This course includes 39 instructional videos that establishes the fundamental principles of sound system function, setup, and operation.
You’ll learn an overview of the theory, components, terminology, and methods that apply to all sound reinforcement systems.
It will help them understand the signal chain, the key to understanding sound systems.
This course is essential for anyone working with audio gear.
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Test your skill level with this self-evaluation quiz.
If you are fairly new to audio or do not have any formal training, this is a good place to start. The course will lay down the principles and terminology that apply to all sound systems. It will help you understand how things work so that you can choose the right cable, connector, mic, or loudspeaker to get the job done. Potentially complicated topics are explained with graphics and animation, with liberal use of analogies to principles from daily life.
This course will answer these questions and more.
The last lesson in this course “connects the dots” between all of the concepts presented by walking through a portable system, fixed-installation system, and a conference room system.
The principles are universal and apply to any brand of equipment.
View or download a detailed course outline.
Course Material for you to keep include video transcriptions. This is a great resource for reviewing after you have completed the course.
Check out an example video in tab 3.
The internet, and Google specifically, can be a great resource; providing a vast ocean of information only a quick search away. However, as anyone can quickly realize – you may get several different answers to your question. Some answers are in complete opposition to one another and others are just plain wrong!
As an audio professional, it is imperative you have the right answer – each and every time. There is no room for opinions when the client or your job hangs in the balance. All SynAudCon training is based on physics, first principles, and a strong consensus among audio professionals.
Watch two example videos from “How Sound Systems Work” online training.
Instructional video on balanced and unbalance interfaces.
Demo video.
Pat Brown is a 1978 graduate of the University of Louisville with a degree in electrical engineering technology. With a background as a musician, sound technician, retail music store owner, contractor, and consultant, he is familiar with the many aspects of audio. He served as an associate instructor to audio legend and SynAudCon founder, Don Davis. Pat along with his wife Brenda own and operate SynAudCon and have been providing training for the audio industry since 1996. Pat, the main instructor for SynAudCon, has the unique gift of being able to share his knowledge of complex technical topics in an easy-to-understand real world manner through multi-media demonstrations. SynAudCon is recognized as an industry leader in audio education.
SynAudCon offers both in-person and online audio training. There are regularly scheduled in-person seminars and special one-time events on audio-related topics. With the release of the online training in 2010, SynAudCon training is now more accessible worldwide.
Pat writes articles for several publications. He authored three chapters for Glen Ballou’s “Handbook for Sound Engineers”and is co-author of Sound System Engineering 4th Edition. He considers SynAudCon online audio training courses as his most complete “book”, being able to explain the concepts and principles with animations and demonstrations.
He was chosen as NSCA “Educator of the Year” in 2005 and NSCA “Mover and Shaker” Award in 2011. He received Great Britain “Peter Barnett” Award in 2012.
SynAudCon has given private seminars to many companies and organizations, including the Kennedy Space Center, Disney World, Sea World, IMAX, Purdue University, the US military, Siemens and many audio manufacturers. He has conducted seminars in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, China, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, South America, Australia and Canada.
Pat and Brenda Brown founded a second business in 2005 – Pro Sound Testing, Inc. Pro Sound Testing measures loudspeakers to produce data files for use in room acoustics modeling programs. Pro Sound Testing was the first company of its kind in the USA. The experience of developing a measurement facility and measuring hundreds of loudspeakers from dozens of manufacturers has allowed him to develop some methodologies and specifications that have influenced a number of industry standards.
Get to know Pat better in this 10 minute interview.
https://www.soundandcommunications.com/synaudcons-pat-brown-talks-online-learning/
How long will it take me to compete this course?
I hate to use the words “it depends” but is really does. It depends on your level of experience. The more experience people will complete it in a few hours. Those new to audio may take weeks as they may rather learn in bite-size pieces.
Here is a brief layout of the course.
How Sound Systems Work consists of 10 lessons. After each lesson, you may take a quiz. Each quiz has 15 questions. The questions help you apply the principles that are taught.
After completing the lessons and quizzes, you may take a final exam. The final exam is about 30 questions. With a passing score, you will receive a certificate of completion and CEU’s.
You will have 3 opportunities to pass the final exam. 80% is the passing score.
We are developing an educational path for our employees. How does SynAudCon fit into this?
You will love this feature. SynAudCon online training is part of a Learning Management System which allows for tracking. Education supervisors may check the employee’s progress, along with their quiz and final exam scores.
Is there a time limit on watching the online training?
You will have 45 days to complete the course. The 45-day clock begins on the day that the course key is activated. If you need more time, no problem. Brenda will gladly extend it for you.
We want you to get the most from this learning opportunity. We would much rather extend it than for you to rush through the course.
What course materials can I keep after the course?
Training video text
Lesson Graphics
Will I receive a certificate?
Of course. After passing the final exam, a certificate of completion will be emailed to you within one business day. The certificate will include the information that you will need for the Continuing Education Units.
How do I ask questions while I am taking this training?
We have created a support forum for our online training. You may post your questions there.
If you are little uncomfortable with this approach, please email us directly. We will make every effort to answer your questions within 24 hours.
Tell me about the purchasing process.
The online cart will request the credit card information. Add the name on the credit on the card, (not the person taking the training.) An automated email will be sent to the email address used in the purchasing process. If you do not get the confirmation, check your SPAM filter. The message will be coming from bbrown at prosoundtraining.com
The email will include:
✅ Credit card receipt
✅ Activation key to the training
✅ Directions to activate the key.
Forward the activation key with the directions to the person taking the training. The directions are quite easy but the learner can always call 812-923-0174 if help is needed.
May I share the video content I buy with others?
