Who here has any experience taking measurements??

Robh3606

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Aug 24, 2010
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Hello Amir

No I am talking about gated and un-gated measurements I use to build speakers. As far as in room measurements do you have an issues with room correction software?? Glad to see some here with hands on knowledge.

Rob:)
 

amirm

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Apr 2, 2010
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Hi Rob. Room EQ is mandatory in my book for room acoustics in low frequencies. It simply cannot be done otherwise unless you have massive space. In my larger open space where I have my system, I don't need as much correction but I still use it. It gets rid of some of the boom.

Sorry I did not realize you were talking about speaker measurements :).
 

SCAudiophile

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Sep 11, 2010
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Good Morning....measurement novice (or less!) here; if anyone can make recommendations as to how I would measure frequency response for my speakers in my room via sweep and/or actual musical playback and what software I would need (for MacOSX), I would be grateful. Already have Mic and Mic Preamp that is compatible with MacOSX but need to know how best to take the measurements (software as well as techniques) and would be very grateful for the assistance! I do have room correction active in the room via a manufacturer-supplied active crossover (also has pre-amp and DAC capabilities) and it has resolved many pre-existing issues, however there is a bit of pile-up occurring in the upper bass and lower mid-base on some (not all material) and I'd like to be able to 'see' what's going on and where to best contour/tweak the output. Thank you!
 

audioguy

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Apr 20, 2010
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Good Morning....measurement novice (or less!) here; if anyone can make recommendations as to how I would measure frequency response for my speakers in my room via sweep and/or actual musical playback and what software I would need (for MacOSX), I would be grateful. Already have Mic and Mic Preamp that is compatible with MacOSX but need to know how best to take the measurements (software as well as techniques) and would be very grateful for the assistance! I do have room correction active in the room via a manufacturer-supplied active crossover (also has pre-amp and DAC capabilities) and it has resolved many pre-existing issues, however there is a bit of pile-up occurring in the upper bass and lower mid-base on some (not all material) and I'd like to be able to 'see' what's going on and where to best contour/tweak the output. Thank you!

While I have never been able to get it to run, most don't have that issue. REW has an entire thread http://www.roomeqwizard.com and it is also supported on Home Theater Shack (http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/rew-forum/). I use OmniMic that sells for $300 including calibrated mic and software.

I use this software for setting up subs, time aligning them and integrating them. I also use it for initial speaker positioning and setting PEQ filters prior to running Dirac on my RS20i. At the risk of starting an argument, I really can't imagine how anyone can get the very best out of their system without measurement tools. While the ears are the ultimate decision maker, measurement tools are invaluable in getting your ears to hear what they want. YMMV.
 
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SCAudiophile

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Thank you...I will check all that out!
 

microstrip

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If you just want to take a few occasional sweeps get the demo version of SpectraPLUS-RT: The baby brother to SpectraPLUS-SC - designed for users needing a high quality spectrum analyzer at a lower cost and a minimal learning curve. Provides real time spectral analysis with Narrowband, 1/1 or 1/3 Octave resolution. http://www.spectraplus.com/

The demo version is active for 30 days with all features and works with the PC soundcard or any inexpensive USB soundcard. After that period you must get a license.
 

Barry

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Another vote for REW. You can't beat free software with all the functionality it has (it almost does too much if you're just interested in measuring it's easy). It'll even produce digital EQ correction filters which you can load into DSP hardware (like mini DSP). Downloading to a laptop with Windows OS is easy. Setting up the mic (recommendation above) and using an external soundcard, both of which you need to buy, takes a little bit more work. The On-line support is so voluminous it takes awhile to sort through it all but you can always ask questions on line at Home Theater Shack.

Set-up was discussed right here at WBF:

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?17765-Room-Measurement-Tutorial-for-Dummies-Part-1


If you've got the time, you can learn a lot about room response and correction even if you choose not to use it as a measurement tool. Check this out as an example:

http://www.roomeqwizard.com/help/help_en-GB/html/index.html
 
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andromedaaudio

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audiomatica also has a clio pocket system , which includes software hardware microphone cables all in one box , dont know the price but much cheaper then the full version i assume .
Regarding all those( free )software measurement systems , you dont have a signal generator as the clio does , the signal which is to be measured is on a CD i assume , and the measurementprogram has to do a soundcard correction ???
 

Barry

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Regarding all those( free )software measurement systems , you dont have a signal generator as the clio does , the signal which is to be measured is on a CD i assume

No, the signal generator is part of the program --- no cd. There is a sound card calibration process, but it's not required if you use a USB microphone so it's easiest to go that route.
 

SCAudiophile

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To all: Thank you for all the additional info; it is very helpful.
 

microstrip

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I forget to mention it, SpectraplusRT includes generators - pink and white noise and several combinations of sinusoidal signals.
 

DaveC

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I use the Dayton Omni-mic v2 for anything I roll out. It helps to get a fundamental acoustical look at the room behavior.

I have Omni Mic as well and imo it's very good. As a test I calculated the correct time/phase between the woofer and midrange of the speaker I'm working on and then used Omni Mic to measure it and the results were identical.

I also have the newest Dayton woofer tester package and a pretty nice Kiethley digital multimeter with the ability to measure THD. No scope yet though, I'm waffling on this one... I do have access to scopes and signal generators though.
 

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