous design pipeline all lead to a more robust end product.

This more rigorous approach regarding the use of materials gives certain advantages. The equipment will generally stand a fair amount of fairly rough treatment. This can be a huge advantage not only with a system that is moved around a lot but even in a home setting where young children are not always as careful as they could be. Some of the equipment may even be able to stand up to more serious abuse such as liquid spills.

This ruggedness extends to the connectors used which are likely to be the high quality, heavy duty XLR or the proprietary Speakon types. These make for a much more solid connection between the male and female parts reducing the chance of accidental removal. They also reduce the chances of electric shock to the user when compared to the standard consumer level connectors.

The components will not only be more rugged but they will also be better in terms of sound quality. The specifications for the individual components will likely be much higher and something that may be good enough for a consumer audio system would not be considered capable enough for the professional one. A much greater tolerance for both physical and electronic mistreatment will define the professional system.

A professional audio system is more likely to take advantage of balanced audio by means of impedance balanced lines. This approach was originally developed in the telecoms industry and allows for the use of long lines while greatly reducing the impact of external noise. Microphones especially benefit from this balanced approach.

The various components of a professional setup will be what is called 19-inch rack-mount construction. This means that they are built to a standard size and as the name suggests, fit onto a standardized 19 inch frame which is common for professional video, computer equipment as well as audio. This approach would make for a level of neatness not usually possible when integrating consumer level electrical and electronic equipment.

The professional audio system will be designed with sound accuracy in mind. This is not the case with consumer systems which attempt to sweeten the sound.

The upshot of this is that a professional audio system will provide several major benefits. It will outlast the standard consumer system due to all round better build quality and it will give much better performance due to the use of higher quality components utilized in a better design. A final point that shouldn\’t be overlooked is the aesthetics. The rugged, high quality professional options look the part, they look as if they are made to handle a lot of noise and demanding sound dynamics with ease.

Author Bio: Edward Kendricks writes on behalf of CTS (www.cts-networks.co.uk), a specialist in professional audio systems installation.

Category: Entertainment
Keywords: PA system, audio, visual, public address, PA installation, AV installation, club, sound, audio