Purchased online training content is intended only for the learner who will be taking the course. Sharing SynAudCon online training is a violation of the terms and conditions of this site. All actions are logged and monitored, and this policy is strictly enforced.
We appreciate your cooperation in this as it allows us to actively develop new material and keep the price low for everyone.
With respect to their privacy, we will only list their initials.
Having taken the onsite course in 2007, it was refreshing to drink from the fire hose again! I am glad I took it again! D.W.
Thanks for the quick response; and extension. Really enjoy the course and the layout. One of the better online courses I have taken. Good Job. R.M.
The you for having such an awesome online training program, it was very informative. I.J.
This was great and broken down into logical segments. S.C.
This course was a wonderful introduction. It would be nice if there were more live examples of things such as hooking up an entire signal chain in one video. M.N.
I thought the course was very useful to form a high level understanding of the topics. I look forward to continuing with the other more advanced courses. K.F.
Took me some time because I’ve been busy, but I loved the course! Very informational. N.W.
The videos were genuinely enjoyable to watch. Very well made. M.R.
Course was very informative, but doing it online is a bit mind numbing at times. R.G.
I enjoyed this course and look forward to taking more in the future. I really liked the demos. N.P.
Course was very informative and gave great basic info. C.K.
I like how your course explains something, then will show you the practical use for it. It helps make more since, and hammer it in my head a little more. Z.B.
I felt the pacing was good and the videos invaluable. However, trying to read the text for each section before watching the videos didn’t make sense for many of them. There were a lot of visual references that needed context. J.T.
Thank you! You are absolutely right. The video and text compliment each other. Brenda Brown
Simple, dense videos with real world application that seems to be available in other places, but so scattered that it takes ages to find individually. T.W.
Video and video demos were very helpful. L.L.
Thank you, the course is very interesting, visual and informative. N.S.
Really enjoyed the demos. C.L.
Best AV training I’ve done in my career. Lots of good info, clear and straight to the point. B.B.
Loved the course. It was very direct and it didn’t drag on – even considering the length. K.M.
I thought the course was great! You stick to the most important aspects of audio and explain everything very clearly. J.V.
Enjoyed all of the videos because I am a visual learner. J.D
Very informative for someone that is new to the AV field, provided me a good base knowledge of how audio systems work. D.D.
I’ve been doing audio for ten years and I am learning so much from yall. S.V.
Well done, and videos were helpful. O.C.
I feel like about half of this was appropriate for me and half was too easy, but I will absolutely be taking more courses. C.S.
Its easy to understand and knowledgeable. L.M.
Pretty good all around. Maybe some trick questions, and spice it a bit with some more fun (like the white noise box running out of steam). B.C.
The demos were very helpful and clearly reinforced the principles being discussed. J.S.
I enjoyed the course. I learned a lot. I struggle with tests in general and this test for sure stumped me on a couple questions. J.F.
Great breakdown of the content. Easy to stay engaged. S.H.
It is a new experience for me to learn about sound. So far one of the best courses I have completed in my life. M.J.On the videos the feedback sound was too loud compared to the teacher. I had to turn the volume down and then back up
I just wanted to write back and say how pleased I am with the personal touch you put on these courses.
The content Pat creates has been amazing so far, but I have to say that the personalized speedy responses add that final touch that is extremely nice. In a world where “good service” has seemed to almost completely disappear, it is a breath of fresh air to receive this great service…. So Thank you! M.D.
Great starting point for general audio knowledge. M.D.
I enjoyed how this course was laid out. Having the videos and text as two separate sections helped to increase understanding. A.H.
This helped me fill in a lot of gaps in my knowledge of audio systems. I.F.
I appreciated the depth of knowledge and clarity of communication in which Pat was able to convey in his teaching. I enjoyed the demos as well. Perhaps I missed it, but I would have liked to have seen the correct answers to the questions I got wrong or partially-correct in the final exam. I found this to be a beneficial attribute of the chapter quizzes. Overall, I enjoyed the opportunity to learn and anticipate I’ll be reviewing my notes and may take the course again in the future as a refresher. M.M.
This training has been by far the best for what I need to do. The training offered here was good, and I learned, but you break it down so much easier and simple for me to understand. N.K.
None. I thought it was very insightful. L.P.
Very helpful for beginners. A.B.
Well paced. R.E.
I enjoyed the training! K.S.
As always, your training are the best but I think by far the better service you offer is you customer service. 😊 you can quote me on that. R. J.
This was wonderful, and just what I needed at my current level of understanding. I am looking forward to Course 100! C.P.
Valuable information and great teaching skills. L.M.
If possible some interactive lessons where you look at how moving an object influences sound and the like would be neat. Otherwise I rather enjoyed it.
Your training is very in depth and provides real world scenarios. Easy to follow and brings a lot of value. M.S.
I love having both videos and lesson text available. It let me read along on one screen with the video on the other. M.F.
Good job! D.B.
You all rock, I learned so much about the audio devices I have at home, and can confidently say I have a decent understanding of audio equipment that isn’t just plug n play, but sophisticated equipment as well. G.G.
Some additional questions about interface backing and I/O options on the practice quiz for the relevant sections would be good. C.S.
For someone who struggles with paying attention to any kind of lecture or PowerPoint format, this course was a breath of fresh air. I am very appreciative for the time that was put into this, as well as the way this course was able to easily demonstrate through real life scenarios how these ideas work. H.A.
In order to provide a bit of context I’ll preface my comments by stating that I don’t have any sound industry experience beyond plugging in a stereo at home. Having said that, I enjoyed the course.
The content of the material was just the right mix (pun!) of devices and concepts that I had vague notions of without any understanding and devices and concepts that were wholly new to me. That kept it interesting, similar to reading a great novel that a person can’t wait to find out what happens in the end but not wanting it to end.
