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Author Topic: SMAART v7x  (Read 11178 times)

Jim McKeveny

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Re: SMAART v7x
« Reply #10 on: January 21, 2016, 10:08:33 AM »

It just doesn't get any better than this.  :-)

Thank you.
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William Schnake

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Re: SMAART v7x
« Reply #11 on: January 21, 2016, 10:48:31 AM »

Thanks for all of the input guys.  I have purchased SMAART V7.4.  I have signed up for the SMAART Operator Fundamentals class in Denver this March. 

I am using a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface, but do not currently own a pair of reference mics that are up to the job.  What would be a good choice for reference mics?  I would like to stay under $1,000 for the pair if possible.  Getting smarter and using SMAART is starting to get expensive.

Thanks for all of the help.

Bill  ;)
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Doug Fowler

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Re: SMAART v7x
« Reply #12 on: January 21, 2016, 10:56:57 AM »

Thanks for all of the input guys.  I have purchased SMAART V7.4.  I have signed up for the SMAART Operator Fundamentals class in Denver this March. 

I am using a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface, but do not currently own a pair of reference mics that are up to the job.  What would be a good choice for reference mics?  I would like to stay under $1,000 for the pair if possible.  Getting smarter and using SMAART is starting to get expensive.

Thanks for all of the help.

Bill  ;)

No brainer: Isemcon mic from Rational store.

You don't need two.  You will learn how to average measurements together. I routinely use only one. 

Two types of averaging:

Averaging within a single measurement (temporal averaging).   This increases the signal to noise ratio in your current measurement.

Averaging amongst different measurements (spatial averaging).  You can do this in real time with multiple microphones, or after the fact with saved measurements.  I use the second method.  Averaging multiple measurements gives you the big picture and reveals trends present in multiple locations.   When you do this, you will see the two or three cuts that really need to be addressed. 

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Scott Carneval

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Re: SMAART v7x
« Reply #13 on: January 21, 2016, 11:05:50 AM »

Thanks for all of the input guys.  I have purchased SMAART V7.4.  I have signed up for the SMAART Operator Fundamentals class in Denver this March. 

I am using a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 interface, but do not currently own a pair of reference mics that are up to the job.  What would be a good choice for reference mics?  I would like to stay under $1,000 for the pair if possible.  Getting smarter and using SMAART is starting to get expensive.

Thanks for all of the help.

Bill  ;)

If you're just using it to align your personal rig, you can get by with the $89 RTA-420 sold by Rational Acoustics. It's accurate to within a couple dB of the expensive mics, and you get a calibration file from Rational that you can import into SMAART. This file basically tells the program about any anomalies in your particular mic, and the program will then compensate. Each mic is individually measured and gets it's own calibration file from the factory.  What you're really missing out on compared to the 'big-dog' mics is the ability to measure much louder. I'm going from memory here, but I believe the RTA-420 is good to about 120db. If you need to measure louder than that, then you'll need a different mic.

http://www.rationalacoustics.com/store/microphones/ra-rta-420.html

Also, I believe your interface only has 2 inputs. One will be used for the measurement mic, one will be used for the reference signal. So you don't really have the ability to use 2 mics, at least not for a transfer function.

EDIT: Sorry, I lied. The $89 mic does NOT include calibration files. The RTA-420 with calibration files is $149 and can be found here: http://www.rationalacoustics.com/store/microphones/ra-rta-420cal.html
« Last Edit: January 21, 2016, 11:09:31 AM by Scott Carneval »
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William Schnake

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Re: SMAART v7x
« Reply #14 on: January 21, 2016, 11:13:13 AM »

Thanks Doug, I am going to order a pair of the iSEMcon EMX-7150 Measurement Microphones as soon as they become available.

Thanks
Bill  8)
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Kevin McDonough

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Re: SMAART v7x
« Reply #15 on: January 21, 2016, 11:34:04 AM »

What you're really missing out on compared to the 'big-dog' mics is the ability to measure much louder.

Hi there,

Just to pick up on something quickly, the Scarlett 2i2 soundcard you mentioned having doesn't have a pad on the channels, and this is something that also caught me out when I started really focusing on learning about measurement (I went down the Systune route, but both that and Smaart are great programs).

While it'll be great for learning and for your training course, you might find that if you start to make measurements at show volume, even with the gain turned down as low as possible you'll be clipping the soundcard input. 

So just something to keep in mind; over time you may want to budget for it's bigger brother the 2i4 which gets you a pad on each channel, or a similarly capable interface.

k
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William Schnake

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Re: SMAART v7x
« Reply #16 on: January 21, 2016, 02:59:29 PM »

Kevin, thanks for the info.  I think we can swing getting the Scarlett 2i4.  This is exactly the type of useful information that I have been wanting to get so that i don't make any purchasing mistakes.  I don't mind spending money, but i do mind spending it twice.

Bill  ;)

While it'll be great for learning and for your training course, you might find that if you start to make measurements at show volume, even with the gain turned down as low as possible you'll be clipping the soundcard input. 

So just something to keep in mind; over time you may want to budget for it's bigger brother the 2i4 which gets you a pad on each channel, or a similarly capable interface.

k
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Jelmer de Jong

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Re: SMAART v7x
« Reply #17 on: January 23, 2016, 03:00:15 AM »

You could also fabricate a 20dB pad-cable for less than a dollar.
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Merlijn van Veen

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SMAART v7x
« Reply #18 on: January 24, 2016, 02:28:29 AM »

Hi there,

Just to pick up on something quickly, the Scarlett 2i2 soundcard you mentioned having doesn't have a pad on the channels, and this is something that also caught me out when I started really focusing on learning about measurement (I went down the Systune route, but both that and Smaart are great programs).

While it'll be great for learning and for your training course, you might find that if you start to make measurements at show volume, even with the gain turned down as low as possible you'll be clipping the soundcard input. 

So just something to keep in mind; over time you may want to budget for it's bigger brother the 2i4 which gets you a pad on each channel, or a similarly capable interface.

k

If you stick to low sensitivity measurement microphones in the 5 mV/Pa range you should have no need for a pad.

The foremost purpose of a Smaart or similar rig, is measuring signal. Self-noise comes second. So stick to small membranes and low sensitivities.

Chances are environmental noise will drown the noise floor of your entire signal chain anyway. The coherence feature of the analyzer will tell the difference.


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SMAART v7x
« Reply #18 on: January 24, 2016, 02:28:29 AM »


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