In the next experiment, we are going to build an amplifier to increase the "low" output voltage of the microphone to a "usable level." What should that level be?
There are several criteria we could use. In the previous experiments we found that there was a maximum output signal level the op-amp can produce without clipping. Clearly our standard level should be less than this. In fact it should be significantly less to allow for peaks which exceed the "average" value of the signal. (Recording engineers call this "headroom.") Another criterion would be to have a standard signal level which is compatible with our signal sinks. A signal of about 0.5 to 1.0 V p-p gives a fairly loud sound when connected to the handset earpiece, the speaker, or the sound card line in. Since 1 V is a nice round number, and is comfortably less than the clipping level, we will choose 1 V p-p as our standard signal level.