The layout, design, structure, and flow of the presentations made navigating through the course simple. I was able to spend my time on the material and not how to access it.
I appreciated the transcripts of the videos, and the in-course quizzes were beneficial to my understanding of the material.
The thing that stands out for me are the demonstration videos. They are fantastic.
I had a lot of fun with this and look forward to learning more! D.D.
In preparing for the test, I went back to the previous test and studied. I found the final a lot harder than the other test. E.K.
I really liked this course, when I first started with the court technology unit I had a background in computer systems technology and I had dabbled in some consumer audio(home entertainment). My first week on the job was helping a contractor set up a few courtrooms for audio reinforcement. This course helped fill gaps of knowledge that I didn’t realize I had. J.M.
I thought it was very clear and found the demonstration videos particularly helpful. S.T.
I thought the program was well presented. E.B.
Pat explains the course material very well, and is very easy to understand. It’s great how everything is so well organized. One minor comment/suggestion is to combine videos as much as possible since there are marker divisions that would make it easy to identify the sections. D.C.
I enjoyed the subject matter, much like the previous course that I took. I look forward to signing up for the next course in line. Also enjoyed the short Eric Johnson clip within the course. The Cliffs of Dover is such a great tune! S.V.
Graphic information help understanding the content easier. B.T.
I feel that the flow was fast during each video. Maybe more examples in the videos. Z.W.
Amazing review of basic concepts. Informative delivery style. A.T.
Great course! Lots of useful information conveyed in an easy to understand format no matter your learning style. F.H.
There is a lot of great information provided. The lessons were filled with info but not overwhelming. I liked having the videos as well as the text from the videos. It helped reinforce the knowledge. I did assume the questions on the final exam would be more similar to the questions on the unit quizzes, so I might suggest tailoring the quizzes to be more final exam-like, in terms of the complexity and in-depth-ness. The exam questions did make me think! Which is good! K.A.
The course is very good and knowledgeable. S.S.
Course was very detailed on the basics principals of audio and the devices used to create them. M.P.
Course is good and detailed, well-explained as well. O.T.
Thought it was a good beginners course. J.W.
I enjoyed the course, lots of useful information. C.C.
The videos really brought it together. J.L.
A good overall review of basic audio concepts. M.M
I enjoyed this course and learned a lot. I appreciated how the lessons were very bite-size and easy to tackle in one sitting. There wasn’t an overwhelming amount of information and it was nicely distilled into short videos.
Some things I didn’t know at all, some things I had previously learned from experience in AV work (like the effectiveness of certain types of mics in certain situations and factors that can cause feedback), but through this course, I was able to learn the actual technical and scientific reasons for those things.
I definitely learn best through experience, so things like the demo videos and the “Putting it all together”; unit were hugely helpful in my comprehension of the material throughout the course. The more videos like those the better! W.F.
Well understanding way of technical explanation. Too many questions about wire gauge. Multi-choice questions with relatively ambiguous answer choice. D.P.
I particularly like how the information was broken down which made it easier to digest. S.D.
The instruction was excellent. Well paced and the graphics helped tremendously. J.C.
As someone who mixed live audio for a number of years, a lot of this information was already known to me, but there was definitely a few topics that I learned for the first time by taking this course.
This is such a great course! Very well explained and very good videos! It helped me a lot to read the material first and then see it in video after! A.L.
Excellent course. P.W.
It was very helpful. I feel that I learned a lot. B.M.
This course gave me great insight and I’m looking forward to taking Course 100 next. T.M.
I enjoyed the course and found it to be very insightful. D.H.
I liked the videos in this lesson, they were very informative. S.M.
I’ve looked into it before from online searches, but finally committed to signing up when it was required for work. Z.H.
I felt the course was very easy to follow and provided a lot of valuable information. K.B.
The course was honestly great. I learned so many new concepts that I was never aware of before. A.E.
I enjoyed the course especially for its length/information ratio, as stated in the beginning, these are info packed courses. P.A.
Thank you for the audio text print outs. I can keep notes on the way. I.G.
This course was extremely helpful to me. I went to trade school for residential, commercial and industrial electrical systems; so coming into the professional audio world was a completely new place to me. Just going through the basics with Pat has significantly increased my understanding of the core concepts of audio significantly. Extremely simple things like mic placement were new to me, and Pat did a fantastic job of making it all understandable. Thank you for the efforts you put into this course! B.R.
Videos have good content but a slow pace. D.M.
Thoroughly enjoyed the demos, particularly regarding microphone placement. J.P.
The delivery was great. No changes needed. S.G.
I found the course to be very informative and the amount of time to complete is very generous. It was to have an relatively in-depth coverage of some of the more minor details that don’t get mentioned in other AV trainings. I will be recommending this to AV technicians as a great way to learn valuable info that can be used on the job. N.B.
I thought it covered the basics well. It was a great addition to the AVIXA CTS content and gives me the RU’s needed to keep my cert active. J.L.
I thoroughly enjoyed the course, it is a great entry level course. The course has helped me learn a good deal of information. My only recommendation is to add a couple of how-to/walk-through videos of some common setups. R.B.
Again, I’m very pleased with how thorough and easy the knowledge transfer was – “;Lay-man’s terms”;. I’m a knowledgeable AV professional with a studio recording background. I say that because I wish I would’ve heard about this course when getting into the industry; it would’ve saved me so much time as the teaching style fits my learning style. E.T.
I loved the course and learned so much. I really appreciate the effort you and Pat put in to maintain these excellent training materials—it definitely shows. C.P.
I am very glad to purchase more training! I have a young guy with me who I’m getting started into audio, and I thought the best way I could get him kickstarted was to get him a SAC course. I really appreciate what you and Pat do, you have helped me tremendously. B.R.
