Speaker / Room acoustic measurements

[MaxwellM]

I have been working on re-doing my living room into a semi home theater room over the past month or so. New lights, fixing the older Sheetrock issues, and paint. I have also changed the entire layout of my room. I have never taken a measurement of any of the responsiveness of my speakers and I think it is finally time to do that. I know that once I get a good idea of what my speakers can and CANNOT do, then I will have a good idea of what to work on next.

My question is; I have seen and researched plenty of links and information on this sort of thing, but I think I am overwhelmed by the options. First off, what software program do you guys normally use to measure speakers in a room. I have seen THIS thread and have seen a good bit of software.

I know everyone is worried about what Mic to use so I will list what I have available. SM57 SM58 Beta58 MXL990s BehringerB2Pro The last 3 require Phantom power, and I have Art TPSII Behringer ADA8000 and a Yamaha MG102C
Or I might be completely over thinking this and just need to go out and get a Mic for measurement purposes... I just don't want to go get another when I have all of these at my disposal.

I will post screen shots, and results when I am done as well.

Thanks,

Maxwell

[ThomasW]

How are you planning to compensate for the voicing of the recording mics?

There are numerous software packages available. Choice depends on your budget and the kind of computer you have.

[Kal Rubinson]

IMHO, the software to start with is RoomEQ Wizard if you are interested in assessing the sound in the room. It is freeware but requires a PC, a microphone and, probably, a phantom-power preamp.

OTOH, it is not completely clear to me exactly what you want to measure. The speakers for tweaking? Room acoustics?

Kal

[MaxwellM]

How are you planning to compensate for the voicing of the recording mics?

There are numerous software packages available. Choice depends on your budget and the kind of computer you have.

Oh, I forgot to mention that. AMD 4000+ dual core, 2 gigs of ram. I am using an ASUS M3N78-EM Motherboard. The on board HDMI for video and the analog out feed to my receiver.

As for the voicing of each of the mics, That's why I asked if I should use something like the SM57 because it is considerably flat across the board. I know that the Condenser mic's i have do have some tonal characteristics to them. It is why I loved them in the studio. The benefit of them is that they can do cardioid, figure 8 or omnidirectional pickup patterns.

IMHO, the software to start with is RoomEQ Wizard if you are interested in assessing the sound in the room. It is freeware but requires a PC, a microphone and, probably, a phantom-power preamp.

OTOH, it is not completely clear to me exactly what you want to measure. The speakers for tweaking? Room acoustics?

Kal

Well I have never measured anything about my room. I would like to know what sort of frequency response I have with my current setup. And how my room affects everything. I am planning on eventually putting in some room treatment, probably some sound absorption panels (that will be for a different day.) And I wanted to see a before and after.

Maxwell

[Kal Rubinson]

Then, REW is the way to go.

Kal

[BeerParty]

AMD 4000+ dual core, 2 gigs of ram. I am using an ASUS M3N78-EM Motherboard. The on board HDMI for video and the analog out feed to my receiver.

Actually, I think they need to know what OS you have - MS Windows (and what version), or Linux (type and version), or Mac OS, or other. You will find that Room Eq Wizard (REW) is the preferred program around here, but it is a MS Windows program. I have also read about issues with REW using Windows Vista.

[MaxwellM]

Actually, I think they need to know what OS you have - MS Windows (and what version), or Linux (type and version), or Mac OS, or other. You will find that Room Eq Wizard (REW) is the preferred program around here, but it is a MS Windows program. I have also read about issues with REW using Windows Vista.

Ha ha, Well Naively that box runs Vista x86 Ultimate, but I have a second partition I toss around XP, and Linux Mint (Unbuntu / Debian) I also have Xubuntu on a bootable jump drive I use to test hardware and when windows breaks on client machines... So Linux or Windows (x86) is do-able. Though I would probably prefer to test it in the native Vista (or if I have to XP) environment.

And thanks, I will check out REW

[JonP]

Welcome on board...

So, you have quite a selection, unlike most thinking which one I should buy...

What you want is the flattest microphone you have. If room measurements are important... flat and extended down low are what you're looking for. A true ommni, is probably the best type of mic, especially for room measuring. So pick the best candidate out of your group with that in mind.

Though, if you have a frequency response file on one, even if a bit ragged, you might prefer that. Most programs can use a calibration file like that to compensate. You also can get one of your mic's calibrated (measured) and plug the results in. It's also the way to really be sure you know you're measurements are really accurate...

Yes, REW rocks... read everything you can find... lots of good resources in the forums, etc. You'll learn a lot about your room, sub and speakers.

For real speaker measurement, REW can give you a good overview, but other more specific programs will do things like measure drivers, and driver or system FR for speaker design. Several good ones out there, both free and commerical...

Finally, that computer is more than fast enough for any measurement program you will throw at it. You might need to get a particular sound card to work better with a particular program. REW at least is pretty forgiving. Another thing to think about is how noisy your computer is, if it's got 5 oversized fans cranking to handle all the overclocked stuff, it's a handicap when you want a quiet background when measuring...

[69Stingray]

Are you looking for how your room responds to impulses (music)? Or are you looking for the freq. response of your speakers once placed into your room? Both are very similar, I understand.

Can you measure actual freq. response with REW?? Does it generate *.frd files? I also thought REW was for doing EQ'ing of subs and determining room modes, etc.