Question

For every unit of distance between a microphone and its source, a nearby microphone (or microphones) should be separated by at least how many times that distance?

1) 1
2) 2
3) 3
4) 4

Answer 1

For every unit of distance between a microphone and its source, a nearby microphone should be at least three times that distance away to avoid interference; and for sounds to be noticeably different in timing at the ear, two speakers should be at least 0.34 meters apart.

Step-by-step explanation:

To answer the initial question, for every unit of distance between a microphone and its source, a nearby microphone should be separated by at least three times that distance to avoid interference. This is known as the 3:1 rule in sound recording and live sound reinforcement.

Now, considering the ability of our ears to distinguish sounds arriving 1.00 m s apart and a sound speed of 340 m/s, we can calculate the minimum distance between two speakers. The formula to find the distance sound travels over a given time is distance = speed × time. Thus, for a time of 1 m s or 0.001 seconds, the minimum distance is:

Distance = 340 m/s × 0.001 s = 0.34 meters.

Therefore, the two speakers should be at least 0.34 meters apart to produce sounds that arrive at noticeably different times.