1.6 Theory Paragraph 1.

6 - Introduct ion to panning

So far, so good . The log ic, at first glance, wou ld imply t hat in order to place
a sound in th e center, we need on ly to send 50% of its signal to the left and
50% to the right, using a value of X = 0.5. This is precisely what we do when
we are working wit h an audio mixer - we center th e balance contro l
(or pan-pot), and the sound spreads itself equally across bot h left and right
monito rs. Unfo rtu nately, in reality, things are a litt le more comp lex, and those
who design mixers must take this complexity into account. Let's explore what
is involved . If you listen carefu lly to t he simple algorithm out lined above fo r
stereo balancing, wh ich sends 50% of the mono signal left and 50% right , you
will note that w hen the signal is centered, t he intensity is low er tha n w hen the
signa l is panned ful ly left or right.

To explain why this is happening, it is necessary to clarify t he concept of signal

power and signal int ensity as th ey relate to amplit ude:

The power of a signal is its tota l energy, measured at the source.

The intensity of a signal (whic h we have generically indicated as a paramete r
t ied to amplitude to thi s point) is th e energy transmitted by a sound wave
th rough a given surface area during a given unit of time .

If, fo r example, you measure th e int ensity of a signal emitted by some source
upon it s arrival at the area occupied by you, t he listener, you wi ll note that
by increasing the power of the signal, you obtain a propo rtio nal increase in
intensity. In fact, the powe r of a signal varies in proporti on to t he square of its
amplitu de, which means that do ubling the amplitud e of a signal w ill quadrup le
its power .
Alternat ively, halving t he amplit ude wi ll reduce its powe r t o o ne quarter of its
origina l strengt h.

Let's lay out the case in wh ich we have a single sound source (w hich, keeping
our example in mind, wou ld be t he case in which a signal comes from th e left
or the right channel on ly) and t hat source has an ampl itude (A) equal to 1. To
find th e powe r (P) of t his signal, we square the amplitude , so whe n A = 1
the power wi ll be:

P = 12 =1
Now taking t he case in wh ich there are two sound sources, one left and one
right, and supposing th at each of the two sources has an amp litude of 0.5, we
obta in t he fol lowin g results:

p left =A left2 = 0.5 2 = 0.25

p right = A right2 = 0 .5 2 = 0 .25

If we add t he power of these two sources together, we obta in the fo llow ing
tot al powe r:

P tot = P left + P right = 0.25 + 0.25 =0.5

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