I am a beginner of audio and this is the best direct course I have come across. I.A.
I appreciated the level of coverage of the material and the option to utilize either text or videos. J.W.
I have been away from the AV industry for a few years and I have to say this course provided a clear, precise and easy to understand re-introduction of the AV concepts and terminology. I loved the printout notes that made it easier to follow the course without having to write down a lot but my additional comments here and there. I would have loved some of the graphics in there too but understand that the notes would probably be too large for printing plus it gave me an opportunity to make my own graphical interpretations 🙂 A.S.
Honestly, my main thought is “Where was this when I started in live events 12 years ago??” Or at least, why didn’t the company I worked for utilize you? D.J.
Good stuff! J.B.
Good format, easy to follow, add more entertaining facts or jokes. L.O.
Great course. I especially loved the design of the graphics throughout the sections, as they really helped with retaining and explaining. A.C.
The examples, demos, and video clips are good. I would like to be able to print more visual examples so I can come back to it, rather than only having the time allotted. S.M.
I thought the speaker enunciated very well. I appreciated the transcript provided before each set of videos, so I could follow along and highlight important information. C.C.
I agree. We try to use several of your senses with our courses. The more senses used, more likely you will retain the information. It is also a great reference when you no longer have access to the course. Brenda Brown
I enjoyed the videos with the demonstrations of the polar patterns, mic placement, loudspeakers definitely drives home the lesson. M.A.
I enjoyed the course! It really helped to have the info printed out and then seeing the diagrams in the videos that visually explained it. Well done! D.G.
I felt that this course was very helpful and elaborate. Perfect for several learning styles. L.F.
Awesome Job! T.L.
I found the course clear and with good info and easy to understand. J.J.
I really enjoyed the demos videos. The way the pickup patterns were demonstrated was the best i have seen for explaining that topic. B.M
I enjoyed the way that the lessons were set-up. The lessons were easy to understand and easy to go back and review a specific topic when needed. R.M.
I thought the overall topics and way they where described where perfect. Almost everything was clear to understand, and easy to figure out. One thing for me personally that I would have liked would have been more pictures in the pages we printed out. Especially, when it came to the Polar Patterns; more pictures would have been nice. However, the course overall was great, and I loved all of it! C.B.
Good suggestion. We can add this. Thank you. Brenda Brown
This was a great training! Before I started, I couldn’t get above 35% in the quiz’s, now I passed with an 85%! Thank you! K.F.
The videos and real time demonstrations are extremely valuable and really make the lessons you discuss come alive. Mic placement was a huge problem at my last job and talkers would routinely have issues keeping the microphones close to the correct area for the best sound reproduction. Pat is an excellent teacher and clearly knows well above and beyond this level of audio but doesn’t come off as pretentious. R.B.
Good course, easy to follow. M.B.
I discovered a passion for pro audio after DJing for a number of years and am extremely eager to learn. I never thought I would fall in love with this but your training has truly made the world of a difference. Thank you for your support! R.O.
Very nice, easy to do anywhere. N.T.
I really enjoyed this course; the detailed breakdown of the fundamentals was something I really needed to bridge my practical experience with other courses. Very well done!!!1 E.N.
The course was great. I retain and learn so much from the videos. The test was kind of hard but it was good. Z.V.
The only thing I can say about this course is how informative it was. I am definitely a hands on learner so I was worried how well I would absorb the info, but it was very well explained with helpful graphics to explain everything. A.W.
I amazed on how in-depth and informative this course was and It has definitely helped me get a better understanding on Audio overall.
I thought the videos were a great idea. Makes it much easier than just notes on paper. Everything was very clear, concise, and well articulated. N.F.
For someone who is new to audio, this course will be brilliant. C.W.
This was a great training easy to follow while being both brief and very detailed. I give it a 10/10. J.M.
I very much enjoyed this course. Thank you. In general, it was very informative and understandable. P.G.
Thank you for putting together a well rounded and beneficial course. J.H.
Hi Brenda, thanx for this e-mail. I’ve done the enrollement to SynAudCon following a suggestion of a friend of mine. I had started to read some article and then I’ve decided to start to follow your on-line training. I’m finding your courses very effective and practical to re-build my audio knowledge on more solid foundations. R.S.
“I thought the information was presented in a great format. I would have liked more interactive activities.” C.M.
Very informative. D.B.
I love the practical “real life” examples! I’m a very practical, “hands on” learner and seldomly see this kind of course material in my studies. It is much appreciated. This course also felt fairly optimized and concise. No segment ever seemed to drag on too long or overstay it’s welcome. T.P.
Good course for someone working in the Audio industry without the necessary background in Audio from school. S.B.
This course was a lot of fun, the visuals were helpful, and the length of the videos was just right. R.B.
Loved the videos and test per module used for testing the knowledge retained during the course on the curriculum. J.D.
I have been an audio professional for nearly 25 years in live production and installation, earned a bachelor’s degree in recording, mixed my first live show 30 years ago, and have been interested in sound since I was old enough to climb over the edge of an old hi-fi set and peer inside. I consider myself knowledgeable and talented in the field. While this course did not cover anything new for me, I never felt that it was presented in a way that was beneath my level of expertise. Instead I found it helpful to see how the fundamentals were presented so that I can do a better job of teaching the subject myself. I also got a big kick out of all the pictures of gear and identifying all the equipment I have used over the years. I have especially fond memories of mixing on an APB SpectraT, so I really appreciated all the shots of the little brown mixers. J.P.
I was very impressed with this course. It was clear and direct. Perhaps a video course.
