Tools for room measurement

[DonH50]

I use the m-audio Fast Track Pro. There is a cheaper version and I looked at it but needed two channels for other uses. It is a cheap preamp and it shows -- a little noisy and I could use a little more gain, but for mesaurement it does fine for me (I use R+D and an earthworks measurement mic).

 

[microstrip]

thanks gents - does the cheaper cousin work fine? (Perhaps this is what DOn is referring to.) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Avid-Record...SWUG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1349295276&sr=8-2

I've still got to pay for the acoustic treatments, Dirac Live etc etc

Considering the price it looks a great buy - you can see the specifications at

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/AvidRecordingStudio.html

 

[stevekale]

ok thanks. As I am only going to be using this for the purposes of measuring my own room acoustics, if it works and leaves me with a little more cash to deploy on treatments etc then that's good. I was thinking of a Behringer ECM8000 mic.

PS: I'm doing a lot of reading but one thing is bugging me at the moment. I can connect the mic to the computer and the computer (I presume I have to use the headphone jack on my Mac Pro) to my Theta Casablanca via analog inputs. An input signal will be directed to my sub depending on the crossover settings on the Theta. However, the settings in the Casablanca are different depending on whether I am listening to a stereo or 5.1 source. I cross over the deep low end of my Eggworks Andras to my Rel Stentor for stereo sources and run everything full range for 5.1 (with obviously a dedicated LF track). (I need to double-check my settings for multichannel LPCM.) How does this sort of thing affect room measurement?

 

[DonH50]

You'll get different measurements since different speakers in different places are handling different frequencies. You'll have to use two memories if using room compensation, or compromise. Personally, I did not worry about the movie stuff and optimized the L/R/sub settings. However, I use an active crossover and run my subs in parallel with the L/R speakers so they are the same music or movies.

I would probably pick a setting to use for everything and run with that.

 

[Mark Seaton]

ok thanks. As I am only going to be using this for the purposes of measuring my own room acoustics, if it works and leaves me with a little more cash to deploy on treatments etc then that's good. I was thinking of a Behringer ECM8000 mic.

PS: I'm doing a lot of reading but one thing is bugging me at the moment. I can connect the mic to the computer and the computer (I presume I have to use the headphone jack on my Mac Pro) to my Theta Casablanca via analog inputs. An input signal will be directed to my sub depending on the crossover settings on the Theta. However, the settings in the Casablanca are different depending on whether I am listening to a stereo or 5.1 source. I cross over the deep low end of my Eggworks Andras to my Rel Stentor for stereo sources and run everything full range for 5.1 (with obviously a dedicated LF track). (I need to double-check my settings for multichannel LPCM.) How does this sort of thing affect room measurement?

Could you clarify how you have the system wired for stereo vs. 5.1? In general I would start by measuring through the Theta in the configuration you use for stereo and get things balanced, and then look at the ramifications of that for HT use and see what you can do there.

 

[stevekale]

Could you clarify how you have the system wired for stereo vs. 5.1?

The Andras are rated down to 18Hz; the Rel will drive a bit lower. For stereo listening, I have the CB set to crossover the front L/R speakers using Butterworth at 40Hz and a slope of 12dB. For now at least, for 5.1 content I have everything running full range (so nothing gets sent to the Rel Stentor except the LFE channel).