<p>The described phenomenon I would attribute to a loose connection or a cracked piezo-ceramic in the transducer. Check the capacitance of the transducer, clean and check all connectors. Go along the signal chain and check where the varying gain happens.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-08T09:26:39.543Z
2022-07-08T09:26:39.543Z
Jörg Rychen
<p>For an experiment on the impact of traffic noise on bird behaviour, I tried to playback some low frequency traffic noise with a fixed amplitude. While (trying to) adjust the noise amplitude, I realized that the loudspeaker was quite unreliable: the amplitude of my playback varied by 3-10 dB from one day to the next although I had not changed any parameter or touched any button (and I always made sure that the battery was fully charged before use).</p>
<p>Has someone already experienced this? Any idea where this could be coming from and what to do to fix it?</p>
<p>Has someone any suggestion for a reliable device that would accurately render low frequency sounds?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-07T14:02:44.900Z
It might be helpful to share the setup you are using (including the specific model of the hardware devices).
Shannon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-07T22:22:59.143Z
Please define the frequency range of 'low frequency' sounds for this experiment? The term by itself can be a bit subjective based on the study system one is based in?
Thejasvi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-07-08T10:14:15.497Z
A typical consumer amplifier + loudspeaker shouldn't vary in amplitude by that much between consecutive days, there might be something else going on. More information about your test setup is definitely needed in order to understand what is going on: what devices are you using, what are the frequency range of your signals, what are the relative positions of your speaker and receiver, is the test being performed indoors/outdoors, etc. Could it be that your environment is noisier on some days but not others? Could you be picking up wind noise?
fabio_hirono
<fieldwork><equipment><playback>
Reliable lousdpeaker for low frequency noise playback?
# Reliable lousdpeaker for low frequency noise playback?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-07-07)

For an experiment on the impact of traffic noise on bird behaviour, I tried to playback some low frequency traffic noise with a fixed amplitude. While (trying to) adjust the noise amplitude, I realized that the loudspeaker was quite unreliable: the amplitude of my playback varied by 3-10 dB from one day to the next although I had not changed any parameter or touched any button (and I always made sure that the battery was fully charged before use).

Has someone already experienced this? Any idea where this could be coming from and what to do to fix it?

Has someone any suggestion for a reliable device that would accurately render low frequency sounds?

**Tags:** fieldwork, equipment, playback

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: It might be helpful to share the setup you are using (including the specific model of the hardware devices).  
> **username_2**: Please define the frequency range of 'low frequency' sounds for this experiment? The term by itself can be a bit subjective based on the study system one is based in?  
> **username_3**: A typical consumer amplifier + loudspeaker shouldn't vary in amplitude by that much between consecutive days, there might be something else going on. More information about your test setup is definitely needed in order to understand what is going on: what devices are you using, what are the frequency range of your signals, what are the relative positions of your speaker and receiver, is the test being performed indoors/outdoors, etc. Could it be that your environment is noisier on some days but not others? Could you be picking up wind noise?  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2022-07-08. Score: 5

The described phenomenon I would attribute to a loose connection or a cracked piezo-ceramic in the transducer. Check the capacitance of the transducer, clean and check all connectors. Go along the signal chain and check where the varying gain happens.


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