I loved how clear He was about all the subjects. The jokes and animations were funny. The videos were a bit too long for me personally. However, I value the information and format. I like the main points to study, and the written lectures to follow. The videos were nice to review before quizzes. Maybe if there could be more pictures or images of things instead of having it all in the video that would be helpful. E.P.
“Very well laid out program. Excellent videos with clear explanation of the material.” N.V.
I really liked the demonstration portions where you get to see/hear a real-world manifestation of the principles being studied. C.G.
The animation and video content were tremendous ! This has been one of my favorite courses in the past 6 months or so that I have taken. The written dialog prior to the video helped me soak up the details and “relax” during the video portion of the training. S.S.
“I like the ease of teaching and understanding. Also, the lack of product pushing is perfect.” R.B.
It is thorough. M. H.
I like the live videos, always better to be shown how something works than be told how. J.C.
Great practical use information. This course helped expand / provide clarity on many practices that I had a basic idea on but had trouble comprehending. For example, following a right audio practice because it’s what you’ve been told the whole, but it was never explained why. A.R.
Overall I thought it was a good course to get started with audio systems. B.M.
The videos and introductory outline segments were very informative and helpful, as well as the Quiz Yourself sections. R.C.
On the videos the feedback sound was too loud compared to the teacher. I had to turn the volume down and then back up. G.M.
Thank you. We will check it out.
The course was very informative and highlighted aspects of audio that I had never been formally taught before. This course made it a lot easier for me to visualize and understand our audio systems. C.G.
I’ve been doing live sound for a small business for 4 years now and I was surprised at how many things I learned. I thought the course was great and entertaining enough, and definitely was very good for digesting information thoroughly. D.F.
The structure of the course is well layed out. The demo video definitely help put things into perspective. J.G.
I very much enjoyed your demo videos, as they were thorough, anything else you do please take the time to put that in there as it really makes all the difference and is similar to getting hands on experience.
My supervisor at work knew about it and thought it would be a good starting point for my colleague and I before we started asking about more specified classes on audio and other related things to broadcast engineering! S.W.
It is extremely helpful that the training is recorded because I can pause/ rewind and watch certain aspects that I didn’t grasp the first time. What helped the most was seeing the practical application of the learning. For example, learning about microphones is one thing, but seeing how the mic to source distance actually effects the signal is another, so seeing the videos where that was demonstrated was very helpful and could maybe be used more frequently for other aspects of the training as well. N.S.
This training is awesome and really helpful understand all the basic concepts. S.C.
The course was good, I felt there were a few questions on the quizzes that were out of order, and I learned the answers in a previous or later section. The demos were fun, and I think very helpful. L.B.
I thought that it was really great. I learned a lot of stuff that I have missed in my in person training and feel that some of the cracks that I may have had in my knowledge have been filled in. I loved the example videos where loudspeakers, mics, or other equipment was shown. Really helped connect what you were talking about to the real world. Great job and I look forward to taking another course of yours! M.P.
I loved the effort put into the course. This is my first SynAudCon training session, I was signed up for your 3-day class at Infocomm, but since it was cancelled, I opted to do the online courses. I truly loved it. It was WAY more involved than I had expected for an into course, so Kudos to you both for putting together such a fantastic course. C.F.
Thank you guys for the hard work and commitment to help with my career. I appreciate it and I will be sure to frame this ! J.L.
I enjoyed the training. I thought it was great. A.C.
This was a great refresher course for me. I have worked in the broadcast field for a number of years and it helps to go back to the basics every once in a while. This course was thorough and concise in it’s presentation. I completed it in two days and was reminded of the basics of audio. B.V
Overall I thought the content was very helpful. J.H.
I enjoyed this course. It was very helpful to go at my own pace. P.P.
This course was fun to go through it gave me a refresher on the things I have learned in school. S.S.
The level of information was appropriate for the course and the course requirements. J.P.
This was a very in depth class for being introductory level. I learned a ton and there were many things I do with installations where I knew the “how” and but not the “why.” This course answered a lot of the “why”s for me. P.M.
I love the way Pat makes complex ideas easier to understand by using visual representations and analogies. I would like to see this teaching style applied to things that are physically hard to grasp like DSPs and Digital mixers. A.T. One step a head of you. We have a DSP course using these principles – Course 120: DSP. 😉 Brenda Brown
Worth the money? Most definitely. I can take the course at my own pace. The downside of online is you don’t get to interact with other students and the instructor insi de and outside of the training. The human part of the interaction is gone. W.B.
I think the visuals through the videos helped me a lot. E.H.
I really enjoyed this course. I found it super helpful in my job as I was going through it. I do admin work, mostly helping with purchasing, but it’s been helpful to actually understand what I’m buying. C.K.
The course was very well presented, easy bitesize videos easy to digest. S.B.
I love the video clips. They are short and informative. Much better than having to read through a bunch of text. Also, the demos were cool too to see the concepts come to life. J.G.
It was good. As general low voltage installer of 5 years the level 50 course had a good mix of nuts and bolts information that I already knew and programmer side information that was new to me. Video graphics are very helpful and appreciated information is explained very concisely. Printable text transcripts of the videos will surely come in handy in the future. N.F.
I enjoyed the course and definitely learned a lot, as someone who is fairly new to sound. I have a fair amount of experience on some simple sound systems at my school and my church, but I never really new much about basic sound principles. The course explained these well, and didn’t go too in depth for a beginner to have to understand. I liked a lot of the demos of different kinds of equipment that became more common as the course went on, they were not only interesting, but helpful to understanding the subject matter. M.M.
Course was very useful and generous in depth information. R.A.
Overall, this was a very good course. I do prefer in person classes as a learning style preference, but this has been one of the best online courses I’ve taken. I particularly liked the long sections showing each of the connector and wire types, and the speaker and microphone demos.
