Where does the name "Sona" come from?
The word "SONA" is taken from an ancient word that simply means "sound". We chose it to convey our belief that good sound is the one thing that matters most to musicians and performers. Fancy
cosmetics and exotic cabinet shapes don't add up to much if the sound isn't really right. This is why we focus on building products that give you the sound you need, even if we have to use more complex and expensive methods of
construction. So when we say SONA, we not only mean sound, but top quality sound, plenty of it, and sound that you can easily take with you wherever you need to go. That's the guiding concept behind the word SONA. 
What is full space balanced?
This is when the bass response of a speaker system is flat when the speaker is standing in an open area with air space all around. In other words, NOT placed on the floor, against a wall or in a corner. For
example, PA speakers up on stands, or reference monitors in the middle of a large control room are in "full space". Since bass frequencies bounce off the floors and walls, speakers that are placed close to them
will have their bass output reinforced by the bouncing reflections. In a live situation, if a speaker puts out more bass than you need because of this, you can just turn it down with EQ. If you have your speakers
up on stands, or behind a console, a natural full-space balance, or full-space alignment™ will fill the room with a much tighter and more coherent bass image. What is Multi-Loop Feedback™? Typical audio amplifiers achieve low distortion by using a lot of feedback. At the same time, it is
recognized that systems with smaller amounts of feedback sometimes sound more open and natural. Ordinarily, a single loop, which provides a large amount of feedback to one feedback port, is used to
correct for several different types of distortion at once. Multi-Loop technology takes a different approach. It provides several different feedback paths at once, each of which provides smaller amounts of feedback
to different feedback ports. The distortion reducing effect is dramatic. Barbetta has several Patents on this feedback technology. What is Active Control Technology™? This is something that was invented by Tony Barbetta in the early 80's. It is technology that smoothes out
the power being driven into a loudspeaker system, creating cleaner and more accurate sound. It is called an Active system, because it uses special circuitry to sense the power level being driven by an audio
amplifier, and applies corrections that control distortion before it can develop. There is even more to this technology, but it comes under the heading of our Interactive Design Technology, and if we talk about it,
we'll be giving away trade secrets. But you can hear the results for yourself in our products.
What is an Active Speaker?
Whenever power amps and speakers are built in one box, they are called "active" speaker systems. There are many technical advantages to this arrangement; things can be made more compact and
lightweight, there are fewer separate components to deal with, there is no high power speaker cable required, (just a low level line connection), and there are engineering advantages in being able to get a
really good match between the amplifiers and speakers. But the biggest advantage is the sound that you can get. What's a Watt? Good question. The answer can be different depending on which manufacturer you ask. Technically, a
Watt is the unit of power that was created by James Watt, the inventor of the Steam Engine, over 200 years ago. It is equal to 1 / 765 of a horsepower. This can be converted to electrical power using some
intense math that we can skip for now. But you can get an idea about it if you consider a washing machine with a ½ horsepower motor. It will take about 380 Watts of electricity to drive it. In the case of
audio, it seems like some manufacturers use smaller Watts that others. That way, they can say their amplifiers have 500 or 1000, or even 3000 Watts – enough to drive 8 washing machines – all packed into
one little package. At Barbetta, we use nothing but big, juicy, full-sized Watts. Not the scrawny, whimped-out kind that you need thousands of to get anywhere. This is why our stuff is so powerful. How can those Guitar amps be so LOUD?
There are two reasons. First, they use special speakers that are more than two to three times as loud in the midrange than a PA type speaker. Then, they use several at once. Honestly, if you are trying to keep
up with really loud Guitars with a single keyboard amp, you don't stand a chance. (Sorry) The technology of Guitar amps and speakers is so well developed to be LOUD in the midrange that they will always be
louder. Of course, they don't have the full range performance or accurate sound that a good sound system has. How can I keep up on Keys with a loud Guitar player? There is only one answer. You have to use more than one cabinet. Whenever you double the power
driving a speaker system, you get 3 dB more Sound Pressure Level. But if you use a second cabinet and power amp, you get 6 dB more SPL. It has to do with the physics of having two separate sources of
sound. So it's always better to use more than one cabinet in very loud situations. What is a capacitive tweeter?
There are many ways to convert electrical energy into physical motion, and therefore into sound. Voice coils and magnets work well, as we know. Electrostatic hi-fi speakers that work on resistance are
considered outstanding for smoothness and detail. Tweeters based on capacitive motion have many advantages, among them extreme ruggedness. What is "Continuous RMS Power"? This is what we mean when we say "Engineering Watts". Engineers need to have a measurement of
power that gives them the accurate technical data they need for their designs. RMS power is the way the AC power from the Power Company is measured. For example, the wall sockets we find everywhere are
capable of providing about 1750 Watts Continuous RMS Power. (Anything more than that, and a fuse will
blow.) Audio amplifiers are also rated according to Continuous RMS Watts. But there are other Kinds of
watts, too. We call them "Marketing Watts"' or "Dream Watts". Usually, they tend to give you the
impression that an amplifier has a lot more power than it would if it were rated in RMS Watts. We don't have the room here to explain all the different kinds of Watts that can be used to rate Audio, but we hope
you are now a little better-informed about RMS Watts.
What is "Peak Power"?
Understanding this one isn't too bad. We've all seen a speaker cone moving back and forth while driven by an amplifier. When the cone is at the peak of its travel in one direction, it is being driven by a certain
amount of peak power. When it passes through the halfway point on it's way to the opposite peak of travel, it is using no power at all. It is at zero power. Then, when it gets to the opposite peak of travel, it
is at peak power again. So, if the power being driven is 100 Watts at the peaks, and the power goes to zero in the middle, what is the average? It's 50 Watts. So, 100 Watts Peak Power is what you should
expect to get from an amplifier that is rated at 50 Watts average power, which is the same as Continuous RMS power. |
