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Sound Reinforcement - Forums for Live Sound Professionals - Your Displayed Name Must Be Your Real Full Name To Post In The Live Sound Forums => Audio Measurement and Testing => Topic started by: Nick Enright on February 16, 2012, 11:47:44 PM

Title: Driver Measurement
Post by: Nick Enright on February 16, 2012, 11:47:44 PM

What tools are required to measure the various performance parameters of a driver?

I've little lack of time for the next two months and would like to measure my drivers, however I don't really have the extra budget to buy a dedicated box. I've a good true RMS meter, Tenma ocilliscope, and an extensive background in testing and lab work. I also like examining the properties and performance of things...

obviously Fs comes from Mms and compliance, measurable using a sine sweep and finding the impedance peak. What other parameters can be measured using this gear?

What else would I need?

Title: Re: Driver Measurement
Post by: Langston Holland on February 17, 2012, 12:43:54 AM

It's best to learn the why first: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=500-035

From that you'll also learn the how.

The selection of tools to achieve the specific goals you will have will become a simple issue at that point.

With your scope you can do 95% of anything audio related with some imagination.

Here's a free reference that'll get you thinking, it's called the Audio Measurement Handbook v1 and you'll need to go through a brief registration process to download it (bottom of the page):

http://ap.com/download/whitepapers

Title: Re: Driver Measurement
Post by: Nick Enright on February 17, 2012, 11:04:47 AM

Quote from: Langston Holland on February 17, 2012, 12:43:54 AM

It's best to learn the why first: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=500-035

From that you'll also learn the how.

The selection of tools to achieve the specific goals you will have will become a simple issue at that point.

With your scope you can do 95% of anything audio related with some imagination.

Here's a free reference that'll get you thinking, it's called the Audio Measurement Handbook v1 and you'll need to go through a brief registration process to download it (bottom of the page):

http://ap.com/download/whitepapers

Thanks!
As an R&D and Test/Measurement engineer in my prior career I sometimes get compulsive about the why!

Title: Re: Driver Measurement
Post by: Tim McCulloch on February 21, 2012, 12:21:26 PM

Quote from: Nick Enright on February 17, 2012, 11:04:47 AM

Thanks!
As an R&D and Test/Measurement engineer in my prior career I sometimes get compulsive about the why!

Fascinating videos from Langston.  Start here:  http://gallery.me.com/soundscapes#100206

Title: Re: Driver Measurement
Post by: Langston Holland on February 21, 2012, 01:58:36 PM

Thanks Tim, I think. :)

That was my portion of the DSP panel at the NY AES convention last October.

I've already learned enough since then to know I made several errors in that discussion concerning particulars (I'm almost positive that the Lake processors don't use look-ahead limiters as I stated on the first slide for example). Overall, my point about limiters being the great unexplored realm with many happy things left to discover is something I'm even more convinced of now than I was then.

Man was I nervous. I was sitting next to people that are heroes to me.