I might like more diagrams in the study material? I was a little bit overwhelmed by the final, “putting it all together” sections, so perhaps a visual (or bullet point?) overview that I could follow along would help me keep it all in my head? G.K.
I like the videos and sample videos. Also, the quizzes at the end of each section. L.C.
I enjoyed the course. I have worked in Radio for 10 years and just got a new job and needed the refresher and I even learned things I didn’t know yet. Thank you. J.S.
Thorough. D.G.
Its very good course and helpful. L.S.
My appreciation goes to SynAudcon team, for this wonderful training offered to us to boost our skills. F.M.
It was good, with videos clarifications. F.M
The demonstration videos were great. They did a good job of reinforcing the concepts of the lesson. J.N.
The courses have been awesome and this is definitely a great time to learn. S.G.
My overall thoughts are that the course was helpful. I especially appreciated information about the applications of various equipment (loudspeaker types, dynamic vs condenser microphones, etc). In my role, I am not engineering these systems myself but I need to understand the engineering a bit and I really need to understand the customer/end-user needs. So knowing not just how the equipment functions but why a person might choose one piece of equipment over another is a big plus.
Thank you very much for offering courses like this. I found it very helpful! K.B.
This course is great. Very easy to follow. Videos are accurate to the written material. G.L.
The class was great and it was extremely helpful. I am looking forward to starting Course 100. S.G.
I loved the course. N.W.
Very good beginner course. C.S.
I enjoyed the creative video clips. K.A.
I thought it was well done. G.D.
Very concise and professional. The imagery and analogies were helpful. S.S.
This is a great course. Being able to pause and think about the material was so very important. J.S.
The course was great! S.B.
The training is helpful. D.F.
SynAudCon’s Online training course was effective and helped me overall. V.T.
This course was great and really helped me learn the bigger picture. P.G.
It’s good and easy to learn material. Thank you. R.L.
I think the course is very thorough. It’s a great introductory course that covers almost every aspect of sound & sound systems for the complete newbie. It also fills in the gaps for the person who has some experience but could use further explanation. Awesome awesome awesome course! I will recommend this to my colleagues at my place of employment, Vision Technologies, as well as the volunteers who run sound at my local church, The MACC. D.D.
Thank you very much for the extension, very appreciate it. I learned a lot from the course “050 – How Sound System Works”, it is truly an eye opening for me.
For all this long I have been searching for answer for the basic and Pat Brown is doing a great job in putting everything through a small and precise video for all the explanations. Thank you to Pat Brown and Brenda Brown for this opportunities. T.S.
Very informative. G.W.
I think the instructor was good and not boring. Topics weren’t too easy and kept me interested. D.K.
I found the trainings excellent and plan on doing more. D.C.
This was very informational. It helped me build more professional level terms and add to my own knowledge. S.J.
I have no technical knowledge about audio, that’s why I enrolled on your online training. I have done the first online lesson yesterday and it is very informative and educative. I.H.
Thank you very much! It was an awesome course and I learned so much! D.F.
I really enjoyed taking this course. It reinforced and helped me review what I’ve learned in the past. R.W.
Very Informative. K.S.
It was definitely fun and full of information. For me personally though, would have liked to attend in person, only because I get caught up in work and its hard to take my own time to take this test online. I need to get away from work. A.E.
Really enjoyed it. A. B.
There was a WHOLE LOT of information in this course. T.G.
I am really excited to get through them all. This was the first one and it was very insightful. The only reason I’d want to do something in person is to demonstrate some of the conclusions, but this was great. P.F.
“Really enjoyed the course.” E.M.
“I enjoyed this program, it was concise and to the point. I wish my classes at school were this well organized.” D.F.
Pat’s wisdom in audio and electronic concepts has been very enlightening. Z.K.
For someone who is new to the field, your information is easily delivered and understood. D.D.
I found this course to be very informative. I really enjoyed it. I plan on going back to review again. B.S.
I really liked the videos in this course. Often at times when Im reading I may nod off but with the clips I found them informative. V.Y.
Thanks so much! I really enjoyed the course – it is laid out and presented well. S.L.
Like most of the people I meet who work in live sound, I’m largely self-taught through a pinball approach of missteps, feedback, and the begrudging tolerance of others. Time and time again, as I worked through these courses I thought, “I wish I had taken this course years ago.” And often I thought of others who could benefit from them. S.H.
The videos are clear, I suggest adding some practical exercise. M.S.
This course gives you valuable information and terminology on how sound systems work. Whether a beginner or a review for others, you will learn and understand how sound systems work in a very logical way. S.S.
I thought it was great even as a refresher. M.W.
I think it was a very good course. P.W.
This is a good step into audio and gives me the knowledge I need to keep learning and growing! D.K.
The materials are useful. R.N.
The graphics and charts are nice with the video. I wish they were also with the text notes for review. I’m a very visual learner and those would be nice to have in front of me as I reread the information. J.B.
The information was quality and web site was easy to navigate. W.W.
“The course terminology tends to be American focused.” S.B. I agree. I would estimate that eighty- five to ninety of our training is sold in the US. However, you made a very good point. I will bring this to the developer attention. Brenda Brown
It is very enlightening. Y.L.
Very complete. I like it because it touches the important points and does not waste time. O.H.
Great course for beginners. S.K.
I attended the “Sound System Design” course last year and really enjoyed it. I wanted to take one of your more basic courses to test my knowledge. This course was a little too basic for me at times but I still enjoyed it. Regarding the printout of the notes that are provided, I suggest that a better format would be an outline rather than word for word. This would allow space for the student to insert their own notes. I.H.
I am a total novice but came out feeling as if I learned enough to understand the terms that are commonly used in the office as well as the basic setup for a system. J.H.
