opinions on PE "woofer tester"

[peterS]

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=390-802

is this thing worth it for someone who wants to design there own speakers
or is there a better alternative?

[ThomasW]

Making accurate T/S parameter measurements is more complicated than one would imagine. And generally speaking most speaker mfgrs are trustworthy. As a result unless there are very unusual circumstances one doesn't need to measure their own complete T/S parameters.

If one is going to design their own speakers they need to make other types of measurements (frequency response plots, impedance curves, etc.) Doing that requires an investment in both software and hardware that's a bit $pendy.

Look at setups like Clio or Praxis to see what's involved.

[heebee-jeebee]

actually, i have bought the pe woofer tester, and found it to be very useful, especially if you cant find any specs (like the radio shack speakers i had). ive also used it to test the box tuning for the sub in my car. plus, you can use it if you want to save files, and then import them to other programs. (like a crossover designer)

[peterS]

so what else should i be looking at if im interested in designing my own passives

[ThomasW]

so what else should i be looking at if im interested in designing my own passives

What's your budget for hardware and software?

[JoshK]

Can you do the sort of measurements for speaker building with Speaker Workshop? Assuming you have a soundcard and mic.

[peterS]

What's your budget for hardware and software?

well here is what im going off of

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1

this will get the RTA equipment taken care of
aparently the "jig" that is esentialy what you pay for with the parts express kit is easily made (not sure i care about saving 100 bucks there)

as for budget lets say below 1000 for everything... which shoould be enough for an enlrty level setup- correct?

what im looking for is a software that will alow me to design passives, rta, and frequency and impedence messurements

any ideas?

[engr_dave]

as for budget lets say below 1000 for everything... which shoould be enough for an enlrty level setup- correct?

I'd be interested in this also.

I have the latest HT-audio BassBox Pro and X-over Pro, but there are probably better packages available. And I need to invest in some decent measurement equipment. I'm planning on using this with my newer Dell laptop, so external hardware would be nice (PCMCIA, USB, etc).

I'd like to be able to do complete speaker design and measurement as well as room measurement / optimization.

So Thomas, Jon, Chris, etc... what would be the best place to spend $1000 (give or take)?

[ThomasW]

$1K will buy the fullblown Praxis setup. Be warned though, even Jon's finding the learning curve really steep ......

If you want something a bit more reasonable start off with a mic, Behringer ECM-8000 or Nady CM-100. Send it off for a $40 cal file to....

Kim Girardin
Wadenhome Sound
1400 Homer Rd. Suite 2
Winona, MN, 55987, USA
Phone: 507-454-8844
E-mail: kmgrdn@luminet.net

Next buy a M-Audio Mobile pre, then start playing with software.

[engr_dave]

then start playing with software

Are you referring to the free demo versions of the popular measurement systems?

I did a little snooping and it looks like the full-blown versions are all at, or just above, my target pricing (without mic or soundcard):

Praxis $998
ClioWin7 $1370
LMS $1116
LSPCAD Pro $980

Funny how that works, isn't it? :roll:

I noticed that there is a Cliowin "lite" and an LSPCAD "standard" that are considerably cheaper - although I'm not sure if LSPCAD standard includes the measurement tool "justMLS". Since I'm just getting started, should I research all of these, or are there some I can avoid from the outset??

So much to learn... so little time...

[ThomasW]

Are you referring to the free demo versions of the popular measurement systems?

Yep, and you might want to start out playing with the great little freeware program Room EQ Wizard. Then download and play with Arta and Speaker Works they're freeware as well.


Just MLS is free with either version of LspCAD