The video’s and layout were fantastic. I would like a general glossary of terms I could download so I could pause the video and look up the term. J.F.
Thank you, I really enjoyed the course. It helped give me an actual understanding of all of the basics which I really needed. M.I.
Thought everything was very good. R.L.
This gave me the basic understanding of what is needed to have a good sound system, especially where there is a microphone involved. R.D
I like the real life examples used to depict audio distribution scenarios. K.M.
The training was awesome and helpful. J.G.
It was very helpful! Thank you again for this helpful tool! J.R.
Very informative. Perfect mix of notes and videos. BB.
It was good. B.S.
The course was very informative on exactly what the course is called “how sound systems works.” T.N.
Good course, although the final exam had a couple of questions that weren’t specifically covered in the lessons. G.S.
I learned a lot about Audio with this course. C.A.
I thought it was good. The only improvement I can think of at this time is the section on mixing where it would have been helpful to hear the mix as the section was explained. I will be back for more training. J.G.
Well I would say I enjoyed it. It was really interactive with the videos, helping me to visualize all the terms in the text. A. A.
I’ve just switched over to the pro audio/visual industry from accounting and have been searching for a good introductory course to get a basic grasp on what it’s all about. So far so good, loving the intro course I just bought and hopefully your guy’s other online courses are just as good! D.W.
I loved the course and that you included the sounds effects of what was being discussed like hum or feedback. B.S.
I feel the graphic aids that are shown in the video’s greatly help me understand the matter far more than than just reading the text alone. Having printed the accompanying text , I do feel some graphics could have been added for future reference. I do understand that there needs to be differentiation between text and video but having the printouts include some of the graphics would help them a great deal in making these reference documents later on, especially for a newbee like myself.
As a sidenote: at first I felt some of the graphics were a bit 90’s clipart BUT their simplicity and immediate understanding proved to not subtract from the matter that was thought while they were shown. So I understand these choices made 100%. Pat has a great and compelling voice to listen to so I never got bored with any of the video’s. As a non-native English speaker the speech was always clear and never felt I was missing or had to google translate anything :). Pat is now on the list of ‘top-teachers’ that I had the pleasure of listening to. Too bad that flying out to attend physical classes is a bit too expensive. Virtual classes are the next best thing though. Keep it up! C.P.
What I learned in audio I either experienced in live corporate set ups or was taught it by other who had gone through former training and had much more experience. That being said, if I had taken this class when first getting into audio, it would have made my learning and grasping of these concepts much easier and the time to do so much shorter. I think this course lays out concepts and presents Audio system technical know-how in a very understandable way. Even for someone who has never set up a sound system themselves, I think with this course and relating to any personal experience (i.e. going to a movie theater) anyone can grasp most concepts in this course. G.C.
I’ve really enjoyed the training videos. J.M.
I am so thankful for these courses – you guys do such a great job and make audio so approachable. J.R.
It was slightly akin to taking a big sip from a fire hose. For someone coming from the I.T. realm, it was extremely difficult for me to wrap my brain around some of the concepts. I was thankful that the course was online and I was able to watch the clips multiple times, pause and take notes. I grossly underestimated the length of time it would take me to digest all the information (given my lack of experience in this area). The instructor was wonderful and did a super job of explaining some complex subject matter. I truly appreciate the terminology shift and am trying to replace my vague vocabulary with the much more precise terms learned in this course. N.Z.
This course provided valuable information in an easy to understand format. It is a wonderful asset for new audio professionals. S. P.
I thought the analogies were really good. M. J.
This was a great refresher course for me. It would also be a great course for those just starting out in the AV industry. B.H.
The video clips where great to visualize what is being learned. P.V.
The course was very basic for me, however it had more things to offer than what I had anticipated. What I found to be the more important topics were in regards to the electrical aspect. Additionally, I think the course was through and well-constructed. J. P.
Having an audio background, I felt I was able to move through this pretty quickly, and it provided some helpful information regarding particulars of placement and clarification of Q which I still am looking into. All in all, I felt the course was well built and reminded me of things to look out for. D. C.
I’ve taken many online courses, this was very effective. Incorporating more of the images from the videos into the course text would be helpful as there are many useful diagrams in the videos. N.W.
I really liked this course. Please don’t change the format. B.W.
Videos were very concise and clear. So much content packed into a few short minutes that rewinding is mandatory if full attention is not given. Great quality of presentation. P. K.
I always wondered about this course material – nice to finally learn from it. R. S.
Found the course very information but possibly a little more depth to the mic-line level-impedance and the connections thereof. B.M.
This is my first training. I did gain a lot of valuable knowledge. T. G.
The videos were very informative. E.S.
I had questions that I didn’t even know to ask answered the day after I finished a unit. I’ve found it extremely helpful to day to day work in A/V installation. Extremely helpful and in depth, while still managing to keep things concise and to the point when they really need to be. J. S.
I appreciated that it basically only covered what you needed to know. That being said, I felt the final exam was definitely more difficult than the practice tests after each lesson. J. C.
I took “Principles of Audio” first, so I thought I would fly through this one. Not so much lol.
I liked it very much. D. B
Great lessons and very informative. M.S.
Felt that some of the questions on the Final were not covered well in the course but as a whole, this training exceeded my expectations by far. T.F. A comment about the exam questions: Audio troubleshooting requires intuitive reasoning, so I integrated this into some of the questions. You will not find all of the answers spelled out in the lesson text, but in every case the required principle was presented in the course videos. The student should be able to deduce the answer from the information given. Pat Brown
Good refresher for me, and I imagine this would be a good starting point for someone unfamiliar with audio systems. J.B.
I like the demonstrations in the videos. B.D.
The videos were up-to-date and relevant for me. B.H.
It was great. W.S
It was hugely beneficial for me, and I loved the layout of the course material. I absolutely plan on moving on to the next few sessions. A.C.
This was great! I have had a lot of experience in the field, but I didn’t realize some basic principles that you guys explain so easily. Definitely worth every penny! G.M.
I truly enjoyed the presentation, the graphics, documentation and the oral presentation. I felt the quizzes were relevant to the topics covered. I truly enjoyed the course and look forward to taking more courses. Thank you. M.W.
I enjoyed the course D.C.
I found the material and the configuration really well thought out. R.C.
I’m very excited for this course because I’ve always been passionate about technical audio and this course is exactly what I need to better myself as an installer and technician. I am enjoying it a lot. J.S.
I really liked the challenge. I learned new things. D. T.
Excellent Course! D.C.
Thank you very much. The training was very informative and allowed me to look at the aspects of audio from a different perspective. There were many new points I picked up regarding mixers and loudspeakers I hadn’t dealt with before. E. C.
I love the examples used comparing sound to real life applications – like the water faucet example for gain. Videos are fantastic – I’ve taken other courses that are entirely text, with no video examples of anything, and I much prefer the style of SynAudCon. Text & Video are both provided, and I can go re-watch them at anytime for review. I much prefer the style of SynAudCon, because of the videos, and the humor that’s mixed into the course. T.H.
This course was very informative and easy to follow! S. H.
Thank you! It was fun. I’ll be back to take another course. J.P.
This is my first audio course online and I thought it was pretty good. S.F.
Course was great just the way it is laid out. D.T.
Honestly, this was one of the best training I have taken. The interface is very user friendly and providing the script for each video has greatly helped me take very detailed notes. J.M.
The courses were easy to go through, while being very informative. The animations presented are very helpful to learn many of these concepts. Thank you. T.I.
This course is very good for people who learn my means of note taking, and repetition… then the videos also help to really meld it into your memory. I think the course could be improved by becoming more interactive with things such as games, or activities, to help people stay engaged and challenged. H.E.
I thought it was very thorough and a good pace and depth for an audio beginner like myself. S.R.
It was great, can’t wait to continue with the other courses. S.V.
The material and interface was excellent. Having the content in both text form, and video form, made it easier for the info to sink in. R.D.
Great course. Informative. D.R.
The material and the way it was presented was wonderful Great text, videos, audio and graphics.
My only hang ups come with some test questions where the answers could have a couple of right answers. It was a bit confusing but I also understand it gives the flexibility to get some points for a semi-correct answer as opposed to an pass or fail, all or nothing outcome. D.F.
I loved your course, I just began in the a/v industry about 3 years ago and this connected a lot of dots and filled in a lot of blanks. It was really great. I look forward to taking more courses with you guys. B.P.
Course flow is excellent, but the same music at the beginning of every video is tedious, would be nice just to hear something different. Focus to flow diagrams, schematics, and systems is great. More time on physical differences that one would see in real-time system installations would be great. Reinforcement is good. A.M. (You will see more of the real-time system installations in our “Principles of Audio” online course. Brenda Brown)
First of all, I just want to share again just how practical and informative the 050 course was. I was able to put it to work IMMEDIATELY in my job and began sharing some of the knowledge with my volunteer team. M.H. Worship Tech.
“This was a good basic course went through what took me ten years to figure out on my own.” C.C.
When Considering candidates for employment
When we’re considering candidates for employment, anyone with SynAudCon training goes to the head of the line.
Zki Pszenitzki, Owner ZKI Communications
I was impressed while being educated.
Thanks for the Certificate. The course was actually hard, but that makes you think, and requires you to learn. I was impressed while being educated. 🙂 I like the the way the course is presented. I’ve taken online courses before, and to tell you the truth I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to grasp the info, but it is well laid out and presented nicely. I am going to take three of the courses eventually.
Bill Talley
I recommend that anyone who is involved in audio/communication systems have this knowledge.
Thank you for making me aware of the audio courses being offered by SynAudCon. I started the Course 100 course prior to attending the training seminar on Airport Communication Systems at IED. The information presented in this course provided me a foundation to better understand audio systems and the terms and concepts used to explain Airport Communication Systems. Through the Course 100: Principles of Audio course, I have a greater ability to manage the system at DFW International Airport.
I have read several books on audio systems and audio engineering. If I had taken this course first I would have been able to comprehend the information presented faster and more completely. As the use of audio systems in life safety systems continues to grow, it is very important to understand the science these systems are built on in order to use the systems most effectively. I recommend that anyone who is involved in audio/communication systems have the knowledge presented in this course. The information was presented in a manner that facilitates learning even though some of the concepts are not intuitively apparent.
Thank you again for the opportunity to participate in this training.
Joe Collins, NICET Level IV Fire Alarm Systems
Testament to online training.
Good work. Your work is testament to the value of the web as a learning and training medium.
Joe Booher, AVISPL
This course challenged me.
It’s great to actually do an online course that
a) challenges you.
b) isn’t boring.
You will have to listen and makes notes of what is said during the videos. If you don’t, you certainly will not pass the final exam. Looking forward to starting the Course 100.
John Handy
I thought I knew everything.
I’ve been a sound Engineer for the past 28 years, I thought I knew everything. Boy, was I wrong. It’s got me thinking and thinking really hard. It made me love it and respect it even more. All I have to say is “wow”.
Sound Engineer
Feedback from Course 50 – How Sound Systems Work
Did this course meet your expectations?
Yes
Was the course worth the price?
Yes
How would you rate the course difficulty level?
About Right
Phone: 812-923-0174
Synergetic Audio Concepts, Inc.
Located in Southern Indiana USA
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